Hi all !
Its been a long time since I a wrote an image ,actually I have to first apologize for that ,but it was defiantly out of hands! been too busy with my studies ,in fact writing such stuff needs a special mood in order to write such stuff which I really love and appreciate much !
This month Image is just another classic from the Dio/Sabbath years ,were Dio was fresh once again with his ultimate voice and lyrics bringing new generations up to the genre with the classical Heaven & Hell
album in which he RJD considers his best and yet and his all time favorite album/line-up and of course effort .
Through his Sabbath years Dio have explored and showed really his true and talented political and social
images in which he expressed more dangerous and real life related articles concerning human nature
and certain events that happened at the time!
The Mob Rules not only the title track of Black Sabbath 2nd album release with DIO on vocals ,in fact the
Mob rules comes to be one of the most political songs RJD had ever written in his whole career, what's more the album included several semi-political songs and songs that was strictly directed towards
human natures and certain phenomena we face throughout our lives such as VOODOO, FALLING OF
THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, OVER & OVER and more!
Our Story or image starts from the point of an ideal human ,an ideal citizen. An ideal citizen dreaming
Of life and things getting better day after the other ,never lost the hope of having such a simple and easy
Life everyone else of willing too ,his not asking much ,just being secure and treated well ! is much of a dream? Is having a secure and well ruled country something difficult? Well it really seems that ,and from this point our song starts, the song is the ideal citizen himself, expressing his feelings towards what's going
Around ,towards all the political shit & dirt that comes and appears day after the other ,making the life of the likes of him just like a piece of hell! He had enough and he cant take it no more!
The song starts with one of Iommi’s most furious and heavy riffs ever! The fast and heavy riff just express
How serious, heavy and furious the man is !
“Oh come on”
Ronnie's scream intro just hooks the breath away with his roar ,as always Dio is capable enough to express
How angry and pissed the citizen is …
“Close the city and tell the people that something's coming to call”
close and shut everything u do ,forget about anything u know or own just get to understand
and listen to the “call” or in other words to your new rulers and to what your asked to do …
“ Death and Darkness are rushing forward to stamp light from the wall!”
your Hatred, Anger and lies are taking over , they are taking over the LIGHT ! the light which represents
the truth, purity ,education, knowledge….the light which represents the people and citizens just willing
to work and live for a secure & happy live ,while on the other hands death and darkness (politics)
are driving & controlling their people towards their sadly and tragic end ,they are trying to stamp “LIGHT” cause in darkness ,only in darkness they can survive with their games and lies!
“ Oh! You’ve nothing to say to say they ‘ll drag you away!”
The citizen screams in depression “Ha ! u think u could say a word towards what they doing ?
Do u think u could even dare to say No ? to say what u really want ? you've got nothing to say …
All u can do is except what you've been ordered and told to do !..well other than that they would probably
Drag your out or in other words u re gonna dig your own grave using your own hands!
“ If u Listen to fools, the mob rules, the mob rules, fools, the mob rules”
The Citizens roars in anger ,as if his screaming to his people “if u listen to fools (politics)
If your ruled and controlled by those monsters then our city just becomes a huge Mob ,a mob
Which represents darkness and death ,which represents the liars and deceivers and on the
Top of the mob ,lies the true rulers ,the rulers which control everything they can in the city
Dragging them to the dark side ,or in other words dragging them to be a part of the mob
They already rule!
“ Kill the spirit and you’ll be blinded the end is always the same”
Do u think that by deleting your dreams ,character ,personality and humanity would lead
U to the safe land? Do u think that by making your self blind from the truth u would get to
What u always wanted to ? simply NO ! your end is the same whether u wanted or whether
U don’t !
“ Play with fire , you’ll burn your finger and you’ll get hold of the flame, oh”
Do u dare to play with fire ? do u dare to miss with the devil ? do u think u could face them ?
The citizen wonders if he and the others could face the fire! Could they get through ?
The fire and danger will cost them a lot ,nothing comes easily …but he really wonders
If they could really get hold of the flame after all ,can they ? can they get hold of the flame?
Can they get to control their politics?
“ Its over ,its done
the end has begun if u listen
to fools the mob rules!”
The citizens cries in depression “its over” he has a pathetic contradicting feelings between excepting
The fact and truth of that their controlled and ruled by the mob and between the illusions of breaking
And getting over such a fact ! he believes the end is taken over ,since the fools is ruling ,their city is going
Down !
· Iommi’s solo break in (actually unlike most of Iommi's expressive solos ,I don’t get a certain feeling from this one ,great solo yet not as much expressive as the classical riff nor Dio's ultimate vocaling performance!)
“ oh ! you’ve nothing to say they ‘ll drag u away! If u listen fooools….”
Once Again the Citizen feeling of depression is taking over ,feeling that he and has people
Cant have a solution to such a thing ! they cant do ,react or ever talk about it!
““ Break the circle and stop the movement
the wheel is thrown to the ground
just remember it might stop rolling and
take you right
Through out his depression ,contradicting feelings and almost going insane, the citizen light of
Hope rises with in him again ,he wonders if he and his people could break the “circle” the gates and walls of control they ‘ve been thrown into ? can they break the circle of lies and darkness
They ‘ve been living in all those years ? can they break out to the light …to the day light where
All the people are eager & willing to live! He screams and shouts warning that their circle might stop rolling or in other words his trying to warn them that nothing really lasts forever !
“ its over ,its done
the end has just begun
if u listen to fools the mob rules…”
Again and again the contradiction within the citizen is getting worse ,is it the end? is it over?
Has the fools dragged us away to the darkness? Are we part of the mob ? cant we stop this ?
“Ur all fools!”
The citizens finally screams in insanity …actually through this words comes the final contradiction ,his calling the mob rulers the fools yet he faces his people with the same word
Calling them fools for giving up & for surrendering for the real fools ,for letting such politics taking over For letting their dreams slip away so easily …..the song fades away leaving the song with A usual open end ! will the people stand and break the circle of the fools? Will the mob rule
Forever, will accept to live in darkness throughout the rest of their lives????
Actually the songs fades away, leaving the listener wondering by himself, do u live in a place
Where I am treated and ruled by fools? Do I have the right to say no ? do I really listen to fools
That appears 24 hours a day over my TV ? many many questions comes over as the songs drifts
Away leaving the listener lost some how between the 2 main words of the song “Fools” and
“the mob rules!”
Just the likes of Heaven & hell , Rainbow Rising, Holy Diver...etc , the cover artwork of the
Album MOB RULES comes along to give a deep expressive look upon the song and album main
Context ,as we see on the main cover the colors chosen are dark and gloomy mainly between
Red and BLACK were those weird people faces in dark and shadows holding their edgy knives
And weapons of course those represents the politics or in other words the Mob rulers ,they cant show their faces cause simply they only exists where darkness and death belongs ,the distribution of the Mob rulers on the cover gives a strange feeling, as if they’re looking at u and telling u ‘UR NEXT!” or as if they are trying to grab u to their dark side and circle they control! The dirty walls ,earth they re standing on ..etc just shows and represents their own world where destruction, lies, darkness and deceivers exist ……
Over all Black Sabbath along with Dio reached out their highest musical
Levels expressing and creating such social and political songs that still till
Now do have its effect presence and magic all over our minds, souls and spirit!
Certainly the Mob rules will be forever one of Black Sabbath and Dio’s
Finest songs and moments ever !
By
Mohammed Osama
(IRON-Man)
· for any help or questions please contact me at ossoss80@hotmail.com