I feel so sorry for the people ignoring Tony's Black Sabbath era. They are missing a lot of great music

Dio is the obvious champion here. No matter what band he's in Elf, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Dio he's always been amazing.

I am an outlier here, but I love Tony Martin's vocals on Headless Cross. That is my favorite Sabbath record.

We all know who became iconic but man, Ray Gillen was from another planet. The only one who could perfectly cover all eras. Enough said. Great video!

Tony Iommi said recently, " People were so hung up on Ozzy, and Dio, they didn't realize how good the later records were, now sometime later, they listen and say, those are some really strong recordings"

Dio was more constant in live situations and he is among my top vocal heroes, but I honestly have to say I absolutely love Tony Martin. His albums Headless cross and TYR are my favorite Sabbath albums and his studio performances are out of this world. To me, he always sounded like a slightly cleaner and more melodic version of Dio. Tony Martin is the most underrated rock/metal singer of all time and he should be up there with Dickinson, Halford, Dio, etc. in my opinion.

How could you forget Ian Gillan? C'mon man! Songs like Trashed, Zero The Hero... Born Again was such an underrated album.

I love the Tony Martin era. Eternal Idol, Headless Cross and Tyr: Great albums

Dio was definitely the best singer in Sabbath. Dio and Ray Gillen were amazing talented singers. They both had incredible vocal ranges and very powerful voices. Ozzy has always had that unique sound in his singing voice that I always love. ❤ The Dio era Sabbath is my all-time favorite Sabbath era.🤘👍❤

The late, legendary drummer, Cozy Powel said: "I've worked with every singer Black Sabbath ever had and Tony Martin was the best." My humble opinion, for what it's worth: Tony Martin is the most underrated vocalist in the history of Heavy Metal. Sure, he didn't sound as well live as in the studio; but how many people do? Listen to the studio version of "Call of the Wild" and "Anno Mundi." Amazing. Tony Martin was an OUTSTANDING singer! So underrated. Just my opinion.

Hands down favorite Sabbath album is with Tony Martin, 'The Headless Cross', that being said I have to agree, each front man in Sabbath's discography is like a different flavor of ice cream, not better or worse necessarily, just different.

I've always said that I like Ozzy in Sabbath better, but RJD was one of the best to ever do it.

Ray Gillen is so underrated. Loved his work with Badlands. Thank you for doing this video Ken! God bless! 💯

Even when Tony Martin's voice started to change around 93-94 it still sounded amazing. While the Ozzy stuff was a bit tricky, he could sing his and Dio's stuff really well live even during the Forbidden era

Hands down Ronnie James Dio even tho Ozzy had a unique style that fit the early songs however, Ronnie James Dio had the voice and the Best voice in Metal

I praise uniqueness and Ozzy’s voice is one of a kind. Easily identifiable.

I'm a massive Ray Gillen fan.. The work he did with Badlands was insanely good! Everyone should know how good this guy was!

I gotta go with the one singer not on the list: Ian Gillan. I love the Born Again album and Ian's vocals are incredible on it. Songs like Disturbing The Priest, Trashed, Zero The Hero... Love it. Wish his time in the band was longer.

I heard some Black Sabbath demos where Ray Gillen sang a lot more like Dio, and it blew me away. What an amazing singer.

Love Tony Martin!!! such great albums he sang on, with that said i love em all!

Tony Martin is incredible! I love the Headless Cross album

tony is criminally underrated...and to me the one who did better songs in black sabbath

Ray Gillen....absolutely amazing. Look for him singing Children of the Sea on KZfaq! Unreal!!!

I worked one of Ray Gillan’s shows with Badlands as stage crew a million years ago. Down to earth guy who was good to us peons. Gone too soon.

Tony Martin always had the chops to carry everything. I grew up with the Ozzy era, loved tbe Dio albums but for me Tony had it all.

It's got to be Tony Martin for me. Absolutely LOVE his vocals on the Sabbath albums in the late 80s and early 90s. Dio is obviously Dio but I always preferred his solo band over his work in Black Sabbath. Maybe it's because I was just a tiny bit too young to be around when he replaced Ozzy. Holy Diver was what put Ronnie on the map for me. Absolutely epic, of course.

met ray in pittsburgh on a black sabbath tour 85 or 86, invited me in his room to listen to some of his recent shows, man he was one of the nicest and most down to earth guys I ever met. RIP Ray, you'll never be forgotten......

With all, all, all due respect to everyone and my love for Tony Martin - Ray Gillen is the absolute beast here. Thanks for pointing out his singing sharp, I love it so much!

Best vocalist? RJD 2nd to none. Ozzy? Best front man. Ray, Ian, Tony and Glenn were all awesome vocalists and their contributions to the history of Sabbath are unforgettable.

Ray melted my face when I heard Badlands at 14 in 1989, I was like who IS this guy! Dio I knew was already great. When I heard Tony Martin do Headless Cross (song) and Annu Mundi (song) from the albums, whoa! He was just a phenomenal studio vocalist as you said. Live, he seemed to struggle a lot with higher ranges, also he lost his voice due to being ill, which I didn't know either. So yeah, agreed on all. But as a full band there's only ONE Sabbath, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. Also Ozzy's vocal range went way up later in his career, via Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Snowblind etc. Thanks for the video!! Enjoyed it.

Considering the criteria, Dio all the way. Although Ray, Ian, and Glenn are absolutely at the top of the list for my all-time favorite singers, the Sabbath precedent for the powerhouse and melodic vocal was set by Dio.

Black Sabbath is a great choice. Can't go wrong there. That was my favorite band and I saw them in concert a few times with Ozzy!

I had never seen Ray singing for them… but OMG 😱 Thank you for posting that, as you know he is my absolute favorite singer 🤘🏻

Of course Dio is the huge winner here for me, no if ands or buts. Hands down he had them all beat. Now, if I had to choose who was the better singer here in order after Dio, it would be Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, and then Ozzy. Once again Dio for me, because he mastered his vocals!! No one could even come close to this man! RIP Ronnie James Dio and Ray Gillen. Peace! ✌🏼

Badlands was such a great band before Ray passed. I suggest everyone listen to them.

Absolutely fair assessment. Wish you could use video from Cross Purposes live, when Tony was at his best with the band.

Tony Martin, hands down. Also, Sabbath's follow up singers we're not simply replacements for Ozzy, but brought a character that marked a distinct era of the band!

RJD laid the path...the vocal schematic, the artistic and structural dynamic, for a generation of Rock vocal titans; and RG is WAY up there amid that apex pantheon ... RIP to both. This stuff still blows me away, like I heard it for the first time, yesterday! Great video, Ken... Rock on, until the end, brother!

Ronnie James Dio hands down! Mad respect to Ray Gillen and Tony Martin is the unsung hero here!

Tony Martin got me into Sabbath. Gillen was insane with Badlands. Dio has such breadth with Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio, I love them all. Ozzy is the OZ Man, the only singer I've ever seen with Sabbath live. But Tony Martin is the keystone for me.

Ray was a gift! The beautiful vocals, the hard rocking ….so sad he left so soon. I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with him after a Badlands show. So sweet, lots of fun and very kind. You should do an episode on his time in Badlands! Please!

I agree on Dio and Ray. It is insane how the voice flows out of Ray.

Well done! Objective and honest... Nice walk down memory lane! Great stuff...

Great series! You've nailed it again. I saw the Headless Cross tour and TM was spectacular! And Cozy ... man - what a drummer!!

Dio was the best actual singer they ever had. He's probably the best metal singer of all all-time. But Ozzy was definitely their most popular.

What amazing is how much better Dio sounded in his later years with Sabbath live.You hit it Ken, his vocal technique got better as he aged. You don't see that very often. ✌

Great video ❤

What an awesome series and another great video. Curious of the others to come (Rainbow, Deep Purple, REO, Lynyrd Skynyrd...).

TONY MARTIN, extremely underrated! To me Ozzy number 1 and Tony number 2. Tony Added so much atmosphere to the band together with killer vocals and imo the only other person to do that besides Ozzy himself. Ozzy was a unique atmosphere, insanely recognizable, no one even remotely close to how Ozzy sounds, Iconic!

Man, Ray was so underatted, you can hear that when he sing there’s absolutely zero fatigue ! I love Tony Martin from studio but his live performances was a bit disappointing..

Awesome video. Really like the fact you included the lesser known but very talented vocalists as well. Great series overall!

Great concept for the vid keep them coming

I agree with your comments about each singer. Ozzy was more stage presence, Gillen had the clear high range, Martin was limited live but awesome on studio recordings. My all time favorite is Dio hands down. Up until he passed, he still sang flawless and I don't think he ever had a bad vocal performance.

I always loved Ray's vocals, but after watching this analysis. I appreciate him so much more. This was great to watch all around. Thank you !!!!

I enjoy it a lot! This is what we can call a real video reaction with professional analysis. Nice!

Fantastic series of videos, well done Ken, superb

Dio is the epitome of metal voice period.

I think we can safely say Tony Iommi had an amazing ability to find great singers.

It's been a long time I haven't watched your videos glad to be back .

Good video man!! keep rocking!

I think Dio was the best frontman Sabbath ever had (that includes Ozzy too), but man, Tony Martin is actually underrated. He did five albums with them (more than the other replacement singers), but almost none of those albums are recognized except by the really hardcore Sabbath fans.

Ray Gillen forever ❤️ I listen every week almost , and always my jaw is dropped , even though I know every song by heart . What a beautiful impressive voice ! Thanks for mentioning him, his incredible talent is worth it 💪💪💪 I know lots of live recordings when he sings songs from Dio , Hughes and Ozzy era . So so mind-blowing ...

Best part of all of these series is watching you match their vocals, very impressive!

This video came up by accident, I am one of very few people who really like Tony Martin Sabbath. Didn’t know Gillian, but that sounded great. I thought your opinions were spot on. Good job. I’m a lousy singer but I will watch your videos and try to get better.

Dio is just my favorite metal vocalist, and I feel like Dio really gave Black Sabbath that darker and heavier sound . I also think some of the darkest songs lyrically came from Dio.

Ray Gillen gets my vote....the best!

Never heard Tony Martin before. Positively surprised now!

Tony Martin era, my best childhood, HEADLESS CROSS always on air!

Big fan of Ray Gillen. Glad to see Ray given a bigger spotlight in Black Sabbath's history, even if he was only in the band for 5 minutes. I personally prefer his version of the Eternal Idol album, though I like Tony Martin, especially on the Headless Cross. I'm glad when they replaced Ray, they kept his demos for posterity. Until they turned up as bootlegs and the official european release of the 2 disc edition of Eternal Idol, I thought Ray's vocals were lost forever.

Props to Tony Iommi for working with so many great vocalists. It confirms that a vocalist is a very important person but the central figure is a composer.

Oh man, I didn't even know about Ray! Thanks! Imma actually check out more of his stuff now, he's impressive. Such a shame his career ended so soon.

Amazing video! I love the control you have over your voice! Cheers!

I'm amazed at the HUGE singing voice that came from Ronnie James Dio. He was only like 5'4 inches tall yet had that powerful voice. Amazing.

Great video Ken! there are too many aspects to consider in a vocalist/singer that is impossible to pin down watching a few videos for each individual : 1. Originality / Uniqueness - ( I think in that category I would pick Ozzy and Ronnie on the top of the list, in fact, Ozzy, in particular, have a very distinctive and accessible voice compared to all Sabbath singers, a more pedestrian feel and presence to voice that most casual listeners could sort of relating to. 2. Melodies - (Now this is where Ozzy and Dio really separate from the rest, I believe both are two of the greatest ever when it comes down to vocal melodies, in fact, I think that was Ozzy's secret weapon with Sabbath, in particular, his melodies are very accessible sort of having that pop-ish Beatlesque feel to them (no wonder since they're one of his biggest influences), and while the first 3 records he seemed to follow through Iommi's main riffs (ex. Iron man, NIB etc..) it's on Vol.4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage where he comes with some of his finest and beautiful vocal melodies. Dio also was extremely talented with melodies and his vocal lines were so versatile and diverse. That was one of the major issues with Ray Gillen, a fantastic singer but he wasn't that good at coming up with his original lines and melodies. 3. Phrasing - (there are a lot of singers out there that could really hit very high notes or have a powerful voice but to me, there are very few that do actually phrase the words with great articulation and feel both live and in the studio, in that category, Ronnie definitely comes on top, whether with Rainbow, Sabbath or Dio, Ronnie's phrasing was always on top form, he truly meant every word he sang live and his articulation of words was always crystal clear to my ears, he lets the words open up and resonate, I've seen Sabbath and Dio live around 80+ times and Ronnie always made you feel he was singing just for you (whether its a club, sold-out arena or in front of a massive summer festival), Ozzy was brilliant in the studio with Sabbath but live wasn't as consistent or expressive in my humble opinion ( not to Ronnie's level and that goes to Tony Martin as well). 4. Consistency and Longevity - No one touches Ronnie in that category, I've never ever heard or seen Ronnie have a night off, he actually never cancelled a show in his whole career even when he was very sick (he was just recovering from a throat infection on the 'Holy Diver live' and 'Radio City Music Hall' with Sabbath when he recorded both shows) , Ronnie was always in tune and top form, his voice always very powerful and even as he got older his level of performances was bar to none, Ronnie passed away when he was 67 years and if you listen to his voice and live performances towards the end they're on a completely different level to the likes of Ozzy , Dickinson , Gillan , Coverdale , Halford and Tony Martin as they got older, Tony Martin, in particular, struggled really hard with replicating some of his finest vocals live on stage (Headless Cross as a prime example), on the other hand, Ronnie's live performances rivalled his studio performances! one thing I've noticed with Ronnie in his later years as well was how his sense of timing was really quite exceptional, he also never sang very differently from one night to the other , meaning that each and every song was performed in tune and very consistent technical wise, but the way he phrased (or told the story) varied from one night to the other. Also and unlike many other singers, Ronnie's mic was always extremely dry, with no effects whatsoever. On a side note, I would really love to see you Ken dig deep into the following : 1. Ronnie's vocals performances through the years, how and what changed, developed and all the subtleties of his technique from Rainbow to Sabbath , Dio etc. 2. Ozzy isn't well known for either his technique or vocal range but on Sabbath's finest hours 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Sabotage' he breaks into a completely different range and vocal realm that is even very technically very difficult to sing by anyone, I would really love to hear you dig deep into songs like 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' ( the last part of the song in particular), 'Hole In the Sky', 'Symptom Of The Universe', 'The Writ' and 'Spiral Architect' and sort of break down in terms of technique and explain how could they possibly be approach ( Ozzy rarely performed any of the songs from those particular records cause they simply blew his voice on tour not to mention not being able to sing that high as he became older). Thanks again for all your wonderful videos!

This guy is pretty cool! Great teacher and obviously a great singer. Very informative and good personality. 👍😁👍

P.S,, Great Review... really well done.. i love all of Sabbaths Singers.

After hearing this, I also would say that Ray is technically the best. But I think all singers of Sabbath (except Ian Gillan) were perfect for the time period they were in Sabbath. Tony Martin has always been underrated, and Dio was the best for combining stage presence and singing.

Tony Martin was epic on Headless Cross, and to be fair, no one else could sing those songs as well as he did. Just as no one can replicate Dio on Heaven and Hell and such. Ray Gillen was awesome in his own right, and no one can touch his Badlands performances, but he's more of a blues/ rock guy. I have his version of Eternal Idol and while good, Tony Martin was spot on for that one. They all have their place.

I never knew there was live stuff of Ray with sabs , I’m off to hunt for it , awesome, ps , I love this new vlog ken. Brilliant

I just stumbled on your channel....youre awesome!

Holy cow!!! That's a tough one. Vocally all different. And I love them all. Tony Martin deserves a lot of respect as well a Ray Gillen who is awesome. I love Martin era albums a lot. Bit Dio is my no.1 🤘🤘🤘 But you forgot Ian Gillan. Born again was a heck of a great dark doomy album. 🤘🤘🤘

I agree on Dio clearly leading the pack. I understand why you like Ray, even if I don't like the being sharp to be honest. Simply sounds off to my ears. Nevertheless, what an amazing singer! I think it is a bit unfair to compare Tony on Ronnies songs. Tony does amazing on his own stuff imho. But I can agree on the order. And of course, in the end it is about the music and not a sports. I love all of them and am thankful for what they created!

wow.. i have learned so much here. i never realized sabbath had so many lead vocals. i knew about dio and ozzy but not the others.

Saw Ray G with them in London, blew me away

Headless cross, with Tony, is the best Black Sabbath album to me.

As much as I love Dio, they’re very very best work was with Tony Martin. Hopefully someday we can hear you do some more on him.

Great videos ken! you are on fire these days!

Freaking love your channel. An amazing analysis of some of the most iconic singers of all time, in any genre. Kudos to you sir. Instant sub, and I have much to listen to before I will comment again. No favs here. All those fine gentlemen are metal super heroes.. okay Dio is the best.. lol

Dio is my choice, especially with lyrics, but I loved Tony Martin on Headless Cross

I'm truly not a big Ozzy fan but I give him respect he's the grandfather of metal him in the members of Black Sabbath. But Ronnie James Dio is the king And Tony Martin is definitely one of the best singers of all time. Underrated overlooked it's a shame it's a shame

i like the new series! Great idea! i would love to see an episode on Rainbow with all its great singers (Dio, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, and Doogie White)

Hi Ken ! Love this series. I'd like to recommend some bands: ANGRA, VISION DIVINE, MALMSTEEN. Peace out!

Holy cow! I can’t peak between Ozzy and Ronnie! Both of them brought to Black Sabbath their incredibly unique style and immensely contributed to metal scene in general. Dio is the best metal singer to ever walk on earth. He was a Metal God. It’s impossible to top him. His tremendous range, powerful voice and flawless vocal techniques put me in trance in no time. He gave Sabbath a touch of mystery. He’s one hell of a lyricist and artist. Ozzy is one of the best frontmen EVER. Ozzy's voice just fitted the dark atmosphere of Black Sabbath perfectly. He took the stage by storm with his showmanship and spectacular charisma. Ozzy created metal with Black Sabbath to keep it 100. Their first albums raised a bar to the whole music generation. Can't we just appreciate them both as great vocalists and showmen? I didn’t listen to other Sabbath vocalists much. I guess I should check them out. Ken, you're definitely a chill! A treat for my ears. Can't get enough of your massive vids. Just what the doctor ordered.💖💯🔥❤️😎🎸

I love Tony's voice and I love the Headless Cross album, but Ronnie James Dio is my hero and my absolute undisputed number one. Greetings from Germany...Jörg

Saw Ray Guillen with Badlands first tour at Dallas City Limits in 1989. Wow, what an amazing talent.

Ótimo o seu trabalho!

Well, what an incredible bunch you've got here, Ken!! Nobody would seriously question that Dio is, by far, the best, not only from a more technical point of view but also because of his power and charisma onstage Not many people (I'm not going to say 'nobody') would say Ozzy is a great singer, but he clearly has a unique personality, and he indelibly marked BS's birth and evolution, and it's not for nothing that he is a legend in hard rock and metal Absolutely agree that it's really a shame that Ray Gillen left us so soon. Some years ago BS released a special edition of The eternal idol album, with the official recording, let's say, with Tony Martin and then a second CD with Gillen's original recording, and it's like.... my goodness!! Truly amazing. In fact, there were a couple of things he did in one or two songs, I cannot remember well now, that Gillen did so good that Tony Martin just couldn't replicate them in his rendition of the songs and they decided to keep Gillen's version And Tony Martin has been unfairly treated. On one hand, when he first came in, he limited himself to copying exactly what Ray had done, and he did a tremendous job. From The eternal idol on (Headless cross, Tyr... some pretty nice stuff in all those albums) he has able to develop his own thing, but always with the 'shadow' of Dio over him, as if he had been merely an imitator. In this sense, it would have been good if you had shown Tony Martin singing his songs with BS, not only Dio songs, fantastic as they are. Unquestionably, Dio's mega-influence is there, but there's much more than mere copy to what Tony Martin did. Once his Sabbath years were over, he's continued to do solo stuff, but I would say not many people are paying attention to what he's doing, and he really deserves more attention Anyway, Ken, thank you so much for sharing your insight on all theses matters and for your advice

Great to see some well deserved Ray Gillen appreciation here! When I tell people he's my favorite Sabbath vocalist, followed by Tony Martin, people give me a look like I've just insulted their mother or something. And I agree with you too on that I prefer Martin in the studio than live. Nothing against Ozzy or Dio though, love them both (and Dio's performance in Rainbow's Stargazer is my all-time favorite vocal performance), but I just happen to like the other two better. Glen Hughes was (and still is) great too, but I've never been a big fan of Ian Gillan though, be it solo, Purple or Sabbath.

Killer video

Dude you are literally the only person who gets the difference...outstanding