View source for Dehumanizer

{{Short description|1992 album by Black Sabbath}}
{{About|the album by Black Sabbath|the album by Dance or Die|Dehumanizer (Dance or Die album)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox album
| name        = Dehumanizer
| type        = studio
| artist      = [[Black Sabbath]]
| cover       = Black-sabbath-dehumanizer.jpg
| alt         =
| released    = {{start date|1992|06|22|df=y}}
| recorded    = Late 1991–early 1992
| studio      = [[Rockfield Studios|Rockfield]] ([[Rockfield, Monmouthshire|Rockfield, Wales]])
| genre       = [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]
| length      = 52:17
| label       = [[I.R.S. Records|I.R.S.]]
| producer    = [[Reinhold Mack]]
| prev_title  = [[The Ozzy Osbourne Years]]
| prev_year   = 1991
| next_title  = [[The Collection (Black Sabbath album)|The Collection]]
| next_year   = 1992
| misc        = {{Singles
| name        = Dehumanizer
| type        = studio
| single1     = TV Crimes
| single1date = 1 June 1992<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dio.net/biography/discography/BlackSabbath_OctNov91-Nov1392_7.html|title=Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages: Black Sabbath 7" Discography, October or November 1991-November 13th, 1992|website=Dio.net|access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref>
| single2     = Master of Insanity
| single2date = September 1992<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dio.net/biography/discography/BlackSabbath_OctNov91-Nov1392_CDs.html|title=Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages: Black Sabbath CD single Discography, October or November 1991-November 13th, 1992|website=Dio.net|access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref>
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name=AllmusicReview>{{cite web|last=Torreano|first=Bradley|title=Dehumanizer review|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r54300|pure_url=yes}}|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''
| rev2Score = 7/10<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Dome| first1 = Malcolm | author-link1 = Malcolm Dome |title = [[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] | chapter=Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer | volume = 154 | publisher = [[Future plc]] | date = February 2011 | location = London, UK | page = 88}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3Score = B+<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311408,00.html|title=''Dehumanizer''; ''Mad Hatter'' Review|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=14 August 1992|access-date=5 June 2012|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703174319/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311408,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev4 = Piercingmetal.com
| rev4Score = (3.75/5)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://piercingmetal.com/dehumanizer-remaster-by-black-sabbath/ |title="Dehumanizer" (remaster) by Black Sabbath |last=Pierce |first=Ken| publisher=PiercingMetal.com |date=17 October 2008 |access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/black-sabbath/albumguide|title=Black Sabbath: Album Guide|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=5 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306133206/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/black-sabbath/albumguide|archive-date=6 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

'''''Dehumanizer''''' is the sixteenth studio album by the English [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Black Sabbath]]. It was first released on 22 June 1992 in the UK by [[I.R.S. Records]] and on 30 June 1992 in the US by [[Reprise Records]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.black-sabbath.com/discography/blacksabbath/dehumanizer/|title=Dehumanizer – Black Sabbath Online|website=Black-sabbath.com|access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Tours: Sabbath; Lemonheads; Miller |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-07-04.pdf |date=1992-07-04 |pages=13 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>

It was Sabbath's first and only studio album since ''[[Mob Rules (album)|Mob Rules]]'' (1981) to feature vocalist [[Ronnie James Dio]] and drummer [[Vinny Appice]],<ref name="Music Legends">{{cite web |publisher=Music Legends| url=http://musiclegends.ca/interviews/vinny-appice-interview-black-sabbath/|title=Vinny Appice Interview| access-date=6 May 2013|date=24 March 2012|last=Saulnier|first=Jason}}</ref> and their first in nine years to feature original bassist [[Geezer Butler]]. Initial writing and demo sessions at Rich Bitch Studios in Birmingham featured drummer [[Cozy Powell]]; [[bootleg recording|bootlegs]] of these sessions exist. However, when Powell became injured with a broken hip, he was replaced with Appice. With Appice back in the band, this effectively reunited the ''Mob Rules'' lineup.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stolz |first1=Nolan |title=Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener's Companion |date=2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham |isbn=978-1-4422-5691-0 |pages=154}}</ref> The band spent two weeks writing material before spending six weeks rehearsing and recording demos at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvA2DwAAQBAJ|title=Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener's Companion - Nolan Stolz - Google Books |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group | date= 2017 |isbn=9781442256927 |access-date= 4 November 2019}}</ref>

The album's lineup – Dio, Appice, Butler and guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] – reunited in 2006 for a greatest hits set, ''[[Black Sabbath: The Dio Years]]'', and a new studio album in 2009, ''[[The Devil You Know (Heaven & Hell album)|The Devil You Know]]'' (billed as [[Heaven & Hell (band)|Heaven & Hell]]).

The album was re-released, with bonus content, on 7 February 2011.<ref name="Black">{{cite web|work=Black Sabbath Online |url=http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2010/12/dehumanizer_deluxe_edition.html |title=Dehumanizer Deluxe Edition Announced |access-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221123855/http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2010/12/dehumanizer_deluxe_edition.html |archive-date=21 December 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name="RTT">{{cite web|work=RTT News |url=http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Id=1512237&Category=Entertainment%20News&SimRec=1&Node= |title=Black Sabbath Announce Dehumanizer Reissue Featuring Dio |access-date=28 December 2010 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Overview==
Lyrically and musically, ''Dehumanizer'' is considered one of Sabbath's heaviest albums. Lyrical themes vary from a computer worshipped as a god (Computer God), to [[televangelist]]s (TV Crimes), to [[individualism]] (I) and doubts about the [[afterlife]] (After All (The Dead)).

The album was recorded in [[Wales]], at [[Rockfield Studios]]. It was intended to feature [[Cozy Powell]], then Sabbath's drummer, but he was immobilised by a broken pelvic bone sustained in a horse riding accident. Dio initially wanted to replace Powell with [[Simon Wright (musician)|Simon Wright]], from [[AC/DC]] and [[Dio (band)|his own band]], but Butler and Iommi rejected him. They instead recruited [[Vinny Appice]], who had served as Sabbath's drummer during most of Dio's previous tenure with the band, from 1980–1982.

During sessions for the album, [[Tony Martin (British singer)|Tony Martin]] made a short comeback when invited by the band to try the songs out. He stayed for just a couple of days and the band continued with Dio. Martin stated: "I had already started my first solo album ''Back Where I Belong'' – so, when I got the call to go back, I was committed by that point. And in fact it was just a couple of months after they had started the thing with Ronnie James Dio. I was determined to finish my solo thing and so turned them down at that point. We did keep in touch though and I went to some shows. Ronnie wasn't too pleased, but eventually they had enough and asked me to rejoin again later so it felt like I hadn't actually left. In fact, I was never formally fired; the phone just stopped ringing. [[Ian Gillan]] [vocalist for [[Deep Purple]], and another ex-Sabbath singer] asked me once if I had actually been fired and I said, 'No.' He said, 'Neither have I.' We should just turn up one day and walk on stage!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/03/29/interview-former-black-sabbath-lead-singer-tony-martin|title=Interview: Former Black Sabbath Lead Singer Tony Martin|date=29 March 2012|access-date=2 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | work= criticalmass.se| url=http://www.criticalmass.se/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1810| title= Workshop with Tony Martin in Gothenburg  | access-date=29 March 2011}}</ref>

Demo sessions with Powell yielded numerous recordings, including two unreleased songs&nbsp;– "The Night Life" (also called "Next Time"), whose riff was later used for "Psychophobia" on ''[[Cross Purposes]]'', and "Bad Blood," which sounds very similar to "I" on ''Dehumanizer''. These songs can be found, along with other demos and untitled songs, on the ''Complete Dehumanizer Sessions'' bootleg.  "Computer God" was the title of an unreleased song by [[Geezer Butler Band|The Geezer Butler Band]], in 1986&nbsp;– only the title made it to ''Dehumanizer''. The Butler version is available as a download on his website.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geezerbutler.com/audio/|title=Audio Rarities {{!}} The Official Geezer Butler Website|language=en-US|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref> "Master of Insanity" was also an unreleased Geezer Butler Band track, of which the ''Dehumanizer'' version is essentially a rerecording. "Master of Insanity" was the only track on ''Dehumanizer'' that Dio did not have a hand in writing the lyrics.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |title=Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose |date=2006 |publisher=ECW Press |location=Tornonto |isbn=978-1550227314 |pages=273}}</ref> Jimi Bell, the guitarist with Butler's band actually wrote the song. Geezer promised a credit and payment, but Jimi never was paid or credited for his contributions.<ref name="sleazeroxx.com">{{Cite web|url=https://sleazeroxx.com/jimi-bell-recalls-being-finalist-in-audition-for-ozzys-guitarist-spot-which-went-to-zakk-wylde/|title=Jimi Bell recalls being finalist in audition for Ozzy's guitarist spot which went to Zakk Wylde – Sleaze Roxx|access-date=2 November 2019}}</ref> The album's lead single, "TV Crimes," was a criticism of American televangelists, particularly [[Jeff Fenholt]], who briefly worked with Iommi in the mid-1980s on what would become ''Seventh Star''.

"We wanted it to be real rock 'n' roll: real basic," Dio told [[WERS]]' ''Nasty Habits'' show. "We wanted to capture what we are live and that's really what I think we did. We didn't do tons of overdubs or a lot of chorus{{Non breaking hyphen}}y kind of things. I think the important thing is that a band should be able to do all the things they do on record live, without any kind of [[sampling (music)|sampling]] crap or that rubbish&nbsp;– so, of course, we didn't. We recorded it true to what the band is: just guitar, bass, drums and vocals, y'know&nbsp;– a couple of keyboard things here and there."<ref>[[WERS]] ''Nasty Habits'', recorded at New York's China Club, 6 August 1992</ref>

Although the Sabbath lineup was the same as 1981's ''[[Mob Rules (album)|Mob Rules]]'', the musical direction is very different, and a marked change from their previous material, particularly the preceding ''[[Tyr (album)|Tyr]]''. Much of the album anticipates the directions taken by Dio in his eponymous solo band's next two records, ''[[Strange Highways]]'' (1993) and ''[[Angry Machines]]'' (1996). Commercially, the album marked a resurgence for Sabbath. It reached the Top 40 in the UK,<ref name="GB" >{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14136/black-sabbath/ |title=Black Sabbath Official Charts |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=21 November 2015 }}</ref> and peaked at number 44 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.<ref name="USA" >{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/288497/black%20sabbath/chart?f=305|title=Chart history ''Dehumanizer''|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=[[Nielson SoundScan|Nielsen Business Media, Inc.]]|access-date=26 August 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
"It was good to try that with Ronnie," Iommi reflected in 1997. "[But] we lost millions on it... because of the time we took to record it, and fly backwards and forwards to the States with everything, all the gear; bringing it back; recording here [the UK]... A lot of messing about and a lot of money wasted... If it came to it again now, we could plan it different and it'd be okay, but we had to try that. Originally Cozy was involved, then he wasn't."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Peter|last=Scott|title=Tony Iommi Interview|magazine=Southern Cross |issue=21|date=May 1998|page=38}}</ref>

This incarnation of Sabbath ended when Dio's contract with the band ended several days before the [[Pacific Amphitheatre|Costa Mesa]] reunion shows in November 1992. According to Iommi, Dio quit because he was asked to support [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s final shows at Costa Mesa, referring to Ozzy as a "clown."<ref>Iommi, Tony, with T.J. Lammers. ''Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath'', 2011. Chapter 70: "Bound & Shackled."</ref> Dio would not record or perform with the band again until 2006.<ref>Iommi, Tony, with T.J. Lammers.  ''Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath'', 2011. Chapter 86: "Heaven and Hell, tour and band."</ref> For the two Costa Mesa shows, the band replaced Dio with [[Judas Priest]] frontman [[Rob Halford]]; on the second night, Iommi, Butler and original Sabbath drummer [[Bill Ward (musician)|Bill Ward]] joined Osbourne onstage for four songs. Halford and Dio were friends (Dio having been impressed with Halford's work ethic on the 'Stars' project) and Halford would only do the Costa Mesa shows with Dio's blessing, which he received when he spoke with Dio by phone. Both shows were unofficially recorded in their entirety and are now widely circulated as audio and video bootlegs.

''Dehumanizer'' is included in the Black Sabbath box set ''[[The Rules of Hell]]''.<ref name="MP3">{{cite news|first=Jim |last=Welte |title=Legends align for Metal Masters Tour |date=22 April 2008 |url=http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/11191.html |work=[[MP3.com]] |access-date=23 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424114144/http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/11191.html |archive-date=24 April 2008 }}</ref>

''Dehumanizer'' was rereleased on 7 February 2011. This version includes a bonus disc with alternate recordings of several songs ("Master of Insanity," "Letters from Earth" and "Time Machine," the latter of which is available on the US version of the album as a bonus track) and several other songs recorded on 25 July 1992 in Tampa, Florida.<ref name="Black"/><ref name="RTT"/>

In 2021, ''[[Kerrang!]]'' ranked ''Dehumanizer'' as the eighth-best Black Sabbath album in a best-to-worst ranking of the band's discography.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Sabbath: Every album ranked from worst to best |url=https://www.kerrang.com/black-sabbath-every-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best |website=[[Kerrang!]] |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Geezer Butler]], [[Ronnie James Dio]] and [[Tony Iommi]], except where noted<ref name=DehumanizerNotes>{{cite book|title=Dehumanizer album notes|year=1992|publisher=Reprise Records|pages=3}}</ref>
| headline = Side A
| title1 = Computer God
| length1 = 6:10
| title2 = After All (The Dead)
| length2 = 5:37
| title3 = TV Crimes
| length3 = 3:58
| title4 = Letters from Earth
| length4 = 4:12
| title5 = Master of Insanity
| length5 = 5:54
}}
{{track listing 
| headline = Side B
| title6 = Time Machine
| length6 = 4:10
| title7 = Sins of the Father
| length7 = 4:43
| title8 = Too Late
| length8 = 6:54
| title9 = I
| length9 = 5:10
| title10 = Buried Alive
| length10 = 4:47
| total_length = 52:17
}}
{{track listing
| headline      = US Edition Bonus track
| title11       = Time Machine
| note11        = ''[[Wayne's World: Music from the Motion Picture]]'' version
| length11      = 4:18
| total_length  = 56:35
}}

=== 2011 Deluxe Edition ===
{{Track listing
| headline      = Disc one
}}
{{track listing
| headline      = Disc two
| extra_column  = Original source
| title1        = Master of Insanity
| extra1        = Single edit
| length1       = 4:11
| title2        = Letters from Earth
| extra2        = B-side of ''"TV Crimes"''
| length2       = 4:42
| title3        = Time Machine
| extra3        = Wayne's World version
| length3       = 4:21
| title4        = Children of the Sea
| note4         = Butler, Dio, Iommi, [[Bill Ward (musician)|Bill Ward]]
| extra4        = Recorded live at [[Yuengling Center|The Sundome]], Tampa, Florida, 25 July 1992
| length4       = 6:23
| title5        = Die Young
| note5         = Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward
| extra5        = Recorded live at The Sundome, Tampa, Florida, 25 July 1992
| length5       = 2:16
| title6        = TV Crimes
| extra6        = Recorded live at The Sundome, Tampa, Florida, 25 July 1992
| length6       = 4:24
| title7        = Master of Insanity/After All (The Dead)
| extra7        = Recorded live at The Sundome, Tampa, Florida, 25 July 1992
| length7       = 7:39
| title8        = Neon Knights
| note8         = Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward
| extra8        = Recorded live at The Sundome, Tampa, Florida, 25 July 1992
| length8       = 5:34
| total_length  = 39:30
}}

==Personnel==
Info taken from ''Dehumanizer'' liner notes<ref name=DehumanizerNotes/>
;Black Sabbath
*[[Ronnie James Dio]]&nbsp;– vocals
*[[Tony Iommi]]&nbsp;– guitars
*[[Geezer Butler]]&nbsp;– bass
*[[Vinny Appice]]&nbsp;– drums

;Additional musician
*[[Geoff Nicholls]]&nbsp;– keyboards

;Production
*Produced, [[audio engineering|engineered]], and [[audio mixing (recorded music)|mixed]] by [[Reinhold Mack|Mack]]
*"Time Machine" (''Wayne's World'' Version) produced by Black Sabbath
*Assistant engineers&nbsp;– Darren Galer and Stephen Wissnet
*[[Remaster]]ed by Dan Hersch (2008 reissue)
*[[Remaster]]ed by Andy Pearce (2011 reissue)
*Cover illustration&nbsp;– Wil Rees
*Photography&nbsp;– Mark "Weissguy" Weiss

==Charts==
{{col-begin}} 
{{col-break}}

===Album===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1992)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
{{Album chart|Austria|7|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|Canada|36|chartid=2023|artist=Black Sabbath|album=Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|Netherlands|63|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[European Top 100 Albums|European Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-08-08.pdf|title=European Top 100 Albums|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=9|issue=32|date=August 8, 1992|page=15|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums ([[The Official Finnish Charts]])<ref name=FINI>{{cite book|last=Pennanen|first=Timo|title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972|edition=1st|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|year=2006|isbn=978-951-1-21053-5 | language= fi}}</ref>
| align="center"| 12
|-
{{Album chart|Germany|14|id=1450|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums ([[Oricon]])<ref name="JPN">{{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=[[Oricon|Oricon Entertainment]]|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}</ref>
| align="center"| 28
|-
{{Album chart|Sweden|12|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|Switzerland|13|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|28|date=19920628|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|44|artist=Black Sabbath|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (2011–2012)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
{{Album chart|Finland|31|artist=Black Sabbath|album= Dehumanizer|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|-
{{Album chart|UKRock|40|date=20110213|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2023}}
|}
{{col-break}}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Single
!Chart
!Position
|-
|align="center"|1992
|align="center"|"TV Crimes"
|align="center"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="GB" />
|align="center"|33
|}
{{col-end}}

==Release history==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Region
! Date
! Label
|-
| United Kingdom
| 22 June 1992
| [[I.R.S. Records]]
|-
| United States
| 1992
| [[Reprise Records]]
|-
| Canada
| 1992
| Reprise Records
|-
| United States
| October 2008
| [[Rhino Records]]
|-
| United Kingdom
| 7 February 2011
| [[EMI]]
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|type=album|37616|name=Dehumanizer}}

{{Black Sabbath}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1992 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Reinhold Mack]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios]]
[[Category:Black Sabbath albums]]
[[Category:I.R.S. Records albums]]
[[Category:Reprise Records albums]]