CD [ Amazon US | Amazon UK ]
MP3 [ Amazon US | Amazon UK ] | iTunes (US)

Track Listing

 Disc 1 (Heaven & Hell)

1. Neon Knights
2. Children of the Sea
3. Lady Evil
4. Heaven & Hell
5. Wishing Well
6. Die Young
7. Walk Away
8. Lonely is the Word

Disc 2 (Mob Rules)

1. Turn Up the Night
2. Voodoo
3. The Sign of the Southern Cross
4. E5150
5. The Mob Rules
6. Country Girl
7. Slipping Away
8. Falling off the Edge of the World
9. Over & Over

Disc 3 (Live Evil Disc 1)

1. E5150
2. Neon Knights
3. N.I.B.
4. Children Of The Sea
5. Voodoo
6. Black Sabbath
7. War Pigs
8. Iron Man

Disc 4 (Live Evil Disc 2)

1. The Mob Rules
2. Heaven And Hell
3. The Sign Of The Southern Cross/Heaven And Hell
4. Paranoid
5. Children Of The Grave
6. Fluff

Disc 5 (Dehumanizer)

1. Computer God
2. After All (The Dead)
3. TV Crimes
4. Letters From Earth
5. Master of Insanity
6. Time Machine
7. Sins of the Father
8. Too Late
9. I
10. Buried Alive
11. Time Machine (Wayne’s World Version)

Disc 6 (Best Buy Exclusive Bonus Disc; Live 1981)

1. Neon Knights
2. The Mob Rules
3. Children of the Grave
4. Voodoo
5. Country Girl

iTunes/Amazon Digital Only Bonus Tracks

1. The Devil Cried
2. Shadow of the Wind
3. Ear in the Wall

Writing Credits

• Various – See original album credits for details

Credits

• Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
• Tony Iommi – Guitar
• Geezer Butler – Bass
• Vinny Appice – Drums (Discs 2-5)
• Bill Ward – Drums (Disc 1 only)
• Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
• Mason Williams – A&R Supervision
• Dan Hersch @ Digiprep – Remastering
• Liz Erman – Product Manager

Catalogue Numbers

• NOTE: The overall box had it’s own catalogue number, but the 4 albums (5 discs) inside the box were released individually, and have their own catalogue numbers.  This section is just for the box itself.
• CD Rhino R2-460156 (US 2008)
• CD Rhino R2-513689 (US 2008 – Best Buy)

Notes

• When the box was originally released, Best Buy had an exclusive version for sale with a sixth disc not available anywhere else.  All of the tracks were culled from the “Live at Hammersmith Odeon” limited release from the previous year.
• The first four of the live tracks also appeared on the “UK Tour Edition” of the Dio Years compliation from 2007.
• The MP3/digital download versions from Amazon.com & iTunes include the three new tracks from “The Dio Years” compilation.
• Some fans refer to this release as “Black Box II”, a reference to the Ozzy era studio album compilation in 2004.
• Despite there being a new remastering work done for 2007’s “The Dio Years”, the tracks that appear here are an even newer remastering than the work done for the 2007 Dio Years package.  If you count the 2003 Dio compilation, “Stand Up and Shout”, that makes three times in the last 5 years that the the following tracks have been remastered!   The tracks that appear on all three are: Neon Knights, Heaven & Hell, Turn up the Night, & The Mob Rules.
• The following alternate tracks were not used in this box set.  The Mob Rules (Heavy Metal version), Letters from Earth (Alternate Version – From CD Single for TV Crimes).   The Mob Rules version from the Heavy Metal soundtrack was not on Warner/Rhino, so presumably it would have had to have been licensed.   When queried by me about it, a producer at Rhino said they didn’t even know the Alternate Letters from Earth existed!  D’oh!
• The name ‘The Rules of Hell’ was thought of by Geezer Butler. It is a reference to the inclusion of the first two Dio era Sabbath album names. Those being Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules. That is where the name comes from.
• There was a “professional” review of the set posted here on IGN.com.
• The four albums that comprise this five disc box were later released individually, unlike the Black Box set, which was not released individually.

Links

• Wikipedia

Images

• Here is a picture of what the exterior of the entire package looks like.

Video

 

Original Press Release

Five-CD Boxed Set Features Newly Remastered Versions Of
Every Dio-Era Sabbath Album, Available July 22 From Rhino

Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice Are Currently Recording Long Awaited New Heaven & Hell Studio Album, Set To Be Released By Rhino In Early 2009

Heaven & Hell Will Return to the Road This Summer for the Metal Masters Tour With Judas Priest, Motorhead, and Testament

LOS ANGELES – Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath were reborn in 1980 when founding members Tony Iommi and Terry “Geezer” Butler added vocalist Ronnie James Dio to the lineup. The band’s short but memorable time together added an unforgettable chapter in Sabbath’s storied history. Rhino relives the demonic fury conjured by the Dio era with THE RULES OF HELL, a boxed set featuring all three of the band’s studio releases (Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, Dehumanizer) and their double live collection (Live Evil) – each recently remastered for the first time. The set comes packaged in a deluxe slipcase with extensive liner notes featuring all new interviews with the band. This five-disc boxed set will be available from Rhino on July 22 at all physical outlets, as well as www.rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $54.98. The set will also be available the same day at all digital outlets for a suggested list price of $24.99.

Two years ago, Dio, Iommi and Butler and drummer Vinny Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for Rhino’s Black Sabbath: The Dio Years before launching a highly anticipated and greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker Heaven & Hell. Revitalized by the reunion, the lineup is back in the studio now recording the first ever full-length studio album from Heaven & Hell, set to be released by Rhino in early 2009. To whet the fans’ appetites for the new album, Heaven & Hell will return to the road for a short stint on the Metal Masters Tour, a month-long North American trek with Judas Priest, Motorhead, and Testament. This blistering metal juggernaut will launch August 6 in Philadelphia.

The Dio-era’s first effort, HEAVEN AND HELL, hit the racks on April 25, 1980. Greeted by ecstatic reviews, the album peaked at #9 in Britain. In the U.S., its Top 30 success gave the group its first platinum disc in six years. Opening with the chugging anthem “Neon Knights,” the album also includes the epic title track, “Wishing Well,” “Die Young” and “Lonely Is The Word.”

The group’s follow-up, MOB RULES, was the first without original drummer Bill Ward, who was replaced with Appice. The album bristles with Iommi’s signature dark riffs, Butler’s elaborate bass lines, Appice’s hammering behind the drums and Dio’s inimitable growling. The album includes the high-octane tracks”””Falling Off The Edge Of The World,” “Turn Up The Night,” and the title track””plus the mid-tempo rocker “Voodoo” and the slow-churning epic “The Sign Of The Southern Cross,” a favorite among band members and fans alike.

Released in December 1982, LIVE EVIL stands as a modern metal masterpiece and a testament to the power of the Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice lineup. Recorded in Seattle, Dallas, and San Antonio, the sound is upfront and aggressive, a virtual front-row seat for epic versions of their classics including “Neon Knights,” “Children Of The Sea,” “The Sign Of The Southern Cross” and “Heaven And Hell.”

DEHUMANIZER (1992) is seen by many metal aficionados as one of ”if not the most” underrated work to ever carry the Sabbath name. After the lineup fell apart in 1982, the group reconvened a decade later to release this lost classic. The album forged something new, pushing its legend to a new generation of metal heads with incredible tracks like “I,” “Computer God” and “TV Crimes.”

THE RULES OF HELL
Track Listing

HEAVEN AND HELL

1. Neon Knights
2. Children Of The Sea
3. Lady Evil
4. Heaven And Hell
5. Wishing Well
6. Die Young
7. Walk Away
8. Lonely Is The Word

MOB RULES

1. Turn Up The Night
2. Voodoo
3. The Sign Of The Southern Cross
4. E5150
5. The Mob Rules
6. Country Girl
7. Slipping Away
8. Falling Off The Edge Of The World
9. Over And Over

LIVE EVIL

Disc 1

1. E5150
2. Neon Knights
3. N.I.B.
4. Children Of The Sea
5. Voodoo
6. Black Sabbath
7. War Pigs
8. Iron Man

Disc 2

1. The Mob Rules
2. Heaven And Hell
3. The Sign Of The Southern Cross/Heaven And Hell
4. Paranoid
5. Children Of The Grave
6. Fluff

DEHUMANIZER

1. Computer God
2. After All (The Dead)
3. TV Crimes
4. Letters From Earth
5. Master Of Insanity
6. Time Machine
7. Sins Of The Father
8. Too Late
9. I
10. Buried Alive
11. Time Machine (Wayne’s World Version)

Heaven & Hell North American Tour Dates
(Except where noted, all shows also feature Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Testament)

AUGUST

6 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
7 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
9 Holmdel, NJ PNC Arts Center
10 Wantagh, NJ Jones Beach Theater
12 Hamburg, NY Grandstand Stage/America’s Fair **
13 Toronto, ONT Molson Amphitheatre
15 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena##
16 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
18 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Center
19 Chicago, IL First Midwest Band Amphitheatre
22 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
23 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
24 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
27 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
28 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
30 San Bernadino, CA Hyundai Pavilion At Glen Helen
31 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

**Featuring Motörhead and Testament ONLY
## Featuring Judas Priest and Testament ONLY