In light of the upcoming album from Black Sabbath, choose your favorite frontman and discuss!

The classic Ozzy versus the god itself, Dio and the eternal idol, Tony Martin. Choose your camp! Settle this once and for all.

Also, please before voting, listen to the albums with Martin if you haven't, he's great! The question isn't "what are the best Sabbath albums?", I think you''ll have to consider that, yes, Ozzy was influential and all but...

I voted for Ozzy. He's not technically the best singer of the bunch. In fact, he's the worst. But he set the stage for a lot of things to come down the pike. On the other hand, if Dio hadn't been in Black Sabbath as a replacement for Ozzy, he still would have been highly influential for his time in Rainbow and probably an eventual solo career. And as much as I like Heaven and Hell, yeah, I prefer the first 3 Ozzy records. More my speed.

I voted for Gillan, just because I think he's got a much more powerful voice. "Trashed" is one of my favorite Sabbath songs.

I choose Ozzy.

Dio rules and Tony Martin Is great, but in the end, my favorite Sabbath albuns are with Ozzy.

Dio all the way; as a singer Dio had no competence and I also love the albums with him.

As much as I adore both Ozzy and Dio era Sabbath, I have to go with Tony Martin. His albums, especially Headless Cross, just evoke this dark, grandiose atmosphere that, while definitely different, outmatches the former two. I view his albums as a perfect mixture of the Ozzy era albums and the Dio era albums; Ozzy era's sense of pure evil and Dio era's grandiosity. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

My thoughts exactly!

This was the most difficult post to answer so far. On one hand, Ozzy was on my favourite Sabbath albums of all time. On the other, Dio is simply a better singer and I find myself singing songs from Heaven and Hell quite frequently. I don't have much experience with later Sabbath, so I went with RJD.

I'll leave the music itself outta the discussion, only taking them for their face value as singers/frontmen. As such, Dio comes on top every time; raw, sheer power, majestic grace, a commanding stage presence..... The man had it all, so yeah, I chose him. Tony Martin is a close second though, as his performances were all fantastic (though I can't speak much for what he did on Forbidden, mostly because I can't even remember the album). The Ozzman might be influential and shit, and I respect that (hell, I love his Sabotage performance), but he cannot compete with anyone who's on that list.

EDIT: Necro, you should seriously check out the Tony Martin era of Sabbath.

This is tough because they have a slew of great albums with each singer. Personally I'd say they never made a better album than Sabotage or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, though albums like Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules certainly don't lack for trying...the Tony Martin albums are amazing in their own right but just don't stack up to those four, which are some of my metal all time favorites, even though Martin has that unbeatable vocal inflection and killer otherworldly wail...

Damn, this is a hard one. I'll go with Dio overall for best singer. He just ruled at everything he did. I could list my favorite Dio performances but really it'd just be the entire tracklist of both Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell. He owned those albums with a force and might so great that the heavens shook when you played 'em loud enough.

Hate to be the hipster who votes for one of the less popular choices, but I'll go with Tony Martin. Cross Purposes was one of the first Sabbath albums I've heard (and thus one of the earlier albums in my metal development) and his voice amazed me then as it still does today. Of course all the other singers (aside from Oswald) are great too.

Glad that Ozzy's not winning; I can't stand that guy.

Love Ozzy the most, which probably has to do with me hearing the album "Black Sabbath" first. Ozzy's delivery always sounded more personal and heartfelt.

*Competition*

You just said that Dio sucks.

So many of Dio's songs with Iommi send shivers down my spine. Heaven and Hell being the biggest culprit. Dio it is.

No compromises, it's Dio for me. That man's voice fit so well with Iommi's playing. The doom and gloom was masterful, unlike the arcane early stuff Ozzy did (first album primarily). I'll still take Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer over any Sabbath album except that s/t. However, one damn near perfect Ozzy album isn't going to stop 3 superb Dio ones. Throw in H&H's TDYK (Sabbath in essence) and that's another mark for Dio.

Martin I love on Headless Cross, but after that it's a steep downhill.

I love them all but Dio most certainly has my vote. That said, I was listening to Ian Gillan's take on "Black Sabbath" again last night and find myself wondering what would've happened if the lineup had kept it together to record one more album...

For me it's Ozzy. The first five Sabbath albums are incredible. Even though Dio was very good, when I think of Sabbath, I think of Ozzy's vocals.

ehhh, man, this is a tough one! You see, I love both eras, for very different reasons as they were very different asthetically but each outstanding in their own way. I'd go Dio, hands down, for the vocals but...I love the songwriting of the early Ozzy days. Those last couple Ozzy albums were just okay but the first four or five, man....each one of those were classics. I'm gonna go with Dio here, just because the material is just as strong as Ozzy's but with better vocals, but it's really, really close.

"Who's the best?" - Tony Iommi.

All legends in their own right, but I have to go with RJD on this one. I've long hoped to explore the Martin albums more thoroughly, though.

Gotta go with Tony Martin. I tell ya one cool thing about MA is it's one of the only sites I can think of where Martin would even in be in the running.

I like Martin more because of his voice mainly, but I also have a special affinity for the albums he did with sabbath especially Tyr. Most of my favorite Sabbath albums are between the Ozzy and Martin eras and seeing that I prefer Martin's voice between those two that would be my pick.

I voted for Dio, Mob Rules and Heaven & Hell are my fav Sabbath albums, I also enjoy Ozzzy's stuff but Dio is simply a better frontman for the band, also, haven't heard any album with Tony Martin until just know, if he grows on me he could be tied with Ozzy in my book, or even surpass him.

Well until now I haven't listened to any of the albums with the guys other the Ozzy or Dio, guss now would be a good time to try the rest. Also damn, just listened to the song Born Again on YouTube I have a feeling this is going to be a difficult. As soon as I get a chance to listen to several songs with each guy I will return with my answer.

gotta say ozzy. though I love the Dio stuff and Forbidden

I want to see if Glenn will still be sporting the golden sombrero by poll's end.

I voted Dio. He's by far my favorite of all Sabbath singers.

The Classic albums will always be the Ozzy era this is indisputable, but Dio is a superior vocalist and the very spirit of heavy metal and he did usher in a few classic songs but nothing on par with what defined doom metal and inspired the legions of bands that we see today. I'm torn especially with the fact I grew up hearing Dio's voice in his solo career, but the gloomy riffs, dismal atmosphere, and variety all belong in Sabbath's early output. Anything past these first two eras of the band is an utter joke

That's what tipped it for me too - I wasn't sure whether I was going for Ozzy or Dio for a while.

Ozzy era Sabbath is best, but not because of Ozzy. Don't get me wrong, I like his vocals on the classics, but Iommi is who defines those albums. Dio on the other hand is fucking Dio.

Pretty much impossible poll. To me, Ozzy is the voice for Black Sabbath. Dio's best work is with Rainbow and definitively on Holy Diver. For the Sabbath eras I prefer to listen to the Martin albums, so Martin it is.

Ozzy, in Sabbath. Dio overally would win, but that's not the purpose of poll.

I voted Ozzy... I like his more off-kilter, sometimes creepy, sometimes crazy vocals more. Soaring male vocals really aren't my thing, so I never have been a fan of Dio (as a singer, I mean; he was a very cool person).

Though I like some of the later records with Dio and Tony, none of them evoke those unique, eerie feelings to me that Ozzy's tenure did from '69-75. His voice might not have technically been supreme, but it was just so distinct and unnerving even despite its flaws. Definitely a critical element to their sound in that period, and the other singers never haunted me so much. Gotta go with the Prince of Darkness, no matter what a caricature he's made of himself through the 90s and beyond (I've got a soft spot for his solo albums in the 80s).

I went with Ozzy, pretty much for the exact reason autothrall did. Dio's voice is immaculate, and certainly fit in well with Sabbath. Ozzy, however, was a much more fitting match to their sludgy sound. A very good example of when horrible vocals somehow sounds awesome, IMO.

The purpose is to determine who's considered the better frontman. For me Dio wins for the same reasons why he wins overally, as you put it. He's not just the more professional vocalist, he also has more integrity and I simply would prefer to see a Black Sabbath reunion with Dio and Iommy writing Ozzy era riffs than the same thing with Ozzy. Ozzy was a great fit for Sabbath during his time, but it is hard to tell what they would have been like with Dio on vocals. My guess is that it would have been amazing. Just take Live Evil as an example. But maybe it needed a not so great vocalist for Iommy to compensate with amazing riffs, I dunno.

Black Sabbath. Original line up was the best. Never liked Dio in Sabbath.

They were (freudian slip - are) called Black Sabbath and Ozzy fitted perfectly, he was the harbinger of doom.

No love for Seventh Star?

Ozzy for sure. As much as Dio is the superior singer, I just prefer Ozzy's style. I think he gives more personality to the band and conveys really cool feelings. I don't care that much for the other dudes even if they are technically good, well, maybe except Ian Gillian.