Album · 45 years old this year
Mob Rules
Mob Rules is Black Sabbath's tenth studio album, released on 4 November 1981 through Vertigo. It followed Heaven and Hell from the previous year and was the second record to feature Ronnie James Dio on vocals. It also marked the first appearance of drummer Vinny Appice. Martin Birch produced and engineered it.
For anyone tracing the band's story, this is the second chapter of the Dio era, and a short one. Neither Dio nor Appice would play on another Sabbath studio album until Dehumanizer in 1992. The record has since been given a fresh airing, with a remastered Deluxe Edition in 2010 and an expanded edition in 2021, which makes it easy to hear this line-up at full strength.
Mob Rules: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 40:15Tracklist
- 1Turn Up the NightButler, Dio, Iommi3:39
- 2VoodooButler, Dio, Iommi4:31
- 3The Sign of the Southern CrossButler, Dio, Iommi7:45
- 4E5150Butler, Dio, Iommi2:55
- 5The Mob RulesButler, Dio, Iommi3:13
- 6Country GirlButler, Dio, Iommi4:01
- 7Slipping AwayButler, Dio, Iommi3:42
- 8Falling Off the Edge of the WorldButler, Dio, Iommi5:02
- 9Over and OverButler, Dio, Iommi5:27
- Produced by
- Martin Birch
- Recorded at
- Record Plant (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- 1981
- Engineered by
- Martin Birch
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 40:15
Line-up
- Vinny Appice · drums (drum set)
- Geezer Butler · bass guitar
- Tony Iommi · guitar
- Geoff Nicholls · keyboard
- Ronnie James Dio · vocals
Singles
- “Mob Rules” · 23 October 1981
- “Turn Up the Night” · 5 February 1982
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1981 | 12 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1981 | 29 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2022 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1981 | 18 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1981 | 19 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2022 | 23 |
| Swedish Albums · 1981 | 30 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1981 | 45 |
| Dutch Albums · 1981 | 47 |
| Scottish Albums · 2022 | 51 |
All 12 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1981 | 63 |
| German Albums · 2022 | 83 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2023 | Gold |
| United States · 1986 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
61.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.1k
ListenBrainz listeners
129k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.2k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 4 November
Every year →
More from Black Sabbath
Full discography →
Black Sabbath
1970
Paranoid
1970
Master of Reality
1971
Vol 4
1972
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1973
We Sold Our Soul for Rock ’n’ Roll
1975
Sabotage
1975
Technical Ecstasy
1976
Never Say Die!
1978
Heaven and Hell
1980
Live at Last
1980
Live Evil
1982
Born Again
1983
The Sabbath Collection
1985
Seventh Star
1986
The Eternal Idol
1987
Headless Cross
1989
TYR
1990
The Ozzy Osbourne Years
1991
Dehumanizer
1992
Cross Purposes
1994
Cross Purposes – Live
1995
Forbidden
1995
The Sabbath Stones
1996
Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970–1987
1996
Reunion
1998
The Collection
1999
Black Mass
1999
The Best of Black Sabbath
2000
Past Lives
2002
Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2002
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2004
Greatest Hits 1970–1978
2006
The Dio Years
2007
Live at Hammersmith Odeon
2007
The Rules of Hell
2008
Greatest Hits
2009
13
2013
Live… Gathered in Their Masses
2013
The End
2016
The Ultimate Collection
2016
The End
2017
Anno Domini: 1989–1995
2024
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Heaven and Hell
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Sabotage
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Never Say Die!
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 November 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 November 1981 | |
| Wikidata | November 1981 | |
| US release | 4 November 1981 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | November 1981 | earliest UK or European date |
22 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Vertigo | 042283077720 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992360524 | other |
| 1981 | JP | Vertigo | other | |
| 1981 | FR | Vertigo | other | |
| November 1981 | GB | Vertigo | other | |
| 4 November 1981 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992360517 | original |
| 1989 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992360524 | other |
| 5 March 1989 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011314520 | other |
| 1990 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992360524 | other |
| 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615833225 | other |
| 7 March 2001 | JP | Victor | 4988002413362 | remaster |
| 2008 | US | Rhino | 081227988975 | other |
| 2008 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227976552 | other |
| 2009 | US | Rhino | 081227990787 | other |
| 2010 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939679575 | deluxe |
| 5 April 2010 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 602527350707 | deluxe |
| 21 April 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005606235 | deluxe |
| 2014 | XW | Rhino | 603497895052 | other |
| 2017 | XE | BMG | 602527350707 | deluxe |
| 2021 | — | — | 4050538846881 | other |
| 5 March 2021 | CA | Rhino | 603497845422 | deluxe |
| 5 March 2021 | US | Warner Records | 603497850723 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
itunes · upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1425×1425 | upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |