There’s no question that Black Sabbath is one of the most important metal bands—nay, bands, period—in the history of recorded music. But for most fans, that legacy comes with a few asterisks.

The first six records are universally regarded as essential and indelible classics. After that, it gets a little fuzzy. Between the unmoored experimentation of the late Ozzy era to the frequent lineup changes in the decades to follow, later Sabbath is a bit like panning a spent river for gold.

However, there is one bright and shining nugget of an exception in the throng of so-so releases: Heaven and Hell, the first record to feature new vocalist Ronnie James Dio. His arrival brought an irrefutable shot of energy to the legendary metal outfit, bringing their best record since Sabotage.

But there’s a pretty big problem with this record: it just doesn’t sound like Black Sabbath.

The validity of Dio Sabbath has been a matter of some debate since he joined the band (Ozzy guitarist Zack Wylde was particularly critical). There’s no better argument against that validity than the fact that the reunited lineup from this era called themselves Heaven and Hell rather than Black Sabbath.

You might not think that a new singer would make that much of a difference. After all—wasn’t the beating heart of Sabbath always the interplay between Tony, Geezer, and Bill? Well, yes. But even the instrumentation sound very little like the doomy trademark sound pioneered on the early records. I don’t mean to suggest that musicians have no room to reinvent themselves—and after Never Say Die! Sabbath were great candidates for reinvention. But this sounds much more like Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow or Iron Maiden than it does Sabbath. It certainly doesn’t help that the track “Heaven and Hell” sounds remarkably similar to Dio’s “Holy Diver” a few years later.

All that said: Heaven and Hell kicks all kinds of ass. This is premium NWOBHM, and an important record in that movement. In fact, while jaded listeners might hear Black Sabbath hopping on a trend here, there’s not a much better endorsement of the scene than the Elder Gods of Heavy Metal entering in. And it’s not like these are posers. Tony Iommi alone deserves most of the credit for Metal’s guitar tone. And this record is an absolute standard-bearer of classic metal. The riffs are tight, the solos soar, and Dio gives one of his most compelling demonstrations of why he is one of the best metal vocalists ever.

It is a great metal record. Full stop.

But it still doesn’t sound like Sabbath. When I’m in the mood for Black Sabbath, this will likely be the last record I would choose.

If I’m in the mood for Heaven and Hell though…