Customer Reviews

Dehumanizer [Vinyl LP]

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I remember when this Black Sabbath come back album came out in 1992 or so. Ronnie James Dio was back at the helm and a very cool music video for "T.V. Crimes" (with a junky, obsolete television playing nothing but Sabbath is constantly being stolen) was playing on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. I liked the single, but only later did I purchase Dehumanizer. I was stunned at how solid this album is. It is right up there with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. In fact, I like it better than Mob Rules. The first track "Computer God" just rocks! The vocals are awesome (as they usually are for Dio, but especially on this track). "T.V. Crimes" is a fast-paced rocker. "After all (The Dead)" and "Letters from Earth" are dark and haunting. "Sins of the Father" is a track I think Ozzy would have sounded great on as it sounds like his style. "Too Late" is one of my favorites. It is a very powerful song, quiet at the beginning and then launches into a blistering metal track with killer lyrics: "It's too late too late for tears, too late and no one hears you, welcome to forever, it's too late." "Time Machine" is the most mainstream of the tracks with two versions on this album (one from Wayne's World which I cannot tell apart from the original). The anthem here, though, is "I." It is amazing musically and lyrically: "I am virgin, I'm a whore, Giving nothing the taker the maker of war, I'll smash your face in, but with a smile." There is nothing weak on this album. It rocks from beginning to end. If you are missing this album in your Black Sabbath/Dio collection, Buy It! You will not be disappointed.

Dehumanizer is a concept recording dealing with the evils of modern technology.This is truly a heavy and powerful offer from what I believe was the best of all of Sabbath's lineups.Dio's masterful voice with Iommi and Butler's great riffs make "Dehumanizer" a classic.From the opening"Computer God" we have a heavy evil sounding riff with Dio's bounding voice."Letters from Earth" and "Time Machine" are also powerful,pounding songs.A favorite of mine is "T.V. Crimes" a brilliant attack on dishonest TV preachers and charletans who enslave the minds of their followers. Some other great tunes are "Sins of the Father" which has a great riff. Two of my favorites are the sociopathic "I" with it's nihlistic and narcissitic lyrics. Next is a hard pounding, powerful song called "Buried Alive" which is an attack on organized religion and it's destruction of the happiness of people. Dio's voice is a screaming, angry powerhouse on this track!

If your a fan of the Sabbath,especially the Dio era,this is a must for your collection.The "reunion" with Ozzy is not the reunion I think would be the best.Bring back Mr. Dio and his brilliant songwriting.Dio and Iommi together are the best Sabbath has offered.This brings them back to the glory days of "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules".This is powerful stuff,don't pass up"Dehumanizer".

Since I wrote this review seven years ago, my dreams have come true. Sabbath is back with their best singer and frontman Ronnie James Dio as "Heaven and Hell". Their tour has been a huge success and they are back stronger than ever. If you want to re connect with this era, "Dehumanizer" would be a great start!

After several so-so album releases carrying the name of Black Sabbath, we long-time fans FINALLY get a CD with the 'Heaven & Hell' line-up intact. Even though the 'Mob Rules' lp was good, I would say that technically this record COULD be 'Heaven & Hell' follow-up, easily. Very well done, guys. I've heard several fans (like myself) comment that Ronnie James Dio's vocals on this record simply never sounded better, in Sabbath, Dio nor Rainbow for that matter. Not sure if I'd totally agree with that, but rest assure, 'Dehumanizer' is a great reunion effort. Only downfall is I personally doubt this CD did as good as the label Warner Bros. or the band had hoped for. Notice that both guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler's overall playing here is outstanding too. Tracks that truly pull the listener in are "Time Machine", "After All", "TV Crimes" (still see the video for this song on Headbanger's Ball now and again), "Computer God", the Dio-like "Letters From Earth" and "Buried Alive". Enjoy this disc as I've met Dio himself TWICE now while catching him out on tour and he's mention to me that he'd NEVER reunite with Sabbath again because this CD marked the second time he was 'burned' by the other members. Sad, but at least fans got a 'final' chapter in the saga. Wouldn't it be great if this line-up would sometime do the annual Ozzfest summer tour instead of Ozzy? Just a thought. Recommended.

May, 2010 footnote: Dio, myself as well as many fans of your lengthy career will truly miss you. R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio.

After mediocre and poor albums fronted by Tony Martin, Dehumaizer was a breath of fresh air. You could just see the mighty Sabbath Beast coming up through the ground ready to conquer again. Dio, Tony, Geezer, and Vinnie put together a steller album that destroyed anything Sabbath had done since Born Again.

Songs like Computer God, Time Machine, and TV Crimes, are a punch in the face that will rock your world. However, my favorite song by far is 'I'. Whenever I hear it I want to tear down walls and beat the hell out of anything I'm near.

I saw the Dehumanizer Tour in Tampa with Testament opening. Sabbath put on one of the best shows I had ever seen them do. Dio's writing and singing skills fit Sabbath like a glove. Unfortunately, egos surfaced again and the mighty reunion did not last. At least we have what they did when they were together.

When it comes to musical collaborations, you never can tell what will happen. Ronnie James Dio's previous work with Black Sabbath produced two fine studio albums, one "Heaven & Hell", is usually rated by fans as one of Sabbath's best. After leaving the group, Dio went on to a long and successful solo career.

Long hailed as one of metal's most powerful vocalists, Ronnie rejoined his former bandmates to produce an under appreciated metal masterpiece. Dehumanizer, is a powerful collection of music, with minimal filler material. Compared to Sabbath's recent recordings featuring Tony Martin's vocals, the music here definitely has a harder edge. Dio has ways been acknowledged as an outstanding songwriter. His contributions in that department take the level of quality of this recording above the typical Sabbath effort. No other Sabbath vocalist could give us songs like "I", "Too Late", and "Master of Insanity".

Tony Iommi, a heavy metal legend and creator of dozens of classic riffs, seems truly reborn here. His playing, while maintaining his signature tone seems to be exploring areas he has not been in before. The riffs are some of the best he's come up with in some time. The tone is raw, with some wide mood and tempo swings. "After All The Dead" is slow number, the opening notes of which just drip evil, setting up a heavy groove. "TV Crimes" is "speed Sabbath", played at an upbeat tempo favored by Ronnie in his solo work, the song rocks, and has a killer Iommi solo. "I" is a powerful heavy duty number featuring major wah wah usage. "Master of Insanity" has an "electric" edge, and a pounding groove that suits Dio storytelling vocal style. There are also two versions of the powerful song "Time Machine", both are great, but the Wayne's World version seems tighter, and the lyrics work better.

Geezer Butler's bass is not particularly prominent in the mix. And Vinny Appice's drumming is serviceable rather than flashy. So Ronnie Dio and Tony Iommi really do dominate the sound. Will Dio ever team with the Sabs again? Who knows? What can be said is that this particular short-lived reunion produced one of the heaviest and best Sabbath recordings ever.

The 1990's was a lackluster decade for Metal releases - "Dehumanizer" is certainly one of the highlights. Dio's voice is as powerful as ever and Iommi's guitar sound is absolutely in your face. There's no real mainstream, radio friendly tune here and keyboards are almost non-existent. Iommi must be given credit for taking Sabbath in many different directions and feeding from the strengths of the people in each different line-up. This disc obviously combines Dio's current Style (which is darker and heavier than his 80's style)and Iommi's re-kindling with his Ozzy-era, Sabbath style. Geezer Butler is also on this album (although more subtle that usual) which explains much of the throwback sound to earlier times. Stand out tracks are: -"TV Crimes" a speedy number that threatens to continuously headbang you into submission; "Time Machine" - a catchy, rocker; "I" and "Sins of the Father" - examples which reiterate that the brand "Black Sabbath" are the originators of simple-but-evil rock. This is highly recommended to anyone who loves/loved Dio-era Sabbath (like me !)

I didn't think this would last very long. Ronnie James Dio and the Guitar/Bass team of original Sabs Butler and Iommi work great in the recording studio but are obviously frought with personality dificulties in other areas. Nonetheless, "Dehumanizer" is a tour de force that any fan of Ronnie Dio would appreciate. Veteran Drumer Vinnie Appice reunites with Ronnie James Dio and company after leaving the DIO fold mid-"Lock up the Wolves" for one of the best Black Sabbath projects since Heaven and Hell. Of most noteworthiness are the songs "I", "Time Machine" and a no-holds-barred attack on kristjianity aptly titled "TV Crimes". "After all (the Dead)" is argueably the heaviest Sabbath song since the Ozzy-fronted song by the band's name. A great companion album to the subsequent DIO release "Strange Highways", "Dehumanizer" obviously inspired Ronnie James Dio to drasticly alter the sonic textures! of his namesake solo project.

this has got to be, by far, some of the best material either Sabbath or Dio has ever released. a small part of me wants to say that this is better than Dio's 1st album with Sabbath "Heaven and Hell" but that record is too much of a classic to be outdone. Dehumanizer is by far the most overlooked album i've ever seen.

Computer God: genious opener, great lyrics and vox by Dio and hard riffs by Iommi all the way through.

After All (The Dead): this one took a few listens to truly appreciate. the harmonies in this one are great

TV Crimes: the best song on the album bar none. it plain out rocks like no other with the heaviest, yet catchiest riffs i've heard on an album like this.

Letters From Earth: more great and heavy riffs by Iommi. i prefer the rare alternate version of this song but the one that appears on the record here is still great.

Master Of Insanity: still rockin', but not as much. it gets a bit repetitive but that only cuz the rest of the album is so good that even a good song like this looks bad compared to it.

Time Machine: perhaps the most overlooked gem on this album, simply, its awesome

Sins of the Father: a little less heavy but in a good way. good lyrics too.

Too Late: the albums attempt at a "ballad". a good song but doesn't really fit in with all these other heavier songs

I: my 2nd favorite song on the album. riffs are great, solo rules, and Dio's vocals are at their best here. plus its got genious lyrics.


Buried Alive: haven't gotten into this one till recently. once again (i find myself saying this alot) very heavy and many different riffs here. i love it.

Time Machine (Wayne's World Version): nothing real special here, but its neat that they put it on. worth listenin to once in a while.

overall very awesome album. one of my top 5 favorites of all time. buy it now!!!

Let's hope that the new CD - The Dio Years will prompt more people to check this one out, the last time these 4 guys got together. The selections chosen from Dehumanizer for the new one are good but hardly represent the best of it. First of all, Dehumanizer rocks. The production is awesome, probably the best produced CD I have heard. Aside from the superior talent of the four members, the sound is just phenomenal. It will blow the grills off your speakers! Play it loud and you'll see what I mean. As soon as those drums kick in on Computer God it's sonic labotomy time. Speaking of Computer God, that would have been a far better choice for The Dio Years CD than After All, a good song in its own right, but not the caliber of Computer God, an epic track. Another standout is Time Machine which we get to hear twice on Dehumanizer, once being the album track and one being the track recorded for Waynes World. Basically, there are no weak points on here and well worth a second look 15 years later. Lyically & musically it stands the test of time.

After the Black Sabbath albums with Ozzy that are great in their own right this was almost impossible to fill his shoes. However Dio did a great job and put the band on the whole new level. The Heaven and Hell album had a feel that was absent from the Black Sabbath albums for a long time: full of fantasy imagery, meaningful lyrics and a killer sound that is relevant (at least for me up to this day). After Geezer Butler visited one of the Dio concerts in the 1990 and a few beers together they (rightfully) thought that the Dio-fronted Sabbath had to offer a lot more than they accomplished. Iommi supported the suggestion and the reunion took place. Unfortunately the album is the only one we got from the reunion. The bottom line: it is a bone-crunching dark and hard as f&^*k rock. For this one Dio chanded his usual Dragons/Dungeons lyrics style and turned to describe the modern dangers of different nature - that he continues up to today - check his most recent CD's title track - Killing the Dragon. The album is a solid effort - pity that this did not last and the band turned to the reunion with Ozzy. He is a great frontman but there is (in my opinion) a zero chance to get a new studio album from the reunited Sabbath apart from live albums full of rehashing the 20-years old stuff. So it's not a great surprise that Iommi is pushing forward the solo career by releasing(hopefully) the 8th star butlegs and a brand new solo album. There is a new album in the works also from Geezer and Bill also. But as far as I can think the Dio-Butler-Iommi-Appice Dehumanizer is the last great Sabbath that was released.