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“THE RULES OF HELL” Black Sabbath (Warner Bros./ Rhino) ***
After the success of 2007’s “The Dio Years”, this box set was inevitable. Here we have “Heaven & Hell” (1980), “Mob Rules” (1982) and “Dehumanizer” (1992), plus the two-disc “Live Evil”, re-mastered for our listening pleasure. Is it worth it? Maybe.

BOX SET RULE #1: Include previously unreleased material, demos, remixes and such. “Rules” is just the albums, as Tony Iommi is famously reluctant to release such material, claiming it would be “embarrassing”.

The packaging is spiffy yet unexceptional. The cover art for each album is reproduced in darker and richer tones, and the liner notes contain occasionally revealing new interviews. A booklet with more interview stuff and reprinted lyrics would’ve been nice- and more expensive. With no cool bonus materials at hand, Rhino did the right thing by delivering a budget priced box of albums that any fan who might care already owns.

The biggest difference between these re-mastered sets and the original CD’s are most obvious on “Heaven & Hell” and “Mob Rules”, the two oldest albums. I listened to old and new back to back, and the contrast was immediate and gratifying.

The “Rules” versions are clearer, with the biggest improvement on “Mob Rules”. I’ve always found the sonics murky, and was disappointed when the Castle re-master didn’t improve things. Now a great album sounds cleaner- better.

“Live Evil”- never much liked it. The sound IS better but there’s no way to fix a dreadful recording. Plus, Ronnie’s overly dramatic phrasing on the Ozzy-era material is painful.

“Dehumanizer” sounds identical to the original version. It’s one of Sabbath’s most underrated albums, and so for a Dio-era Black Sabbath box set, it belongs here.

For the true fan (‘fan’ IS short for ‘fanatic’, which I am) “The Rules Of Hell” (title suggested by bassist Geezer Butler as a play on the titles “Mob Rules” and “Heaven & Hell”) is worthwhile. Otherwise, don’t bother.

KEY CUTS: “Neon Knights”, “Heaven & Hell” (H&H)/ “Sign Of The Southern Cross”, “Slipping Away” (Mob)/ “Voodoo”, “Heaven & Hell” (Evil)/ “Buried Alive”, “Time Machine (Wayne’s World version)” (Dehumanizer)