10 Metal Bands That Changed Their Sound

There's a certain stripe of Black Sabbath fan that probably considers any version of the band without Ozzy Osbourne to not really count. The Prince of Darkness had a stage persona that no one was going to be able to match, and his voice blending with the dark sounds of the rest of the band made for the true birth of heavy metal on their first handful of records. This was never Ozzy's band though. Sabbath started life with Tony Iommi, and he was not ready to throw in the towel once the '80s rolled around.

Not looking for an Ozzy clone, Sabbath welcomed Ronnie James Dio into the group, already riding high off of his success with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow for the past few years. With a much broader vocal range to work with, Heaven and Hell was something much darker than the last handful of Ozzy projects, bringing bits and pieces of mysticism into the mix and getting even nastier than before on tracks like Neon Knights and the title track.

As the rest of the metal scene started to catch up with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, this was the record that cemented Sabbath's legacy as an indestructible band, looking to move on from their dark days and show all of the new kids why they were so beloved back in the day. It would be a few years before Ozzy made his first solo album with Randy Rhoads, but upon hearing a record like this for the first time, you'd better believe that the Prince of Darkness was shaking in his boots.