Black Sabbath’s Live Evil is Getting Remastered in All Its Dio-Era Glory

A newly remastered edition of the classic Black Sabbath live album Live Evil is coming out on June 2 to commemorate its 40th anniversary and to remember the late, great Ronnie James Dio. Available as a 4-CD set, a 4-LP set, or as a digital purchase, this version of Live Evil preserves the original performance while giving the listener a way better experience.

Remastered from the original analog multi-tracks by Andy Pearce and longtime band associate Wyn Davis, this super deluxe edition will include illustrated hardback books chock full of new liner notes, as well as replicas of the concert book and poster from the original Mob Rules tour.

Sure, Ozzy’s got all the classic hits, but Dio-era Black Sabbath is extremely underrated by the metal masses. I mean come on — “Neon Knights,” “The Sign of the Southern Cross,” “Children of the Sea,” and “The Mob Rules” are absolute bangers. You can actually relive the live version of “The Mob Rules” in the clip below.

Though Live Evil came out in 1983, the band that performed on it didn’t stay together long enough to see its release, leaving Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler to continue Sabbath while Appice and Dio went on to record a tiny little solo record titled Holy Diver. But that wasn’t it for Dio and Sabbath, as he later rejoined the band in 1992 to record Dehumanizer. Eventually they all got back together to play as Heaven and Hell and released 2009’s Tddde Devil You Know until Dio’s untimely death in 2010.

And while we may no longer be able to see Dio perform live, pristine quality recordings like the one below give us a chance to at least live vicariously through the people that actually were there.

Live Evil (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) is coming out on June 2, though you can preorder your copy today.