BLACK SABBATH DISCOGRAPHY RANKING GAME: #10 REVEALED

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11: The Devil You Know
12: The Eternal Idol
13: Tyr
14: Born Again
15: Technical Ecstasy
16: Seventh Star
17: Cross Purposes (tie)
17: Thirteen (tie)
18: Never Say Die!
19: Forbidden

Total points: 160

highest score: 19 (@Night Prowler)
lowest score: 3 (@The_7th_one)

And Dio finally enters the game at #11! Probably unsurprisingly, the Dio era was generally popular around here and very few lists ranked any of these albums low, hence the worst performing Dio album still being just outside the top 10.

Devil You Know is an interesting album to me, it kinda feels like the inverse of 13 in the sense that 13 has a very strong 1-2 punch but then falls apart pretty quickly after while Devil has a very weak 1-2 punch but picks up big time with Bible Black and doesn't let up until the end. The title is fitting as well as there is nothing particularly challenging or unusual about this album. The riffs are there, Dio sounds fantastic, and there are some really solid hooks. It's just a very enjoyable listen that is true to the Sabbath sound. On the other hand, this album lacks a Children of the Sea or Sign of the Southern Cross to truly elevate it to the heights of the 80s Dio era. It can feel a little generic, which is true of the previous album on the list, The Eternal Idol. However, The Eternal Idol doesn't have Dio, and I think at least some of the 27 extra points that Devil gained is due to this simple fact. The relentless heaviness is great too.

The biggest point of interest for me is how much this album wiped the floor with Thirteen. Almost a 100 point difference! It's impossible not to compare the Dio reunion album with the Ozzy reunion album, and it seems most people agree that the Dio album was far more successful. I think 13 sounds a little bit more like you would expect an Ozzy Sabbath to sound, but Devil You Know has a little bit more authenticity and actually feels like an evolution instead of the band searching for something they achieved in the past.
 
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The Devil You Know is an amazing swan song for both Dio and Dio Sabbath. It’s a crushing, relentlessly dark album that gets better for me on every listen.

Bible Black is a top tier classic and there’s a few other tracks that get close to it. I do agree that the sequencing could have been better, though.

TDYK sounds inspired. It sounds like an album that wanted to be made, instead of 13: an album that had to be made.
 
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10: Black Sabbath
11: The Devil You Know
12: The Eternal Idol
13: Tyr
14: Born Again
15: Technical Ecstasy
16: Seventh Star
17: Cross Purposes (tie)
17: Thirteen (tie)
18: Never Say Die!
19: Forbidden

Total points: 166(6)

highest score: 18 (@Night Prowler)
lowest score: 1 (@KidInTheDark666)

Starting off our top ten is the album that started it all. Sometimes I think this album is carried in the public consciousness by the immensity of its title track, as I strongly believe the rest of the album doesn't hold up. In fact, I think the rest of the album does a good job at showing how effective the marketing strategy was to make what was essentially a generic blues band into the most dangerous band in history. Still, there is some pure evil on that opening track that is unlike anything that had been released before. It's just that an album is more than one song, and I don't hear it.

With that being said, I can't argue with this album's placement. It is certainly a more important album than any of the bottom 9, and it is generally more listenable (although Devil You Know and Eternal Idol may have more high points). I am glad that this album didn't usurp any other Ozzy albums that are yet to be revealed, and I think it is perfectly ranked within the Ozzy era. Points-wise it was actually really close. The next album is only 2 points higher, and the album after that is only 3 points higher! Without @KidInTheDark666 's outlier list, this album actually makes it all the way to #8. I won't give the next two albums away, but I think it will be an interesting point of discussion when we get there.

The debut's relative success in this game is largely attributed to the fact that most people ranked it in the top ten (Kid's is the only list to go below the top ten) and within that chunk was a sizable group that put the album in the top 3. This album certainly has its fans and very few detractors - which is going to be the name of the game going forward for the most part.
 
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Mosh said:
Sometimes I think this album is carried in the public consciousness by the immensity of its title track, as I strongly believe the rest of the album doesn't hold up.
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Another Sabbath album, another bad take from Mosh. :goodbye:

“N.I.B.” is Exhibit B for why this album is the point in which metal diverged from rock. Satanic lyrics, a gritty riff, and some evil soloing — what’s not to like? “The Wizard” is tight (love the harmonica!), “Behind the Wall of Sleep” has a great beat, and “Warning” is a fun extended jam. It’s not a perfect album by any means but it’s still really strong. You can once they dropped the bluesy shit they would change the world, but that bluesy shit is also what give this album such a unique vibe all its own.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Another Sabbath album, another bad take from Mosh. :goodbye:

“N.I.B.” is Exhibit B for why this album is the point in which metal diverged from rock. Satanic lyrics, a gritty riff, and some evil soloing — what’s not to like? “The Wizard” is tight (love the harmonica!), “Behind the Wall of Sleep” has a great beat, and “Warning” is a fun extended jam. It’s not a perfect album by any means but it’s still really strong. You can once they dropped the bluesy shit they would change the world, but that bluesy shit is also what give this album such a unique vibe all its own.
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So funnily enough, I actually ranked the album higher than you did. At this stage I think there's a half glass full/half glass empty kind of thing since we're pretty much at the middle of the discography. I don't deny the power of N.I.B., the title track, and The Wizard, however the bluesier this album gets the less personality it has or even much to distinguish it from any other hippie rock from this time imo.
 
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