The Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath live album Live Evil is receiving a 40th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition release on May 19th.
Originally released in December of 1982, Live Evil is culled from Sabbath’s 10-month tour in support of Mob Rules. The 15-song tracklist includes Dio-era staples such as “Neon Knights,” “Heaven and Hell,” and “The Mob Rules,” as well as Sabbath classics such as “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” with Dio on lead vocals.
For the 40th anniversary 4-CD/4-LP edition, the original album’s 15 songs have been remastered by Andy Pearce and are included on the first two discs. Meanwhile, a brand new 2023 mix of the album by longtime band associate Wyn Davis from the original analog multi-tracks is included on the other two discs. An illustrated hardback book featuring new liner notes and replicas of the concert book and the “Mob Rules” tour poster are included in both the CD and vinyl packages.
“The ten-month Mob Rules tour was certainly a very successful one, resurrecting their reputation not only as a band that could fill major venues, but one that could sell plenty of vinyl and cassettes too,” writes Hugh Gilmour in the extensive liner notes for the deluxe release. “Black Sabbath Mk 2 had given their record label two best-selling LPs and were about to present a third.”
After Mob Rules, Dio would go on to forge his own successful solo career while Black Sabbath pivoted to record Born Again with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan. Dio and Sabbath would eventually reunite for 1992’s Dehumanizer, though Live Evil remains their only official live album, not including the ones released under the moniker Heaven & Hell.
The Live Evil Super Deluxe Edition can be pre-ordered on CD here and on vinyl here. Below you can stream the remastered live version of “The Mob Rules” and see product photos and the tracklist.
Live Evil Super Deluxe Edition Tracklist:
Disc 1
01. E5150
02. Neon Knights
03. N.I.B.
04. Children of the Sea
05. Voodoo
06. Black Sabbath
07. War Pigs
08. Iron Man
Disc 2
01. The Mob Rules
02. Heaven and Hell
03. The Sign of the Southern Cross
04. Heaven and Hell (Reprise)
05. Paranoid
06. Children of the Grave
07. Fluff
