Black Sabbath, Vol.4
	Artist: Black Sabbath

Seventy-five percent of the country is soon to be covered in snow. This song seems fitting (although it's about a different kind of 'snow'). What are y'all listening to during Snowpocalypse?

Ozzy and Sharon, this is really one for the jerk files. Why now? Why ever?

Rolling Stone:

Osbourne’s suit seeks a 50 percent stake in the “Black Sabbath” trademark. Furthermore, the filing claims Osbourne is entitled to a portion of the profits Iommi has generated through use of the band name, and suggests it was Osbourne’s “signature lead vocals” that helped propel the band’s “extraordinary success.” The suit also points out that Sabbath’s popularity took a nosedive during Ozzy’s absence during 1980 and 1996, when former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio took over behind the mike stand.

Actually, Sabbath's popularity tanked after the release of their sixth album Sabotage, and considerably more through their next two dreadful excursions with Ozzy still at the mic, Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die. Their commercial and artistic stature was reinstated when Ronnie James Dio took over for 1980's Heaven and Hell and 1981's Mob Rules, both more successful outings with regards to quality and quantity than their predecessors. Ronnie James Dio could sue on the very same grounds, but we all know how ridiculous that would sound.

Furthermore, Tony Iommi spent most of the 1980s trying to record with different lineups under names that weren't Black Sabbath, only to have the record company insist that it be called that if he wanted his album to see the light of day.

Anyway, who knows if this will make it to court and how it will play out if it does, but Max's Court of Metal rules in favor of the defendant. Dismissed!

Via Hidden Track, I'm learning all about 8 bit artists who create music using the sound chips from old Nintendos and Commodore 64. While some use the actual chips and others have emulators that work with computer composition software, all of it sounds like Artist X doing the music for Galaga, like this one here of Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'.

8-bit Collective is a community site that is absolutely worth wasting the rest of your work day on going through all the hundreds of artists making electronic music the old fashioned way.

This dub reggae tune by Oiki is my favorite so far.

I really loved this email I got from Ticketmaster this morning:

Two years ago, Ronnie James Dio, Tommy Iommi, Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for Rhino's Black Sabbath: The Dio Years before launching a greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker Heaven & Hell.

Revitalized by the reunion, the heavy metal pioneers return to the stage upon the release of their first ever full-length studio album The Devil You Know, set to be released by Rhino in early 2009.

Get advance tickets to see Heaven & Hell when you use the password "DEVIL" at checkout!

There's something about "use the password 'DEVIL' at checkout'" that made my day today a little brighter.

Can you believe that Ronnie James Dio is 66 years old?

Black Sabbath, Vol.4
	Artist: Black Sabbath

Friday!

Black Sabbath never seems to get enough credit for their musicianship, especially the rhythm section of Bill Ward and Geezer Butler. I've always felt that what set them apart is their flirtation with jazz, as evidenced in Bill Ward's playfulness with time. Anyway, they flat out rock too, so here's the Hand Of Doom off of 1970's Paranoid.

For anti-road-rage Wednesday, our sister site Newstalgia offers up its Mid-Week Concert - Orquesta Sinfonica de la Region de Murcia play music of de Lara, Poulenc and Tchaikovsky

RIP Ronnie James Dio:

Ronnie James Dio, a singer with the bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, whose powerful, semioperatic vocal style and attachment to demonic imagery made him one of the best-loved figures in classic heavy metal, died on Sunday morning, according to an announcement on his Web site by his wife, Wendy. He was 67. Read on...

Ronnie James Dio was not a man of large stature, but in the world of metal vocalists, he was a giant. Ozzy Ozbourne's work with Black Sabbath is legendary, but I can't deny that I preferred the Dio era. This song, Rainbow In The Dark, (from 1983 with guitarist Vivan Campbell) from his Holy Diver album is a particular favorite.

If you are a follower or fan of Ronnie's work, please feel free to share your favorites with us.

Black Sabbath performing one of their biggest hits live in Paris in 1970. War Pigs is a perfect tribute to the departure of old Rummy.