Black Sabbath, “The Dio Years”
METAL|Warner Bros., released today
Black Sabbath is a seminal metal band, yes, but it’s also hosted one of the more storied games of musical chairs in rock history.
Second only to Ozzy Osbourne in helming the band was Ronnie James Dio, who fronted three studio records including “Heaven & Hell” and “Mob Rules” in the early ’80s and then “Dehumanizer” in 1992. Dio’s early work with the band, spawning the singles “Heaven & Hell,” “Turn Up the Night” and “Neon Knights,” was his strongest, and it brought the band out of a post-Ozzy commercial slump.
This collection of tracks comes out amid the reunited band’s current tour, which plays April 29 at the Broomfield Events Center. And while a Dio-era Sabbath greatest- hits record is an unquestionable stretch, the three new songs here make the album interesting.
“The Devil Cried” is the best of the three, and it highlights Tony Iommi’s careening riffs as they collide with Dio’s over-the-top – yet still finely formed – vocals. It’s hardly classic metal, but it’s an A-for-effort outing for these rock geezers pushing 60. |Ricardo Baca
The Rosebuds, “Night of the Furies”
INDIE ROCK|Merge, released today
Husband-wife duo Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp form the core of the Rosebuds, an indie group that refuses to pick a signature sound. Their debut, “Make Out,” dispensed sunny, 1960s-soaked pop while the excellent (and much maligned) “Birds Make Good Neighbors” took a darker, more satisfying turn.
The pretentious “Night of the Furies” steps back, wallowing in chilly puddles of synth pop. Only a few tracks approach the grandeur of previous work, and even those feel like lost “Birds” B-sides. Mostly the band trades Depeche Mode and Magnetic Fields imitations for spidery melodies or meaning, steeping its lyrics in faux-gothic imagery.
A loose narrative propels the songs toward some larger dread. “Silence by the Lakeside,” “Silja Line” and the title song capture the balance of gloom, melody and delicious detachment that made “Birds” so solid. Other than that, “Night of the Furies” is largely a yawn. |John Wenzel
Various Artists, “Mile High Club Mixtape”
HIP-HOP|5 Points Plan Recordings, released April 3
Colorado’s rock and jam bands snag more attention than nearly all others combined. Our home-grown hip-hop, while not as prolific or visible, also contains enough worthy players to warrant attention. Some of the best comes from the Five Points Plan label, which recently released a free online “mixtape” of its signature artists.
D.O. the Fabulous Drifter (formerly of Ground Zero Movement) and labelmate Dow Jones are offering the 13 tracks free via their website, fivepointsplan.com. Even if each isn’t a boundary-pushing example of current hip-hop, they prove the duo’s considerable production and performance talents. Opener “Mile High Club” moves between clever Del Tha Funky Homosapien-style flows and hard-hitting loops, while “All Right” drops a slinkier, 2 a.m. gangsta vibe.
If free, smart, radio-ready hip-hop doesn’t appeal to your iPod-stuffed ears, maybe you should stay away. Otherwise this is one of Denver’s more pleasant musical surprises of 2007. |John Wenzel
Other releases today:
Blonde Redhead, “23” (4AD) Don’t worry, the seventh disc New York shoegazer trio Blonde Redhead has nothing to do with the unwatchable Jim Carrey film. But it’s reliably gauzy and utterly addictive.
Grinderman, “Grinderman” (Anti) Nick Cave’s latest project moves away from the bloated, borderline Neil Diamond aspirations of his recent Bad Seeds work to looser, rawer songs.
