The Ozzy Sabbath or the Dio Sabbath. And NO write-ins for the Martin, Gillen or Gillan Sabbath.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Poll question: The Ozzy Sabbath or the Dio Sabbath. And NO write-ins for the Martin, Gillen or Gillan Sabbath.

[LeftyMom]

1. I like the Ozzy era songs better, but I think Dio's more talented.

And yes, I just screwed up your poll. :P

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Not a problem...

...the fact that they pulled off the "Heaven & Hell" tour and the new "Rules of Hell" box set (the COMPLETE Dio Sabbath) stands for something...

It's impossible for one to be "better" than the other. It's extremely possible for one of the two to turn the Gillan, Gillen and Martin editions into a poor excuse for Black Sabbath.

:toast:

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. My preference is very much for Dio - Ozzy was great, but Dio's a god.

His voice matches so perfectly well with Sabbath's, and continues to do so.

They were meant to be with one another.

[Initech]

4. I'd easily have to say Dio.

As much as I love Ozzy, he'd easily be the winner if he didn't have uber-bitch Sharon attached to his name. Dio, on the other hand, has consistently kicked ass for a long time.

[Swede]

5. Ozzy with Sabbath hands down.

But Dio was an excellent replacement,I saw them live,it was way cool.

[bluesbassman]

6. Ozzy = Black Sabbath

Dio certainly is a great vocalist, and brought a new dimension to the band, but that also changed the band's sound and attitude to the extent that they were something different than Black Sabbath. Not necessarily a bad thing, just that it's enough of a distinction that the Ozzy years are to me the true Black Sabbath.

[MrSlayer]

7. Original Sabbath has the better songs.

But Dio is probably the second best Metal singer ever. I choose Ozzy Sabbath but Dio Sabbath (I refuse to call them Heaven and Hell) is one hell of a band. I saw them last month and they were fantastic.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. There's only ONE Black Sabbath.

Heaven and Hell is a great band, but they aren't Black Sabbath, and should have never tried to be.

Actually, they tried NOT to be at first. If I'm remembering the time line correctly it happened pretty much like this...

Ozzy is fired at the urging of manager Don Arden (Sharon's dad). Nobody in the band feels good about the decision, and Geezer & Bill don't feel right about working with anybody else. Tony tells them he's working with Dio and they can do whatever they want. Dio & Iommi hire Geoff Nichols as a bass player, and they ask Cozy Powell to be their drummer, but he remains with Rainbow. Then they ask Carmine Appice, but he declines, because at the time he could get better groupies in Rod Stewart's band than in some doom & gloom metal band, even if it means playing crappy disco music. But Appice recommends his little brother Vinnie.

Somewhere in the middle of this, Warner Brothers tells Tony Iommi that no matter who's in the band, they're going to call the record "Black Sabbath" anyway, because they're under contract. Tony figures he should talk Geezer & Bill into sticking with the band, as long as they have to use the name anyway. So they rejoin, and Geoff Nichols stays on as a keyboard player, as he has continued to do every time this version of the band gets together.

Bill Ward has second thoughts anyway, and quits the band after they have played a few shows. Tony says "What did Carmine say about his brother? Let's call that guy!" and the rest is rock n roll history.

Great band, as long as they keep Dio away from the Sabbath songs. And when Ronnie quits at a bad time again, as he inevitably will, they can always bring back Rob Halford to finish the tour, like he did in 1992. It will be even easier since they have been touring with Priest. :headbang:

[Common Sense Party]

9. Dio. Done.

Ozzy was nothing without Randy Rhoads. He can't sing for shit, and yeah, Sabbath had some memorable early songs, but they also had a lot of crap.

Mob Rules!

[Zavulon]

10. Dio, Dio, Dio.

However, on my favorite Sabbath album, Martin was the singer.