Visual Rhetoric Presentation
Heaven and Hell
By: Quentin Staples
Background Info
• Album was released April 25,
1980.
• First album by Black Sabbath with
new singer Ronnie James Dio
• Third highest selling album by the
band
• Artwork was taken from artist
Lynn Curlee entitled “Smoking
Angels”
Audience
The audience intended was the listeners of
Black Sabbath but now it has a message to all
who might happen to somehow come across
it.
Study
• What is the first thing you notice? Why?
• Is there a strong visual contrast?
Study II
• The first thing I noticed in the picture was the
angels smoking, because this is not a normal
idea. Rarely are those two things matched
together
• There is a visual contrast between the white
letters of Black Sabbath to the darker angels
and the black background, this puts emphasis
on the angels and the title.
Appeal
The appeal of this album is Ethos, because
angels in our culture are associated with
things that are good and not smoking and
gambling and such.
Meaning
What do you think the meaning is?
Meaning II
• When you think of angels you think of white
and pure entities but in this picture they are
dark and doing things generally considered
impure such as smoking and gambling. This
image however is very hypocritical of the idea
and is saying that no matter the group, there
will always be hypocrites.
Bibliography
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_and_Hel
l_(Black_Sabbath_album)
• http://www.dio.net/pictures_misc/tourbook_
heaven_and_hell_uk_1980_big.jpg