Love this song and I actually prefer Dio Sabbath to Ozzy Sabbath as well... They've had quite a few vocalists with some mixed results..one of my favorite songs that never gets any love is The Headless Cross with Tony Martin on vocals. Keep up the good work,bud...love ya channel.
So back in the day Dio got asked about the lyrical content of Heaven & Hell a ton. On Head Banger's Ball he said the song was about choosing your own path. It was about religion telling you what is wrong or right. In several other interviews he described the dancer as the people who follow those instructions without thought. The true followers who give up their will to those on the pulpit.
DIO was a great singer. He was a guest vocalist on a couple of songs by Kerry Livgren (from the band Kansas). If you can track down the song titled Mask Of The Great Deceiver, it's worth your time to listen.
The dancer, the fool, heaven and hell, this seems to me very nietzschean : "Zarathustra the dancer, Zarathustra the light one, who beckoneth with his pinions, one ready for flight, beckoning unto all birds, ready and prepared, a blissfully light-spirited one (...) Better, however, to be foolish with happiness than foolish with misfortune, better to dance awkwardly than walk lamely. So learn, I pray you, my wisdom, ye higher men: even the worst thing hath two good reverse sides,- -Even the worst thing hath good dancing-legs: so learn, I pray you, ye higher men, to put yourselves on your proper legs!" Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche Christ bled for the sinners, Black Sabbath sung for the dancers...
Im a dancer of Latin , in all dance , seems like the ppl. always want to either be taught for free or corio for free or next to nothing . Congress tickets for free . Its a tough go in that industry " youve got to bleed for the dancer " Lots of internal work and creativity with no pay . jeje
one thing people forget is that Black Sabbath's last two albums with Ozzy were, frankly, crap. Sure, there are a few good tunes, and it's not hard to find people who think their decline started earlier (I disagree, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was great, and Sabotage was also quite good) but that line-up had creatively run out of steam. And there are a massive number of Johnny-come-latelies who add weight to the idea that anything after him isn't good (these are the same people who say you can never wash cast iron and that there is no such thing as a good flour tortilla). But having listened to Sabbath at the time, I can tell you that Ronnie James Dio absolutely breathed a ton of life back into that band. He was only there for two records, but Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules absolutely belong in the same conversation as their earlier work.
I think the music of Black Sabbath was maturing before Dio joined. The album , Never Say Die, had Ozzy singing and had elements of Jazz as well as a more progressive sound. It’s my favorite. I know the die hard will disagree. Depends on when you got into them.
I've always heard it and thought that the dancer was the person in charge (English isn't my first language). Now the song (for me) gets like two meanings. But it's heaven and hell so maybe that was the point?
Dio and his cryptic lyrics ... he was very well read in mythology, had a sizable library with mythological literature and especially in the post Rainbow era, he mostly used to write in metaphors and symbolism. Unfortunately he knew so much more about it than I do ... so I consulted my lexicon of symbolism on the subject of dancing and the dancer. I found references to cosmic creative energy, in particular in Hinduism the dancing god Shiva is the destroyer/creator, whose dance symbolizes overcoming ignorance, destruction and liberation from illusions ("the closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you'll know that you're dreaming" ... "if it seems to be real it's illusion" ... "for every moment of truth there's confusion in life"). Plato's allegory of the cave also comes to mind. Things not being what they appear to be, what we suppose to be reality being an illusion, mythology and art as a way to the truth are themes coming up in other lyrics he wrote as well. To me it suggests that the dancer has to do with the aim of overcoming the illusions and the path to truth, but in order to get there you have to put in the effort and make sacrifices ("bleed for the dancer"). Also, notice the two verses, first "love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer" and then "fool fool, you've got to bleed for the dancer, fool fool, look for the answer" - so here we've got love which is the solution to confusing illusions and finding the path to the truth, but it comes at a cost we aren't prepared to pay ("nobody bleeds for the dancer") - as a result, we're stuck with our illusions and fall for the kings and queens that blind our eyes and steal our dreams with babble keeping up the confusion ("they tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night, and when you walk in golden halls, you get to keep the gold that falls"). I hope this makes any kind of sense at all, lol, but I really doubt there's some linear way of deciphering this and putting it into a simple sentence.
@@coffeemaniac571 Interesting. It's difficult with Christian symbolism in Dio's lyrics, because while he was brought up a Catholic, he totally rejected that belief except as a source for moral guidelines. (He wasn't an atheist, strictly speaking, either.) If God, the devil, heaven or hell appear, they are likely metaphors for something else themselves. There are a couple of interviews where he's talking about religion here on YT, one of them is somewhere in one of the interview series with Eric Blair (I think it's in the second one, from 2002). PS: The first comment (by Lindell) on the page you linked is pretty spot on, in my opinion.
I have come to look at Sabbath as almost three different bands. The Ozzy era, the Dio era and the Tony Martin era, all are great and each in their own style. I didn't include Ian Gillen because it's my least favorite of the bunch.
@@222MovieMan its actually his grandmothers, little 80 year old italian lady dio said she flashed when walking down the street it protects from someone giving you the evil eye, or you send it back to em, ronnie uses it as his gimmick and in reference to long live rock n roll
The dio and the ozzy are arent really compareable. like said before, they sound completely diffrent, and both are great the way they do. But Dio for shure and without any doubt is the superior Singer.
This whole album is a masterpiece. Dio likes to sing in metaphores. He was considered a musical philosopher. The dancer in this song can mean many things.. it could be the ones who are not bound by the constraints of a heaven or a hell.. those who dance through life without a care. It can also refer to those who are into the arts.. dancing, painting, writing, musicians, etc. There are some good discussions about the meaning of this lyric archived online. You may enjoy his solo band as well. I would start with 'The Last In Line', personally... as it was this very song that actually converted me back in 1984/85 from a pop music fan into a metal music fan. Most people, however, start with his song 'Holy Diver' (usually not the MTv video b/c those might get blocked.. kinda hit or miss on that front) since it is more widely known as a definitive Dio megahit from the early/mid 80's. Do not get me wrong.. Ozzy IS the voice of Black Sabbath.. but to me, Dio is the better of the two vocally. I kinda separate them into Black Sabbath v1 (Ozzy) and Black Sabbath v2 (Dio) and I am almost completely unfamiliar with their third vocalist or their work with him.. but to me that would be Black Sabbath v3. Dio did return to Sabbath after several years solo for a single album.. then it was back to Ozzy again.. then Dio got together with the original lineup he had with them for this album and made a new band called.. coincidentally, 'Heaven And Hell' and they released 1 album 'The Devil You Know' before Dio tragically passed away in 2010 from stomach cancer. The world lost one of the best metal singers when Dio died.. but his legacy lives on through not only his music but through all those bands and vocalists which were inspired by his golden pipes.
Spot on. Their other vocalists were actually pretty damn good but there was nothing magical about them, it was pretty generic metal. They had the likes of Ian Gillan, Glen Hughes and Tony Martin as vocalists, which all are excellent singers. It just did not turn out to be memorable. Solid but not special.
@@saschaschneider6355 Thank you for filling in the missing pieces of my lore lol. I really should listen to those albums outside of the main ones I am familiar with but I find it difficult to even imagine Sabbath without Dio or Ozzy lol.
@@uoabigaillevey if you want to try something beyond Ozzy and Dio I'd recommend the title track off Headless Cross with Tony Martin. But beyond that... I've recently tried to listen to the whole discography and frankly, I got bored and gave up... It's not really inspired anymore, very more-of-the-same-ish
@@saschaschneider6355 Yeah.. Although my brother gave me the entire discography I just can't bring myself to do it. LOL Instead, I chose to go with some newer music. Recently got into a band called 'Benediction' with the album 'Scriptures' If you do not mind a harsher vocal style than Slayer they are a good listen. Bought the album after hearing only 3 songs off of it lol. ua-cam.com/video/msGLusCiRqU/v-deo.html Just this morning I bought another album.. this one by a band called 'Hell Fire' that has a very diverse sound.. with music that is thrash-based.. sounding like Exodus or early Metallica but with vocals ranging from James Hetfield-style to Lemmy style to Dio style.. even one song had a Mercyful Fate style that reminded me of Night of the Vampire. That album is called 'Mania' if you want to give it a check. ua-cam.com/video/w9yenghH1KI/v-deo.html That album was posted by a channel that does full albums from newer bands that have an older-metal sound.. from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and/or Thrash music from the 80's... worth diving into the channel if you want to check out other stuff.
@@uoabigaillevey Thanks for the recommendations but I don't even like the vocals on Slayer. I'm more of an old school, early metal guy. Sabbath, Priest, NWOBHM, that's my jam. I'm not even that much into Thrash, I'm more on the melodic side of things.
The moment Dio joins a band, the band sounds different than usual. They sound in fact the way Dio wants it. Black Sabbath, normally known for its heavy dark and low guitar tones, sounds very much like Rainbow when Dio sang there. The only thing missing is the virtuous guitar playing by Richie Blackmore. Dio is a magnificent hardrock singer, maybe the best so far.
This is the way Dio explained the song : "That song was a chance for me to get all these things off my chest that I always wanted to say… It was a song that let me say the one statement that was most important to me. I've always felt to be somewhat of a spokesman for kids - for people who maybe lonely, looked down upon, because they like the wrong kind of music - and, more importantly, the kids who play in bands. So I made the statement that I always wanted to make, which is, 'The world is full of kings and queens, who blind your eyes then steal your dreams / It's heaven and hell.' And that all means beware of people who try to blind your eyes with promises… If you have those dreams, don't let anyone rob you of those wonderful ideas that you have by stealing them and putting them in their pocket, and leaving you lonely by the side of the road. So beware those kings and queens out there, who blind your eyes then steal your dreams. It was very important for me to be able to make that statement. And that statement has been something that I've tried to live with since that time." - Ronnie James Dio[5] In an interview for VH1's "Heavy: The Story of Metal", Dio stated that the song is about the ability of each human being to choose between doing good and doing evil; essentially, that each person has "heaven and hell" inside themselves. And yes the have had a few lead vocalists , the most prominent Ozzy, Dio and Ian Gillan (Deep Purple ) and the all made there mark on Sabbath and where all great in the concept. And Ozzy is back though his health is not on top.
Geezer simply dosent get enough credit for writing all the Ozzy era lyrics, all his stuff was powerful and thought provoking, Dio took the reins for his tenure as he was a sing/songwriter a true Artist
At Heaven and Hell concert in 2007 my wife asked me with amazement "how does he do that" pointing at Geezer Butler. He is phenomenal. I'm so glad that I was able to see my favorite RJ Dio with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice.
As a Sabbath fanatic, Dio Sabbath is my favorite. Tony Iommi admits that when Dio joined the band, the musical options really opened up. Previously, Tony and Geezer did all the writing. That all changed when Dio joined Sabbath. Dio will always be the greatest metal vocalist of my lifetime. Although Halford and Bruce Dickenson are right up there. 👍🤘
This song is a masterpiece. Pure magic. I’ve been listening to this song since day one, way back since 1981 or so.. actually the whole album is great and this is when I first heard of DIO. To answer your question, Ozzy left Black Sabbath because of after a long run of increasingly erratic drink and drug fuelled behaviour Ozzy Osbourne was finally sacked by his band members. It had been a difficult time musically for Black Sabbath, who'd been finding it hard to motivate themselves in the studio. This was exaggerated by the fact that Ozzy barely turned up to the studio at all. The frictions in the band came to head when Tony Iommi decided that he wanted to replace Ozzy. This was more of a release for Osbourne, who felt he wanted to go in a different musical direction anyway. The first song the sabbath and DIO worked on was actually “Children of the Sea”. It was magic from that moment on. The sound of Sabbath changed greatly and the music received mixed reviews. Eventually, DIO was accepted as the new voice of Black Sabbath and the rest is history.
My interpretation of the dancer and the song is this: the song is about myth, morality, control, and how they interplay. Its how to escape the duality of heaven and hell. The dancer represents artists who creates and adds meaning to people's lives. People acknowledge that love is the answer, but in practice nobody puts their life on the line and bleeds for the dancer to defend that meaning. Others will create myths that control, either through gold that falls into the dancer's hands, or lies and propaganda, and they'll cast you into heaven based on categories that suit them. The answer the song argues is to bleed for the dancer, to defend the artist and the art, and to stop being a fool and following the puppet master. There is some allusion to the music industry controlling artists as well here, but it is also general too.
I've always interpreted "the dancer" not to be a who, but a what. The dancer is a personification of the beauty in life, passion, the thrill and exhilaration of what gets us out of bed in the morning. The dancer is all of us in our ideal state. I think the song is about how easy it is to fall into the patterns society expects from us, stifle our own ambitions, creativity, and all that makes life wonderful. People are willing to break their backs for their jobs to make pennies, but very few people bleed that same way for the things they truly value, the things more valuable than money. At the end of our lives, when we walk the golden halls, did we listen to those whose aim was to deceive us (they tell you black is really white, for example) for their own selfish gain, or did we join in the dance and celebrate our brief time in this life? Take Dio for example. He could've been WAAAAY more famous and wealthy if he decided to record music like Poison, Bon Jovi, or other pop metal bands of the 80s, but he really believed in his storytelling of fantastical worlds, myths, and grandiosity. The people that know his music absolutely love it because it is as genuinely Dio as can be. Not that he died a beggar or anything like that, but he isn't nearly as well known as Bret Michaels or Jon Bon Jovi despite being considerably more technically proficient... that being said, I think what he accomplished can't be bought. Ronnie James Dio always bled for the dancer.
My interpretation of the 'dancer' is someone who is a puppet (marionette).when dio sings you've got to bleed for the dancer I think he's trying to say you have to feel sorry for whoever it is that's been fooled into believing everything they're told to.
I've always had the total opposite interpretation, where the dancer is who we all strive to be... being free like a dancer instead of constrained by society's pressures, of those who deceive us and tell us that black is really white, etc. People often break their backs for what society has told us is important, but how many of us really work that hard for things that we've decided are important for ourselves? However, your interpretation is awesome. I definitely can see how that would make sense!
The dancer is the lover of life. The one who lives for living, lives for love, lives for joy. Nobody kills and dies for them, but for money or artificial distinctions. The message of the song is that you need to fight for love. The best way to do this is by casting capitalists into active volcanoes
Don't forget this song is forty years old - Still one of my favourites after I heard it on the Live Evil album in 1983. Check it out I guarantee you will like it.
Epic song. Enough said. When Ozzy Left Black Sabbath in 1980 Dio was asked by Tonni Iommi to join the band. It’s obvious that Dio’s lyrics and ideas influenced Sabbath in a different musical direction. Listen to the two albums (Heaven and Hell & Mob Rules) that RJD sang on and you’ll clearly hear the difference. After the two albums with Sabbath Dio started his solo career, and that was a long and unbelievable career of 20 years & 10 studio albums. Sadly Ronnie James Dio died in 2010 of stomach cancer, the rock world lost a legend, Rock In Peace RJD. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 \m/ Stay Metal \m/
I do believe you are correct. Love can be seen as the answer, but only if it’s universal. Who has love so universal that it includes the devil himself? It’s a riddle within a riddle. Ronnie was very clever!
Mid-song narrative kept to a minimum. This is the way to do it. If you want to listen to a very good - but, strange (lyrically) Ozzy/Sabbath song, try 'Fairies wear boots'. Nope it's not homophobic, chortle.
Dio gave a breath of life to Black Sabbath after Ozzy, Ozzy was alineanated, did an meteoric rising with his solo band. Dio efter Sabbath tour the world with his own band. live Dio sings an extra verse too.
I see the dancer as someone who us expected to solely exist for our entertainment and pleasure. The whole song has a medieval theme. In those days a dancer was probably equal to a jester or to a prostitute. People who were bleeding for others but no one bled for them. When talking about love as the answer you exclude the unloved people from the equation. The people who only give but doesn't get much in return.
Dio did three studio albums with Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules and Dehumanizer) and one further album but the band was called Heaven and Hell rather than Black Sabbath (same line up as Mob Rules and Dehumanizer just different band name); this album is called The Devil You Know and was released about a year before Dio died. Check out Bible Black from that album. Live Dio sang the Ozzy songs but Ozzy has not sung a Dio Sabbath song to my knowledge. You can check out Dio singing Ozzy Sabbath songs on two Live Black Sabbath albums: Live Evil and Live at Hammersmith. There's also a great Live album under the band name Heaven and Hell (Live From Radio City Music Hall New York) this is the band doing only Dio composed Black Sabbath songs - it's fantatstic. Dio's first two solo albums are also great: Dio (the whole album is excellent) and Last in Line. There's some good ones after those two but things do get a bit patchy at times. There have been other singers in Black Sabbath, most notably Ian Gillan (of Deep Purple mark 2) for one album called Born Again. Also Tony Martin, Ray Gillen and Glenn Hughes (of Deep Purple mk 3) - I might of missed some!
Terry Geezer Butler on the bass one of the best bass players I ever saw I seen him in 83 I seen this tour in 83 he was head-banging kicking ass on that bass
Dude, 'Holy Diver' is the second best song he's ever done, you gotta give that a listen. He started his own band after Black Sabbath, 'Holy Diver' was the first album.
Ozzy recommendations from me would be deep cuts in their discography. Where Ozzys voice was at its peak my request are Sabba caddabra off their album sabbath bloody sabbath or megalomania off their album sabotage. That album has Ozzys best vocal performance in my opinion. More songs off the album to react to are symptom of the universe And the writ
the world is full of Kings and Queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.... So very true, just think of your boos or your incoming President. RJD was probably the best singer in the business, as good as Elvis in his heyday. We'll never see another like him. Long live his memory.
Back in 1992 I got to see Black Sabbath open for Ozzy on the last night of his first No More Tours Tour and Sabbath played Heaven and Hell with ROB HALFORD on vocals. It was pure Metal Brilliance watch it here ua-cam.com/video/crMMWg1oHvo/v-deo.html
A near perfect, if not perfect, song. Heaven and Hell, Back In Black, Moving Pictures all released within 9 months of each other. 3 of the finest of all time.......
Dio definitely influenced Sabbath. They actually became heavier in many ways. Many songs became more up tempo and the follow up album to Heaven & Hell, which was titled Mob Rules, was easily the HEAVIEST album Sabbath had ever done up until that point. Also, because Dio is a more talented vocalist from a technical perspective, it allowed Tony Iommi to write riffs and music in a different way than he could with Ozzy who, despite the fact that probably all of us love him, was more limited in his vocal range and abilities. One very key point about Dio joining Sabbath was that Black Sabbath was looked at widely as being DONE before Dio joined. Their last 2 albums with Ozzy at the helm in the 70's DID NOT SELL WELL AT ALL at the time of their release. So they were coming off of 2 straight albums in a row that had BOMBED on the album charts in the U.S. Dio comes in and everyone thought at the time that it would be the final nail in the coffin. What happens? Heaven And Hell becomes Sabbath's biggest selling album in years and goes PLATINUM, and Sabbath were effectively reborn. The aforementioned follow up album Mob Rules also did well on the charts and went Gold. Then Dio & Sabbath had inter squabbles and Dio was out by late 82/early 83 and Dio went on to have a very successful solo career for a significant time. Dio's first 2 solo albums both went Platinum, and his 3rd went Gold. In comparison, Black Sabbath without Dio started a quick descent down the ladder of relevance and popularity. Sabbath had several singers in the 80's after Dio and could never muster an album that even came close to going even Gold in the U.S. Not even the brief addition of Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) in 83' could produce a hit album for Sabbath. I basically love all era's of Sabbath for the most part, but the bottom line is if Ozzy or Dio wasn't singing no one really cared about them. Ronnie James Dio was instrumental in resurrecting Black Sabbath in 1980 until his aforementioned departure in late 82'/83'. The first 2 Dio led Sabbath albums in 80' and 81' respectively were both commercial and critical successes, despite the huge odds against them at the time. Dio did 4 albums with Sabbath which are as follows: Heaven & Hell in 1980, Mob Rules in 1981, Dehumanizer in 1992, and The Devil You Know in 2007- although on this one they called the band Heaven & Hell for legal reasons stemming to do with Ozzy and the use of the Black Sabbath name. It's complicated as far as the story behind it, but I saw them 3 times from 2007 to 2009 with Dio, and although they were officially billed as "Heaven And Hell", everyone at the concerts knew they were watching Black Sabbath with Dio fronting them.
If you start to like RJD you should check out THE MASK OF THE GREAT DECEIVER on the 1st Solo Album SEEDS OF CHANGE from Kansas-Mastermind Kerry Livgren...if you dig Stargazer & H&H you will love this one too...have fun...ua-cam.com/video/mPG9AXfTAWM/v-deo.html
My personal interpretation. "Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer." Sure, we SAY 'Love is all you need.' Are you willing to suffer for it? Too many people want the good feelings but get scared when the bad times come with it. Put another way...Absolutely, we need the mind (Math, Science, Engineering, Planning) but what are we doing these things FOR? In America, we weren't willing to continue music, art, drama, and other classes and devoted it ALL to STEM studies. WE GOT WORSE in education, not better. Passion is why we live, but you MUST bleed for it.
Yes, the style did change quite bit. Ronnie had more range than Ozzy so that opened up more areas for them . Sabbath has had about 6 singers overall. Ozzy, Ronnie, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes , Ray Gillen , and Tony Martin. Ronnie did 3 stints with the band 1980-82, 1992-93, 2007- 2010 until his death. Ozzy was 1970-79 and then 97 ,99, 2011 - 2018 , with the other singers in between . Oh and they even ha d Rob Halford from Judas Priest fill in on a couple of occasions. Ozzy NEVER ran Ronnie songs and when Ronnie rejoined the last time they only performed songs that he sang on hence the name change of the band to Heaven and Hell, but everyone knew it was Black Sabbath mk3
1. Dio basically came in the 80s and appeared on a few albums (I think 3). 2. Yes, Dio's Black Sabbath was totally different from Ozzy's. Among other things, Ozzy's vocals followed the course of the music, whereas Dio's didn't follow the music so to speak. Listen carefully to Iron Man and you'll know what I mean. Dio has a lot of melody, emotion and groove in his voice. Ozzy too has emotion but his tone is different. After Dio there was another singer called Tony. 3. Final recent lineup had Ozzy. As far as I know, there's no reunion for Sabbath, but Ozzy is solo touring.
Not as dark or bluesy with Dio, more melodic and... modern, I guess. Totally different feel, but Tony's guitar work kind of glues it together with the old Sabbath. I find Sabbath with Dio more uplifting.
I've always thought the dancer references the artist, the dreamer in us all. Nobody bleeds for him, we all concentrate on material things, but we should.
My ultimate Heroes are and always will be Iron Maiden (over 150 Shows in 30 countries)!!! No Matter What!!! But Ronnie James Dio is in a different League,unreachable!!! Forever!!!!
Actually, until Bruce Dickinson became the greatest name in metal, all metal singers had a heavy jazz/soul influenced. I hear a lot of Etta James, Tina Turner and James Brown (just to take 3 big references) in Dio, Halford, Gillan, Udo from accept. Hard rock singers even more: all the guys of kiss (Gene and Peter are really good singer), Steven Tyler, David Lee Roth Sammy Hagar, and goes on and on. these backing vocals that Dio used to do was a very "the temptations" thing. That man is really missed!
The album Heaven and Hell, Dio's first with Sabbath is by far their best, imho. Heaven and hell, Die young, Neon knights, all superb songs. But years later, with Glen Hughes, they did good stuff also, like No stranger to love. Dio himself was always top, with Elf, with Rainbow, with Sabbath, and with Dio. The man is a legend. One of Bruce Dickinson's main influences, dare I say heroes.
Great reaction! Ronnie possessed one of the most powerful voices in Metal/Hard Rock. Check out Bruce Dickinson with Tribuzy doing a song entitled "Tears Of The Dragon". I know you will enjoy it immensely. ua-cam.com/video/z7UhZZLD1vY/v-deo.html
Tony Iommi explained in 2020, "As soon as Ronnie got involved, the writing changed as well, because I was able to play a different way, for some reason. Whereas Ozzy would sing a lot on the riffs and follow the riff, Ronnie would sing in between stuff - he didn't always sing on riffs, and he'd sing on chords." - search.blabbermouth.net/news/black-sabbaths-tony-iommi-and-geezer-butler-remember-ronnie-james-dio-on-10th-anniversary-of-singers-death The music of Black Sabbath with Dio is in some parts reminiscent of classical music because Dio was a fan of classical music, especially Bach and Beethoven.
Check out Moriah Formica! She's a 20 yr old female rocker who was on the Voice a couple years ago. She has an incredible voice and plays a mean guitar as well as bass and strings. She does a cover of this which is really good along with covers of 80's icons like Skid Row, Steelheart, Queensryche, Dokken, Heart as well as Evanescence, Halestorm and Pat Benetar. Her originals are awesome - you will soon be hearing them on the radio with her new all-female band. React to Champion, I Hate, Better Off Alone, Save Me or her cover of Way Too Fast.
remember seeing Sabbath 'Mob Rules' tour, small venue - Hammersmith Odeon - front row. so disappointed. Dio had ZERO stage presence. Stayed seated with feet up on stage. Purple satin and feathers. Couldn't do any justice to Sabbath classics. Not his best choice joining them.
Black Sabbath a song called She's gone. And a song called Changes. Those two songs really show Ozzy's talent as a singer. Check them out. I've subscribed to your channel. If you do a listen, it'll pop up in my notifications. Enjoy
Ozzy has a great voice, fits with Black Sabbath, but with Dio gave a big ass boosted to Sabbath with his greatest special voice to performance this kind of music.
Yes, Dio did change the band’s music significantly. The biggest difference is that Ozzy used to create a melody around the song’s primary riff. Dio always created a melody that wove into the riff and was more varied, presumably because of his wider range. I also think (but don’t know) that Dio contributed more to the actual songwriting than Ozzy did.
Sabbath had six lead singers, Ozzy, Dio, Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and even they did an album with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple. And this is not an Ozzy song,, Ozzy does not have the voice to sing it.
I'll take a stab at the bloody dancer, lol. Given Dio was born in 1942, I think dancers were more the beauty, elegance and grace under pressure. There was always the stories of how dancers were under paid, overwhelmingly long stints of dancing that would be considered merciless, night after night. Perhaps, Dio was referring to this idea of love can be "seen" as the answer, but, nobody really cares to extend themselves, or take the time to even look and see what love actually is. No empathy for the dancer=no self awareness, no ability to love.
Tony reminisced about the pole-dancing club they frequented when working on the album where after hours the dancers performed to the rough tracks. Maybe that is where the dancers come in. Miami, I think.
Black Sabbath had a final tour called THE END that ended @ 2015 and the band is formally retired and you will not be seeing them tour ever again and that is according to the band itself.
Dio had a strong Catholic upbringing. He later rejected the faith but remained under the influence of its imagery, which he used in his lyrics to rewrite the faith according to what he thought it should be. He is saying heaven and hell are mental states, not places, and the dancer is a Christ like figure likely to be persecuted in life. He is saying he agrees with Jesus recommendation for living but rejects the supernatural aspect.
The ‘dancer’ has always meant to me at least as someone who works for someone else (such as an average income person) like a dancer but no one ever cares/considers these people. Even if the dancer is excellent at what they do, they’ll always be shunned. Hence to me why ‘no one bleeds for the dancer’; no one goes out of their way for the average person....
the dancer has to put in the hard work...to be good ...nobody but hard work and blood gets the dancer ahead . He must rely on himself and his efforts to get the glory /riches / prizes All people see is the glory- not the hard work
I always took this song to be about the illusionary and subjective nature of reality, hence depending on us it’s heaven or hell. There is a video somewhere where one of the members talked about the recording of the album. They would stop at a strip club afterword and play bits of the music to get reactions. I often wondered if the was the dancer reference.
Surely the dancer, is the one that distracts you or the one that distracts you from the finding a deeper meaning and the truth of the authentic meaning of life, all that stage theater made to distract de common society, creating new needs that you really don´t need, and diverting attention to what is really important, the “world is filled with queens and kings” may reefers to human ego and selphish people, really empty within they need to encourage themselves to be more relevant, but to be relevant is never through the ego, is wisdom what really makes you trascendent, that´s what surely they may reefer with the "dancer" concept, the new dancer, distractors, rulers of the world, powers into the shadow
man as much as i'd love to ascribe deeper meaning to some lyrics in metal music, you've got to remember Spinal Tap didnt just magic up their piss take of how pretentious some of it was getting in the 80s
I believe when he says look for the answer and you've got to bleed for the dancer he's talking about compassion and love for the work that goes into the product an artist produces?
Good reaction fella. You actually thought about the song and you got it as well. So many people who react to songs dont seem to get it. Will check out more if your reactions🖒
Guitarist Tony Iommi is the one and only leader and only one band member who never left the band during numerous line up changes the most notable vocalists Ozzy Dio Ian Gillan Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin
@NorthernEar "the dancer" is/are the peripheral people in our lives who make it more enjoyable without us even noticing (nobody bleeds for ...) ..... such as dancers.
I agree. Imagine the love the singer gets in a band, while the dancers in the background are so essential to the whole production but get little love or “blood”.
@@steadfastneasy26 True and totally compatible with what I said. I simply used a background dancer for a band as one metaphorical example when saying “imagine…“.
@@crusheverything4449 The previous line would indicate that no, the dancer is not Satan. "Love can be seen as the answer but nobody bleeds for the dancer" This speaks of how people will hold their virtues out for the world to see while ignoring the things that the virtues represent. They speak of "love, love, love" while bypassing giving any of that love to people they do not know.
listening to Dio gives me adrenaline rush. my heart beats faster.
Ian Gillam also was the lead singer for at least a couple of albums
He was the singer in Deep Purple
Just on Born Again
Love this song and I actually prefer Dio Sabbath to Ozzy Sabbath as well... They've had quite a few vocalists with some mixed results..one of my favorite songs that never gets any love is The Headless Cross with Tony Martin on vocals. Keep up the good work,bud...love ya channel.
So back in the day Dio got asked about the lyrical content of Heaven & Hell a ton. On Head Banger's Ball he said the song was about choosing your own path. It was about religion telling you what is wrong or right. In several other interviews he described the dancer as the people who follow those instructions without thought. The true followers who give up their will to those on the pulpit.
DIO was a great singer. He was a guest vocalist on a couple of songs by Kerry Livgren (from the band Kansas). If you can track down the song titled Mask Of The Great Deceiver, it's worth your time to listen.
The dancer, the fool, heaven and hell, this seems to me very nietzschean :
"Zarathustra the dancer, Zarathustra the light one, who beckoneth with his pinions, one ready for flight, beckoning unto all birds, ready and prepared, a blissfully light-spirited one (...) Better, however, to be foolish with happiness than foolish with misfortune, better to dance awkwardly than walk lamely. So learn, I pray you, my wisdom, ye higher men: even the worst thing hath two good reverse sides,-
-Even the worst thing hath good dancing-legs: so learn, I pray you, ye higher men, to put yourselves on your proper legs!"
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche
Christ bled for the sinners, Black Sabbath sung for the dancers...
you should do the song Air Dance by Black Sabbath it will shock you
Im a dancer of Latin , in all dance , seems like the ppl. always want to either be taught for free or corio for free or next to nothing . Congress tickets for free . Its a tough go in that industry " youve got to bleed for the dancer " Lots of internal work and creativity with no pay . jeje
one thing people forget is that Black Sabbath's last two albums with Ozzy were, frankly, crap. Sure, there are a few good tunes, and it's not hard to find people who think their decline started earlier (I disagree, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was great, and Sabotage was also quite good) but that line-up had creatively run out of steam. And there are a massive number of Johnny-come-latelies who add weight to the idea that anything after him isn't good (these are the same people who say you can never wash cast iron and that there is no such thing as a good flour tortilla). But having listened to Sabbath at the time, I can tell you that Ronnie James Dio absolutely breathed a ton of life back into that band. He was only there for two records, but Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules absolutely belong in the same conversation as their earlier work.
I think the music of Black Sabbath was maturing before Dio joined. The album , Never Say Die, had Ozzy singing and had elements of Jazz as well as a more progressive sound. It’s my favorite. I know the die hard will disagree. Depends on when you got into them.
The Dancer may be the fool in the tarot.
The dancer is the little man, every day human who has to dance to someone elses tune, typical dio methaphore! Thanks!
This is a great way to say it.
Dancer is like cancer , communists.
thats only your point of view.... but thanks
I've always heard it and thought that the dancer was the person in charge (English isn't my first language).
Now the song (for me) gets like two meanings. But it's heaven and hell so maybe that was the point?
@@vapaakommunismista7463 OK. You taken your meds today?
Dio and his cryptic lyrics ... he was very well read in mythology, had a sizable library with mythological literature and especially in the post Rainbow era, he mostly used to write in metaphors and symbolism. Unfortunately he knew so much more about it than I do ... so I consulted my lexicon of symbolism on the subject of dancing and the dancer. I found references to cosmic creative energy, in particular in Hinduism the dancing god Shiva is the destroyer/creator, whose dance symbolizes overcoming ignorance, destruction and liberation from illusions ("the closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you'll know that you're dreaming" ... "if it seems to be real it's illusion" ... "for every moment of truth there's confusion in life").
Plato's allegory of the cave also comes to mind.
Things not being what they appear to be, what we suppose to be reality being an illusion, mythology and art as a way to the truth are themes coming up in other lyrics he wrote as well.
To me it suggests that the dancer has to do with the aim of overcoming the illusions and the path to truth, but in order to get there you have to put in the effort and make sacrifices ("bleed for the dancer").
Also, notice the two verses, first "love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer" and then "fool fool, you've got to bleed for the dancer, fool fool, look for the answer" - so here we've got love which is the solution to confusing illusions and finding the path to the truth, but it comes at a cost we aren't prepared to pay ("nobody bleeds for the dancer") - as a result, we're stuck with our illusions and fall for the kings and queens that blind our eyes and steal our dreams with babble keeping up the confusion ("they tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night, and when you walk in golden halls, you get to keep the gold that falls").
I hope this makes any kind of sense at all, lol, but I really doubt there's some linear way of deciphering this and putting it into a simple sentence.
Thank you so much for writing this for me! Very, very interesting!
Brilliant👌🏻
Here is another attempt at figuring out the lyrics: www.obsessedwithconformity.com/4015/deconstructing-sabbaths-heaven-and-hell/
@@coffeemaniac571 Interesting. It's difficult with Christian symbolism in Dio's lyrics, because while he was brought up a Catholic, he totally rejected that belief except as a source for moral guidelines. (He wasn't an atheist, strictly speaking, either.) If God, the devil, heaven or hell appear, they are likely metaphors for something else themselves. There are a couple of interviews where he's talking about religion here on YT, one of them is somewhere in one of the interview series with Eric Blair (I think it's in the second one, from 2002).
PS: The first comment (by Lindell) on the page you linked is pretty spot on, in my opinion.
The line is about hypocrisy.
Personally I think Sabbath got better with Dio. Their music got more substance IMO. Check out Sign of the Southern Cross. Great song.
TOTALLY different MUSIC WITH ozzy,BOTH are GREAT singers AND SONG writer's
@@jimdomarus4650 what Sabbath song did Ozzy write?
I have come to look at Sabbath as almost three different bands. The Ozzy era, the Dio era and the Tony Martin era, all are great and each in their own style. I didn't include Ian Gillen because it's my least favorite of the bunch.
@@detrockcity3 I don't think he wrote any by himself but he did help Geezer with some songs so he at least had a hand in it
The dancer is love compassion, tolerance, empathy. People reject it, but we should be prepared to make sacrifices, bleed, for it.
That is awesome!
Lol I thought of it as something bad instead.
Ronnie James Dio: not only a top singer (one of the best the rock world has ever seen and heard) but also a wonderful human being!
Born in my home State of New Hampshire BTW...
And he coined the devil hand sign in rock
@@222MovieMan Indeed, not many people know that!
@@ariedebruijn1189 Only millions and millions. :)
@@222MovieMan its actually his grandmothers, little 80 year old italian lady dio said she flashed when walking down the street it protects from someone giving you the evil eye, or you send it back to em, ronnie uses it as his gimmick and in reference to long live rock n roll
If I remember correctly, Dio said that this was his favorite song he ever wrote.
This band is totally different with Dio. Its the best version of Dio.
In my opinion, it was the best version of both. 🤷🏻♂️
agree, the best BS era
The dio and the ozzy are arent really compareable. like said before, they sound completely diffrent, and both are great the way they do.
But Dio for shure and without any doubt is the superior Singer.
Heaven and hell is the mona lisa of heavy metal its a complete masterpiece. 👍👍👍✌✌✌🤘🤘🤘
This whole album is a masterpiece. Dio likes to sing in metaphores. He was considered a musical philosopher.
The dancer in this song can mean many things.. it could be the ones who are not bound by the constraints of a heaven or a hell.. those who dance through life without a care. It can also refer to those who are into the arts.. dancing, painting, writing, musicians, etc. There are some good discussions about the meaning of this lyric archived online.
You may enjoy his solo band as well. I would start with 'The Last In Line', personally... as it was this very song that actually converted me back in 1984/85 from a pop music fan into a metal music fan. Most people, however, start with his song 'Holy Diver' (usually not the MTv video b/c those might get blocked.. kinda hit or miss on that front) since it is more widely known as a definitive Dio megahit from the early/mid 80's.
Do not get me wrong.. Ozzy IS the voice of Black Sabbath.. but to me, Dio is the better of the two vocally. I kinda separate them into Black Sabbath v1 (Ozzy) and Black Sabbath v2 (Dio) and I am almost completely unfamiliar with their third vocalist or their work with him.. but to me that would be Black Sabbath v3. Dio did return to Sabbath after several years solo for a single album.. then it was back to Ozzy again.. then Dio got together with the original lineup he had with them for this album and made a new band called.. coincidentally, 'Heaven And Hell' and they released 1 album 'The Devil You Know' before Dio tragically passed away in 2010 from stomach cancer.
The world lost one of the best metal singers when Dio died.. but his legacy lives on through not only his music but through all those bands and vocalists which were inspired by his golden pipes.
Spot on. Their other vocalists were actually pretty damn good but there was nothing magical about them, it was pretty generic metal. They had the likes of Ian Gillan, Glen Hughes and Tony Martin as vocalists, which all are excellent singers. It just did not turn out to be memorable. Solid but not special.
@@saschaschneider6355 Thank you for filling in the missing pieces of my lore lol. I really should listen to those albums outside of the main ones I am familiar with but I find it difficult to even imagine Sabbath without Dio or Ozzy lol.
@@uoabigaillevey if you want to try something beyond Ozzy and Dio I'd recommend the title track off Headless Cross with Tony Martin. But beyond that... I've recently tried to listen to the whole discography and frankly, I got bored and gave up... It's not really inspired anymore, very more-of-the-same-ish
@@saschaschneider6355 Yeah.. Although my brother gave me the entire discography I just can't bring myself to do it. LOL
Instead, I chose to go with some newer music. Recently got into a band called 'Benediction' with the album 'Scriptures'
If you do not mind a harsher vocal style than Slayer they are a good listen. Bought the album after hearing only 3 songs off of it lol. ua-cam.com/video/msGLusCiRqU/v-deo.html
Just this morning I bought another album.. this one by a band called 'Hell Fire' that has a very diverse sound.. with music that is thrash-based.. sounding like Exodus or early Metallica but with vocals ranging from James Hetfield-style to Lemmy style to Dio style.. even one song had a Mercyful Fate style that reminded me of Night of the Vampire. That album is called
'Mania' if you want to give it a check. ua-cam.com/video/w9yenghH1KI/v-deo.html
That album was posted by a channel that does full albums from newer bands that have an older-metal sound.. from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and/or Thrash music from the 80's... worth diving into the channel if you want to check out other stuff.
@@uoabigaillevey Thanks for the recommendations but I don't even like the vocals on Slayer. I'm more of an old school, early metal guy. Sabbath, Priest, NWOBHM, that's my jam. I'm not even that much into Thrash, I'm more on the melodic side of things.
The moment Dio joins a band, the band sounds different than usual. They sound in fact the way Dio wants it. Black Sabbath, normally known for its heavy dark and low guitar tones, sounds very much like Rainbow when Dio sang there. The only thing missing is the virtuous guitar playing by Richie Blackmore.
Dio is a magnificent hardrock singer, maybe the best so far.
This is the way Dio explained the song : "That song was a chance for me to get all these things off my chest that I always wanted to say… It was a song that let me say the one statement that was most important to me. I've always felt to be somewhat of a spokesman for kids - for people who maybe lonely, looked down upon, because they like the wrong kind of music - and, more importantly, the kids who play in bands. So I made the statement that I always wanted to make, which is, 'The world is full of kings and queens, who blind your eyes then steal your dreams / It's heaven and hell.' And that all means beware of people who try to blind your eyes with promises… If you have those dreams, don't let anyone rob you of those wonderful ideas that you have by stealing them and putting them in their pocket, and leaving you lonely by the side of the road. So beware those kings and queens out there, who blind your eyes then steal your dreams. It was very important for me to be able to make that statement. And that statement has been something that I've tried to live with since that time." - Ronnie James Dio[5]
In an interview for VH1's "Heavy: The Story of Metal", Dio stated that the song is about the ability of each human being to choose between doing good and doing evil; essentially, that each person has "heaven and hell" inside themselves.
And yes the have had a few lead vocalists , the most prominent Ozzy, Dio and Ian Gillan (Deep Purple ) and the all made there mark on Sabbath and where all great in the concept. And Ozzy is back though his health is not on top.
Brilliant👌🏻
Tony Martin was a vastly underrated singer in the band. You should check him out.
Geezer simply dosent get enough credit for writing all the Ozzy era lyrics, all his stuff was powerful and thought provoking, Dio took the reins for his tenure as he was a sing/songwriter a true Artist
At Heaven and Hell concert in 2007 my wife asked me with amazement "how does he do that" pointing at Geezer Butler. He is phenomenal. I'm so glad that I was able to see my favorite RJ Dio with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice.
I swear I can never ever get tired of listening to this fantastic (favorite song).
As a Sabbath fanatic, Dio Sabbath is my favorite. Tony Iommi admits that when Dio joined the band, the musical options really opened up. Previously, Tony and Geezer did all the writing. That all changed when Dio joined Sabbath. Dio will always be the greatest metal vocalist of my lifetime. Although Halford and Bruce Dickenson are right up there. 👍🤘
This song is a masterpiece. Pure magic. I’ve been listening to this song since day one, way back since 1981 or so.. actually the whole album is great and this is when I first heard of DIO. To answer your question, Ozzy left Black Sabbath because of after a long run of increasingly erratic drink and drug fuelled behaviour Ozzy Osbourne was finally sacked by his band members. It had been a difficult time musically for Black Sabbath, who'd been finding it hard to motivate themselves in the studio. This was exaggerated by the fact that Ozzy barely turned up to the studio at all. The frictions in the band came to head when Tony Iommi decided that he wanted to replace Ozzy. This was more of a release for Osbourne, who felt he wanted to go in a different musical direction anyway. The first song the sabbath and DIO worked on was actually “Children of the Sea”. It was magic from that moment on. The sound of Sabbath changed greatly and the music received mixed reviews. Eventually, DIO was accepted as the new voice of Black Sabbath and the rest is history.
My interpretation of the dancer and the song is this: the song is about myth, morality, control, and how they interplay. Its how to escape the duality of heaven and hell. The dancer represents artists who creates and adds meaning to people's lives. People acknowledge that love is the answer, but in practice nobody puts their life on the line and bleeds for the dancer to defend that meaning. Others will create myths that control, either through gold that falls into the dancer's hands, or lies and propaganda, and they'll cast you into heaven based on categories that suit them. The answer the song argues is to bleed for the dancer, to defend the artist and the art, and to stop being a fool and following the puppet master.
There is some allusion to the music industry controlling artists as well here, but it is also general too.
I've always interpreted "the dancer" not to be a who, but a what. The dancer is a personification of the beauty in life, passion, the thrill and exhilaration of what gets us out of bed in the morning. The dancer is all of us in our ideal state. I think the song is about how easy it is to fall into the patterns society expects from us, stifle our own ambitions, creativity, and all that makes life wonderful. People are willing to break their backs for their jobs to make pennies, but very few people bleed that same way for the things they truly value, the things more valuable than money. At the end of our lives, when we walk the golden halls, did we listen to those whose aim was to deceive us (they tell you black is really white, for example) for their own selfish gain, or did we join in the dance and celebrate our brief time in this life?
Take Dio for example. He could've been WAAAAY more famous and wealthy if he decided to record music like Poison, Bon Jovi, or other pop metal bands of the 80s, but he really believed in his storytelling of fantastical worlds, myths, and grandiosity. The people that know his music absolutely love it because it is as genuinely Dio as can be. Not that he died a beggar or anything like that, but he isn't nearly as well known as Bret Michaels or Jon Bon Jovi despite being considerably more technically proficient... that being said, I think what he accomplished can't be bought. Ronnie James Dio always bled for the dancer.
My interpretation of the 'dancer' is someone who is a puppet (marionette).when dio sings you've got to bleed for the dancer I think he's trying to say you have to feel sorry for whoever it is that's been fooled into believing everything they're told to.
I've always had the total opposite interpretation, where the dancer is who we all strive to be... being free like a dancer instead of constrained by society's pressures, of those who deceive us and tell us that black is really white, etc. People often break their backs for what society has told us is important, but how many of us really work that hard for things that we've decided are important for ourselves?
However, your interpretation is awesome. I definitely can see how that would make sense!
The dancer is the lover of life. The one who lives for living, lives for love, lives for joy.
Nobody kills and dies for them, but for money or artificial distinctions.
The message of the song is that you need to fight for love. The best way to do this is by casting capitalists into active volcanoes
Don't forget this song is forty years old - Still one of my favourites after I heard it on the Live Evil album in 1983. Check it out I guarantee you will like it.
Tony Geezer Bill.Give them whoever singer you want and they will write masterpieces.Unmatched geniuses
Great reminder about how leaving time for riffs to breath is good too. The power in this song lies in its restraint IMO.
The world is full of kings and Queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
It's heaven and hell 🔥
Epic song. Enough said.
When Ozzy Left Black Sabbath in 1980 Dio was asked by Tonni Iommi to join the band. It’s obvious that Dio’s lyrics and ideas influenced Sabbath in a different musical direction. Listen to the two albums (Heaven and Hell & Mob Rules) that RJD sang on and you’ll clearly hear the difference. After the two albums with Sabbath Dio started his solo career, and that was a long and unbelievable career of 20 years & 10 studio albums.
Sadly Ronnie James Dio died in 2010 of stomach cancer, the rock world lost a legend, Rock In Peace RJD. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
\m/ Stay Metal \m/
Dont forget the 1992 Sabbath album Dehumanizer with Ronnie on vocals
The Dancer is the Devil...Heaven and Hell.
I do believe you are correct. Love can be seen as the answer, but only if it’s universal. Who has love so universal that it includes the devil himself? It’s a riddle within a riddle. Ronnie was very clever!
You should check out Tony martin era sabbath. Every era of the band is unique and great in unique ways
Also the born again album with Gillan, buz listen to the unmixed tapes then since they sound better than the finished product.
Mid-song narrative kept to a minimum. This is the way to do it.
If you want to listen to a very good - but, strange (lyrically) Ozzy/Sabbath song, try 'Fairies wear boots'. Nope it's not homophobic, chortle.
Dio gave a breath of life to Black Sabbath after Ozzy, Ozzy was alineanated, did an meteoric rising with his solo band. Dio efter Sabbath tour the world with his own band. live Dio sings an extra verse too.
Everyone always thinks Heaven and Hell the song, but the best song on that album is Die Young.
Neon Knights is my favourite, with this song second best. Not a bad track on an amazing album , from a year of amazing HM albums.
Not for me. Neon Knights is my favorite track on the album.
I see the dancer as someone who us expected to solely exist for our entertainment and pleasure. The whole song has a medieval theme. In those days a dancer was probably equal to a jester or to a prostitute. People who were bleeding for others but no one bled for them. When talking about love as the answer you exclude the unloved people from the equation. The people who only give but doesn't get much in return.
My Favorite line is "The world is full of Kings and Queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It's Heaven & Hell".
Dio did three studio albums with Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules and Dehumanizer) and one further album but the band was called Heaven and Hell rather than Black Sabbath (same line up as Mob Rules and Dehumanizer just different band name); this album is called The Devil You Know and was released about a year before Dio died. Check out Bible Black from that album.
Live Dio sang the Ozzy songs but Ozzy has not sung a Dio Sabbath song to my knowledge. You can check out Dio singing Ozzy Sabbath songs on two Live Black Sabbath albums: Live Evil and Live at Hammersmith. There's also a great Live album under the band name Heaven and Hell (Live From Radio City Music Hall New York) this is the band doing only Dio composed Black Sabbath songs - it's fantatstic.
Dio's first two solo albums are also great: Dio (the whole album is excellent) and Last in Line. There's some good ones after those two but things do get a bit patchy at times.
There have been other singers in Black Sabbath, most notably Ian Gillan (of Deep Purple mark 2) for one album called Born Again. Also Tony Martin, Ray Gillen and Glenn Hughes (of Deep Purple mk 3) - I might of missed some!
Gavin Smith - All correct, except the debut Dio album is Holy Diver.
The dancer is the archetypal representation of what is worth sacrificing for. Love could be seen as the answer, but nobody is willing to sacrifice.
You're lucky you discovered this. I wish I could hear it again for the first time but, I still love it after the 7 millionth time.
i think you need to check out black sabbaths born again album, as ian Gillian of deep purple is the singer... zero the hero is on that record.
Terry Geezer Butler on the bass one of the best bass players I ever saw I seen him in 83 I seen this tour in 83 he was head-banging kicking ass on that bass
Dude, 'Holy Diver' is the second best song he's ever done, you gotta give that a listen. He started his own band after Black Sabbath, 'Holy Diver' was the first album.
That eerie sounding, acoustic fade out ending STILL gives me chill bumps.
Ozzy recommendations from me would be deep cuts in their discography. Where Ozzys voice was at its peak my request are Sabba caddabra off their album sabbath bloody sabbath or megalomania off their album sabotage. That album has Ozzys best vocal performance in my opinion. More songs off the album to react to are symptom of the universe And the writ
the world is full of Kings and Queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.... So very true, just think of your boos or your incoming President. RJD was probably the best singer in the business, as good as Elvis in his heyday. We'll never see another like him. Long live his memory.
Back in 1992 I got to see Black Sabbath open for Ozzy on the last night of his first No More Tours Tour and Sabbath played Heaven and Hell with ROB HALFORD on vocals. It was pure Metal Brilliance watch it here ua-cam.com/video/crMMWg1oHvo/v-deo.html
A near perfect, if not perfect, song. Heaven and Hell, Back In Black, Moving Pictures all released within 9 months of each other.
3 of the finest of all time.......
Dio definitely influenced Sabbath. They actually became heavier in many ways. Many songs became more up tempo and the follow up album to Heaven & Hell, which was titled Mob Rules, was easily the HEAVIEST album Sabbath had ever done up until that point. Also, because Dio is a more talented vocalist from a technical perspective, it allowed Tony Iommi to write riffs and music in a different way than he could with Ozzy who, despite the fact that probably all of us love him, was more limited in his vocal range and abilities. One very key point about Dio joining Sabbath was that Black Sabbath was looked at widely as being DONE before Dio joined. Their last 2 albums with Ozzy at the helm in the 70's DID NOT SELL WELL AT ALL at the time of their release. So they were coming off of 2 straight albums in a row that had BOMBED on the album charts in the U.S. Dio comes in and everyone thought at the time that it would be the final nail in the coffin. What happens? Heaven And Hell becomes Sabbath's biggest selling album in years and goes PLATINUM, and Sabbath were effectively reborn. The aforementioned follow up album Mob Rules also did well on the charts and went Gold. Then Dio & Sabbath had inter squabbles and Dio was out by late 82/early 83 and Dio went on to have a very successful solo career for a significant time. Dio's first 2 solo albums both went Platinum, and his 3rd went Gold. In comparison, Black Sabbath without Dio started a quick descent down the ladder of relevance and popularity. Sabbath had several singers in the 80's after Dio and could never muster an album that even came close to going even Gold in the U.S. Not even the brief addition of Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) in 83' could produce a hit album for Sabbath. I basically love all era's of Sabbath for the most part, but the bottom line is if Ozzy or Dio wasn't singing no one really cared about them. Ronnie James Dio was instrumental in resurrecting Black Sabbath in 1980 until his aforementioned departure in late 82'/83'. The first 2 Dio led Sabbath albums in 80' and 81' respectively were both commercial and critical successes, despite the huge odds against them at the time. Dio did 4 albums with Sabbath which are as follows: Heaven & Hell in 1980, Mob Rules in 1981, Dehumanizer in 1992, and The Devil You Know in 2007- although on this one they called the band Heaven & Hell for legal reasons stemming to do with Ozzy and the use of the Black Sabbath name. It's complicated as far as the story behind it, but I saw them 3 times from 2007 to 2009 with Dio, and although they were officially billed as "Heaven And Hell", everyone at the concerts knew they were watching Black Sabbath with Dio fronting them.
What he said! ^^^^^^
Over And Over
Falling Off The Edge Of The World
Sign Of The Southern Cross
If you start to like RJD you should check out THE MASK OF THE GREAT DECEIVER on the 1st Solo Album SEEDS OF CHANGE from Kansas-Mastermind Kerry Livgren...if you dig Stargazer & H&H you will love this one too...have fun...ua-cam.com/video/mPG9AXfTAWM/v-deo.html
My personal interpretation. "Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer." Sure, we SAY 'Love is all you need.' Are you willing to suffer for it? Too many people want the good feelings but get scared when the bad times come with it. Put another way...Absolutely, we need the mind (Math, Science, Engineering, Planning) but what are we doing these things FOR? In America, we weren't willing to continue music, art, drama, and other classes and devoted it ALL to STEM studies. WE GOT WORSE in education, not better. Passion is why we live, but you MUST bleed for it.
Yes, the style did change quite bit. Ronnie had more range than Ozzy so that opened up more areas for them . Sabbath has had about 6 singers overall. Ozzy, Ronnie, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes , Ray Gillen , and Tony Martin. Ronnie did 3 stints with the band 1980-82, 1992-93, 2007- 2010 until his death. Ozzy was 1970-79 and then 97 ,99, 2011 - 2018 , with the other singers in between . Oh and they even ha d Rob Halford from Judas Priest fill in on a couple of occasions. Ozzy NEVER ran Ronnie songs and when Ronnie rejoined the last time they only performed songs that he sang on hence the name change of the band to Heaven and Hell, but everyone knew it was Black Sabbath mk3
1. Dio basically came in the 80s and appeared on a few albums (I think 3).
2. Yes, Dio's Black Sabbath was totally different from Ozzy's. Among other things, Ozzy's vocals followed the course of the music, whereas Dio's didn't follow the music so to speak. Listen carefully to Iron Man and you'll know what I mean.
Dio has a lot of melody, emotion and groove in his voice. Ozzy too has emotion but his tone is different.
After Dio there was another singer called Tony.
3. Final recent lineup had Ozzy. As far as I know, there's no reunion for Sabbath, but Ozzy is solo touring.
I frigging LOVE Stargazer! Yeah it totally gets into your brain and you keep wanting to listen...love it!
It doesn't get any better....the ending of Stargazer tugs on your emotions.
Listen to it CRANKED on a nice pair of headphones to truly reap its full grandeur! Incredible!!
Not as dark or bluesy with Dio, more melodic and... modern, I guess. Totally different feel, but Tony's guitar work kind of glues it together with the old Sabbath. I find Sabbath with Dio more uplifting.
I've always thought the dancer references the artist, the dreamer in us all. Nobody bleeds for him, we all concentrate on material things, but we should.
My ultimate Heroes are and always will be Iron Maiden (over 150 Shows in 30 countries)!!!
No Matter What!!!
But Ronnie James Dio is in a different League,unreachable!!!
Forever!!!!
Actually, until Bruce Dickinson became the greatest name in metal, all metal singers had a heavy jazz/soul influenced. I hear a lot of Etta James, Tina Turner and James Brown (just to take 3 big references) in Dio, Halford, Gillan, Udo from accept. Hard rock singers even more: all the guys of kiss (Gene and Peter are really good singer), Steven Tyler, David Lee Roth Sammy Hagar, and goes on and on. these backing vocals that Dio used to do was a very "the temptations" thing. That man is really missed!
The album Heaven and Hell, Dio's first with Sabbath is by far their best, imho. Heaven and hell, Die young, Neon knights, all superb songs. But years later, with Glen Hughes, they did good stuff also, like No stranger to love. Dio himself was always top, with Elf, with Rainbow, with Sabbath, and with Dio. The man is a legend. One of Bruce Dickinson's main influences, dare I say heroes.
Great reaction! Ronnie possessed one of the most powerful voices in Metal/Hard Rock. Check out Bruce Dickinson with Tribuzy doing a song entitled "Tears Of The Dragon". I know you will enjoy it immensely.
ua-cam.com/video/z7UhZZLD1vY/v-deo.html
Tony Iommi explained in 2020, "As soon as Ronnie got involved, the writing changed as well, because I was able to play a different way, for some reason. Whereas Ozzy would sing a lot on the riffs and follow the riff, Ronnie would sing in between stuff - he didn't always sing on riffs, and he'd sing on chords." - search.blabbermouth.net/news/black-sabbaths-tony-iommi-and-geezer-butler-remember-ronnie-james-dio-on-10th-anniversary-of-singers-death
The music of Black Sabbath with Dio is in some parts reminiscent of classical music because Dio was a fan of classical music, especially Bach and Beethoven.
Check out Moriah Formica! She's a 20 yr old female rocker who was on the Voice a couple years ago. She has an incredible voice and plays a mean guitar as well as bass and strings. She does a cover of this which is really good along with covers of 80's icons like Skid Row, Steelheart, Queensryche, Dokken, Heart as well as Evanescence, Halestorm and Pat Benetar. Her originals are awesome - you will soon be hearing them on the radio with her new all-female band. React to Champion, I Hate, Better Off Alone, Save Me or her cover of Way Too Fast.
remember seeing Sabbath 'Mob Rules' tour, small venue - Hammersmith Odeon - front row. so disappointed. Dio had ZERO stage presence. Stayed seated with feet up on stage. Purple satin and feathers. Couldn't do any justice to Sabbath classics. Not his best choice joining them.
Black Sabbath a song called She's gone. And a song called Changes. Those two songs really show Ozzy's talent as a singer. Check them out. I've subscribed to your channel. If you do a listen, it'll pop up in my notifications. Enjoy
Ozzy has a great voice, fits with Black Sabbath, but with Dio gave a big ass boosted to Sabbath with his greatest special voice to performance this kind of music.
Yes, Dio did change the band’s music significantly. The biggest difference is that Ozzy used to create a melody around the song’s primary riff. Dio always created a melody that wove into the riff and was more varied, presumably because of his wider range. I also think (but don’t know) that Dio contributed more to the actual songwriting than Ozzy did.
Sabbath had six lead singers, Ozzy, Dio, Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and even they did an album with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple. And this is not an Ozzy song,, Ozzy does not have the voice to sing it.
I'll take a stab at the bloody dancer, lol. Given Dio was born in 1942, I think dancers were more the beauty, elegance and grace under pressure. There was always the stories of how dancers were under paid, overwhelmingly long stints of dancing that would be considered merciless, night after night. Perhaps, Dio was referring to this idea of love can be "seen" as the answer, but, nobody really cares to extend themselves, or take the time to even look and see what love actually is. No empathy for the dancer=no self awareness, no ability to love.
The Sign of the Southern Cross from Mob Rules 1981 is always a song I put on when I want the Dio/Sabbath sound....just a great song from the Dio era.
Love can be seen as the answer but nobody bleeds for the dancer........To pay the price for Love/Humility ie: Dancer performance of life IMO
Tony reminisced about the pole-dancing club they frequented when working on the album where after hours the dancers performed to the rough tracks. Maybe that is where the dancers come in. Miami, I think.
Black Sabbath had a final tour called THE END that ended @ 2015 and the band is formally retired and you will not be seeing them tour ever again and that is according to the band itself.
Now you've heard Ronnie in Rainbow and Sabbath check out his own band live, awesome performance: ua-cam.com/video/9q5S10dCHaE/v-deo.html
Dio had a strong Catholic upbringing. He later rejected the faith but remained under the influence of its imagery, which he used in his lyrics to rewrite the faith according to what he thought it should be. He is saying heaven and hell are mental states, not places, and the dancer is a Christ like figure likely to be persecuted in life. He is saying he agrees with Jesus recommendation for living but rejects the supernatural aspect.
The ‘dancer’ has always meant to me at least as someone who works for someone else (such as an average income person) like a dancer but no one ever cares/considers these people.
Even if the dancer is excellent at what they do, they’ll always be shunned. Hence to me why ‘no one bleeds for the dancer’; no one goes out of their way for the average person....
the dancer has to put in the hard work...to be good ...nobody but hard work and blood gets the dancer ahead . He must rely on himself and his efforts to get the glory /riches / prizes All people see is the glory- not the hard work
I always took this song to be about the illusionary and subjective nature of reality, hence depending on us it’s heaven or hell. There is a video somewhere where one of the members talked about the recording of the album. They would stop at a strip club afterword and play bits of the music to get reactions. I often wondered if the was the dancer reference.
Dio made three records w/ Sabbath sans the live record. The bass player wrote the lyrics when ozzy sang. But dio took over that duty when he joined.
Surely the dancer, is the one that distracts you or the one that distracts you from the finding a deeper meaning and the truth of the authentic meaning of life, all that stage theater made to distract de common society, creating new needs that you really don´t need, and diverting attention to what is really important, the “world is filled with queens and kings” may reefers to human ego and selphish people, really empty within they need to encourage themselves to be more relevant, but to be relevant is never through the ego, is wisdom what really makes you trascendent, that´s what surely they may reefer with the "dancer" concept, the new dancer, distractors, rulers of the world, powers into the shadow
man as much as i'd love to ascribe deeper meaning to some lyrics in metal music, you've got to remember Spinal Tap didnt just magic up their piss take of how pretentious some of it was getting in the 80s
I guess you already now Ronnie was into his jazz as well & played in jazz bands ,& had his first jazz band in 1957 Ronnie & the red caps .
I believe when he says look for the answer and you've got to bleed for the dancer he's talking about compassion and love for the work that goes into the product an artist produces?
Hi! Would you please react to Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage & also Acid Rain? Thank you!
Good reaction fella. You actually thought about the song and you got it as well. So many people who react to songs dont seem to get it. Will check out more if your reactions🖒
Guitarist Tony Iommi is the one and only leader and only one band member who never left the band during numerous line up changes the most notable vocalists Ozzy Dio Ian Gillan Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin
"it'is so good' - because it is from Tony Iommi. The man who cut off the tips of his fingers and plays the best riffs in this universe.
I think "the dancer" is someone who lives blindly in the moment. It's our responsibility to look after others when possible.
I first heard this back in 1980 and this explanation of that cryptic line is as good as any I've heard and better than most.
@NorthernEar
"the dancer" is/are the peripheral people in our lives who make it more enjoyable without us even noticing (nobody bleeds for ...) ..... such as dancers.
I agree. Imagine the love the singer gets in a band, while the dancers in the background are so essential to the whole production but get little love or “blood”.
@@DrTomMD
" ... the dancer .... " is not just dancers. It is all who serve roles that go unnoticed or unappreciated.
@@steadfastneasy26 True and totally compatible with what I said. I simply used a background dancer for a band as one metaphorical example when saying “imagine…“.
The dancer is Satan.
@@crusheverything4449
The previous line would indicate that no, the dancer is not Satan. "Love can be seen as the answer but nobody bleeds for the dancer"
This speaks of how people will hold their virtues out for the world to see while ignoring the things that the virtues represent. They speak of "love, love, love" while bypassing giving any of that love to people they do not know.
everyone stumbles on the "bleed for the dancer" line, then the next part towards the end is "fool, fool... look for the answer" :D
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath would be a great start. I personally think it's Ozzy's best.
I always thought that the dancer refers to the human urge to give a shit. Nobody bleeds for the dancer = nobody really gives a shit.
Heaven and Hell...a song about our world.
If you like R.J.D check out his time with Rainbow during the 70s 👍