Dehumanizer

Dehumanizer
Studio album by Black Sabbath
Released	June 22, 1992 June 30, 1992
Recorded	1991
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	55:53
Label	I.R.S.
Producer	Reinhold Mack
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Black Sabbath chronology
Tyr (1990) Dehumanizer (1992) Cross Purposes (1994)

Dehumanizer is an album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath released in 1992. It is the first album in over a decade to feature Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice. Initial writing and demo sessions at Rich Bitch Studios in Birmingham featured Cozy Powell and ROIO exist. Both lyrically and musically, it is considered one of Sabbath's heaviest albums. Song themes vary from a computer worshipped as a god, to televangelists, to individualism and doubts about after-life. 'Computer God' was the title of an unreleased song by The Geezer Butler Band, in 1986 - only the title made it to 'Dehumanizer'. The GBB version is available as a download on Geezer Butler's website. 'Master Of insanity' was also an unreleased GBB track and the 'Dehumanizer' version is essentially a re-recording of this. (1:17 minutes of this track is available as a download on the website of Carl Sentance, erstwhile vocalist with The GBB.) Although the band lineup is the same as 1981's Mob Rules, the musical direction is very different - not only because of the aforementioned heaviness, but the songs are also darker, more pessimistic and more intense than in every earlier Sabbath album. It was a dramatic, and to some, welcome return from their previous album, Tyr. Ronnie James Dio himself would follow this musical / lyrical direction in his next two albums with his band Dio, Strange Highways (1994) and Angry Machines (1996). A version of this album was also recorded with former frontman Tony Martin on vocals. Dio considered leaving the band for a very brief time after his vocals were already finished, and the rest of the band brought in Martin to re-record them. Dio returned to the sessions shortly thereafter and his version was used in the end. The version with Martin supposedly still exists, but a circulated bootleg has yet to appear. Commercially, this album is regarded as a resurgence for Sabbath. The album reached the Top 40 in the UK. This incarnation of Sabbath ended when Ronnie James Dio abruptly quit the band upon guitarist Tony Iommi's suggestion that the band open for Ozzy Osbourne in Costa Mesa at the end of his 1992 tour, intended to be the farewell tour. Dio and Osbourne had a history of animosity, more from Osbourne's side but certainly not one-sided, and Dio felt that Sabbath should not open for any band, much less his 'rival' (and the band's former frontman) Ozzy Osbourne. Dio's contract expired at the end of the 'Dehumanizer' tour and he chose not to do the two Osbourne Costa Mesa shows. For these two shows the band replaced Dio with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford and, on the second night, Iommi, Butler and original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward joined Osbourne onstage for a four songs. Halford and Dio are friends (Dio having been impressed with Halford's work ethic on the 'Stars' project) and Halford would only do the Costa Mesa shows with Dio's blessing, which he received when he spoke with Dio by 'phone. Both shows were recorded in their entireties and are now widely circulated as audio and video bootlegs. It is somewhat unclear as to whether this album was supposed to be a one-off affair or the beginning of a true reunion of this Sabbath line-up. Dio's contract technically ran out at the end of the album's tour (allowing him to quit the band in response to Tony Iommi's desire to have the band open for Ozzy Osbourne) which would suggest that future albums were not meant to be. However, Iommi also formally fired the other three band members (including twice firing singer Tony Martin) which would indicate that he never really intended to bring them back. It has been suggested that the album was officially a one-off effort but that the band members would continue if they found they could co-exist well enough to do so. According to Ronnie James Dio, the band could not get along sufficiently as the members' personalities and egos had not changed over the previous decade. There was also rumors that talks of an Ozzy reunion took place during the Dehumanizer tour. Ronnie's contract simply ended and he did not show for those Costa Mesa dates which fell after their tour. Iommi and Butler went on to discuss possible reunion with Osbourne which ended with Osbourne backing out.

Track listing

All songs written by Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi.

1. "Computer God" – 6:10
2. "After All (the Dead)" – 5:37
3. "TV Crimes" – 3:58
4. "Letters from Earth" – 4:12
5. "Master of Insanity" – 5:54
6. "Time Machine" – 4:10
7. "Sins of the Father" – 4:43
8. "Too Late" – 6:54
9. "I" – 5:10
10. "Buried Alive" – 4:47
11. "Time Machine (Wayne's World Version)" – 4:18 (Not on the UK release)

Personnel

• Ronnie James Dio – vocals
• Tony Iommi – guitars
• Geezer Butler – bass
• Vinny Appice – drums
• Geoff Nicholls – keyboards
• Mack – producer, engineer, mixer
• Darren Gayler – engineer
• Stephen Wissnet – engineer

Release history