Agreed fac, it's a sweet closer.

But man, Megalomania, they really pioneered the metal epic with that one.

I mean, they had a 3 part suite on the debut, but the first proper 10 min metal epic was arguably Megalomania.

Album Rating: 5.0

But Megalomania lasts only 9:46 , your theory has been destroyed danny OOOOO:

Yeah, not quite 10 min. But still, I'd say it's close enough so count it as a precursor to such epics.

Bumped my rating hard.

Doesn't touch MoR or Paranoid for me, but still rules.

Current ranking of the First 6:

MoR
Paranoid
Vol. 4
Sabotage
S/T
SBS

Album Rating: 4.5

SBS > anything post-MoR

In any case, Megalomania was arguably the first metal epic. Amazing track man.

Album Rating: 4.5

Agreed. Its probably the best song on here actually

Yup, although SotU gives it a run for its money.

But that riff in the 2nd half of Megalomania is just too good.

Album Rating: 4.5

Yeah Symptom is about as good, especially the acoustic jam at the end

There aren't many things that can compare to jamming classic Sabbath.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Dio was a solid frontman, but 70's Sabbath rules.

I've said it a couple times, but the issue I have with the Dio Era is that it was all about him in those days. The band felt more like a band with Ozzy.

Don't get me wrong though, both H&H and MR have some hard jamz.

Album Rating: 4.5

There were a lot more classic songs during the Ozzy era. Barely 2 Dio era songs would make my top 20,

and none even close to top 10

@Nero's earlier comment on comparisons: Or Soundgarden...

Album Rating: 4.5

Yeah a shit load of awesome bands were inspired by Sabbath

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Dio doesn't have as many memorable songs, and I agree with Danny that the band seemed to revolve around him a bit too much, but you can't deny the impact he had on heavy metal during his solo career and Sabbath years.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, Dio's passing through metal was very relevant in reviving a subgenre that seemed commercially stagnant in those days.

I mean, it was changing and all, but Dio helped make metal more accessible.
Wether that was a blessing, a curse, or both, is a debatable matter.

Not many could compete with his vocal skill tho.

Album Rating: 4.5

And with Rainbow. I dig Rising more than anything he did with Sabbath or solo.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Rainbow is a pretty underrated part of Dio's career, especially considering the mediocrity Dio went through in his solo career.

I mean, when you think about it, Ozzy and Dio kinda changed the concept of what metal was about. That, and Priest's commercialization in the 80's, kinda made things more about image than the actual music. Maiden was somewhat of an exception there tho.

And then you have glam. Ofc, and thank goodness for that, thrash metal rose up, as did death metal. They kinda preserved the dark essence of the subgenre.