As for the other members, Geezer can be heard well in the mix, and he has plenty of sweet bass fills and great rhythm lines. I wonder how much of a hand he had in coming up with riffs for this album, since I know he was more involved with this writing process than he said he would be if it was Ozzy-fronted. I do know he came up with the album title, at least, as well as the 25:41 on the cover (a very pointed reference to Matthew 25:41 from The New Testament of The Holy Bible). And as for Vinny, his drumming is fine. It sets a good rhythm, is in time, and I actually like his fills (I don't understand why he gets ragged on so much). I'm not a big fan of overly complicated drumming, I just like it to fit the music and hold everything together. iTunes will offer an exclusive version with previously unreleased live recordings of “Die Young” and “I” from the band’s 2007 European tour. Heaven & Hell Official North American Tour Dates Confirmed". KNAC. 4 May 2009 . Retrieved 10 May 2009. Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 April 2018. As a goof, I had a friend of mine who’s good with pixels, uh “fix” the cover art after it was announced. Here’s my “fixed” version. See if you can see what’s different. :)

generally very strong and memorable. I don't ask for more and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved. If there’s one take I have about the Sabbath discography that’s extremely unpopular, it’s that The Devil You Know under the Heaven & Hell title is the single most overrated album they ever did. Note: not the worst, but the most overrated. I’m obviously a huge fan of the band, I love Ronnie James with all my heart, and doom metal is something that I can dive into from time to time (obviously). But man, I really do not see the huge appeal in this. It’s not bad, but it really is not that great, and I have to wonder how much of it was hype-based on such a massive lineup reuniting in 2009. Oficjalna lista sprzedaży:: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 April 2018. Ultratop.be – Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021. Butler is usually the band's word man but when Dio comes to town the elfin one gets the job. When one thinks of Dio images of dungeons, dragons, rainbows, etc but with Sabbath he tends to explore tales of good vs evil and moreso his belief that the life one lives now can be 'heaven or hell'. Songs like "Double The Pain", "Fear", "The Turn Of The Screw" and especially "Follow The Tears" are Dio's way of singing the 'blues', albeit with a fighting spirit.iTunes will offer an exclusive version with previously unreleased live recordings of "Die Young" and "I" from the band's 2007 European tour. a b Cohen, Jonathan (10 February 2009). "Heaven & Hell Feeling Devilish on New Album". Billboard . Retrieved 11 February 2009. The songs are generally big, staid tanks of lead, built on Vinny Appice's plodding 4/4 pound and loaded with a stately majesty that recalls this lineup's classics — the atmosphere of "Heaven and Hell" (the song) and "Children of the Sea", brought into the modern day and made just a little darker and more weighty. Some are decrying the sheer metric tonnage of doom on "The Devil You Know", but I submit that HEAVEN & HELL are at their brooding best on this more ponderous, epic material. The more uptempo "Double the Pain", for instance, is one of the few less-than-stellar cuts on the record, seeming like a castoff from Iommi's late-Eighties riff tapes (though even here, the band's effortless conviction comes pretty damn close to selling it). When all the euphoria over the fact that the CD has actually happened eventually dies down, the cold light of day will reveal that it is not a classic, but that is not to say there is anything disappointing about it. The Dio-fronted Sabbath always set the bar very high, and the fact they have not quite managed to match the amazing quality of their previous works 15 years after their last collaboration is nothing to be ashamed of. Seeking this one out is mandatory. Dutchcharts.nl – Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.

When dealing with these songs on an individual basis, comparisons to “Dehumanizer” could be made, along with a lot of other Dio and Sabbath albums that came out after said release, and even a few from before it. There isn’t really one era of their project that defines this album, but more of an even mix of them all, compressed into a modern yet not overdone production. Songs such as the creepily slow and dark “Atom And Evil” and the dissonant yet catchy “Fear” could be compared to material heard on “Cross Purposes”, “Strange Highways” and “Magica” and still not quite describe the character of the sound in its entirety. Likewise, faster songs such as “Eating The Cannibals” and “Neverwhere” carry a dueling “Dehumanizer” sense of darkness and a “Mob Rules” meets “Holy Diver” feeling of riff familiarity and majesty. Some other songs such as “Double The Pain” and “Follow The Tears” get so heavy on the bass and low end riffs that they cross over into sludge territory. There’s essentially a little something for every fan of every respective era of these musicians’ careers to grab onto. The production sound reminds me of "Dehumanizer" more than the other two Dio-fronted Sabbath LPs ("Heaven And Hell", "Mob Rules"). Several of the songs are slow and creepy but there's also uptempo pounders like "Breaking Into Heaven" and “Eating The Cannibals”. While the presence of Dio always completely ferments anything he sings on this album feels like all three are equally present at all times. Iommi is as always a brilliant creator of riffs and Geezer Butler's menacing bass sets the tone. especially on for the crunchy “Double The Pain”. It's one of the best basslines I've heard since Queen's "Under Pressure" Everyone had so much fun playing together that we didn't want it to end," says the group in a press release. "We started writing together and the songs started flowing like we never stopped. We wound up writing and recording an album that stands up to anything we've ever done. We're really proud of the music and excited for people to hear it." As was the case in 1992, the triumphant return of this outfit has resulted in a lesson that can school any and all adherents of metal music. It is definitely one of the best, if not the best album to come out this year. It isn’t a matter of this band being capable of doing no wrong, but simply that every time their in the studio, nothing ever comes out that way. They reprove their worth every time, starting nearly from scratch at each instance, and have once again put out something that will be talked about and listened to years after the novelty wears off. This is the devil that all of us know and love, forever unchanging, and forever a master at his craft.Heaven & Hell's 'The Devil You Know' Lands in U.S. Top 10". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 6 May 2009 . Retrieved 6 May 2009. I think it was a combination of two thoughts - the plot of the song itself and the thought of people who get lost in the addiction to hard drugs that alter their realities, thus getting themselves buried deeper and deeper underground... Geezer's time to shine on this album came on the song 'Double The Pain' where he starts the song off with a nice little bass solo and his bass is very audible throughout the song including a break in the middle of the song for another small bass solo. Geezer is on the ball on this album as he usually is. Geezer! Munro, Tyler (27 April 2009). "Heaven and Hell – The Devil You Know". Sputnikmusic . Retrieved 26 April 2012.