Topic: Black Sabbath Album Discussion Thread

[Umbrella Sam]

I was all set to write a joke about how Tony Martin went from the Marx Brothers to Black Sabbath, but then I was reminded who our moderator is. Martin has a very good voice; of all the Sabbath singers, I’d say his is probably the second best, kind of close to Dio’s at times. That being said, I can also understand why people wouldn’t like that, as it sounds so much like Dio’s voice (as well as Ozzy’s occasionally when it comes to more of the screaming moments) that he’s not really as distinct as the other Sabbath singers.

“The Shining” is a really strong opener. Loved the drumming on it, and it’s led by a strong riff to keep the song moving. I actually was not a fan of “Ancient Warrior”. The riff wasn’t particularly memorable and I felt there were a few moments where the guitar harmonies seemed a bit sloppy. “Hard Life to Love” is my favorite track here. Really great riff and I like how it transitions naturally between the heavier and lighter parts; the drums do a really great job tying everything together. There’s something about Singer’s drumming on this album that really stands out a lot more than SEVENTH STAR. Maybe because of the fact that he had more time to get used to working with the group.

I agree that “Glory Ride” does have some interesting mood changes, and I really like when it focuses on the acoustic guitar. But it doesn’t have a strong hook and I wasn’t quite as fond of it as some of the other tracks. “Born to Lose” is a fun, fast paced track. That “shadows in the dark” line in particular was done really well; that alone made the song for me. “Nightmare” has kind of an odd intro; it starts off like something out of an ‘80s horror movie, but rather than fade into the track, it instead fades away and then just suddenly cuts to the main track. Aside from that weird opening, I did like this song. I really liked the crazy instrumental with all the laughing and the “dream within a dream” line is really catchy.

“Scarlet Pimpernel” (not going to lie, I almost wrote Scarlet Pumpernickel out of habit) is a really good instrumental, focused mostly on acoustic guitar, but with an occasional light keyboard sound to add to the mood. “Lost Forever” definitely feels like a Dio era song and does a good job recapturing that, including what I consider the best guitar solo on the album. The title track is probably the most unique one in terms of atmosphere. It does work, especially the intro, although I feel Martin’s vocal harmonies are kind of off here; it almost sounds like he’s working against himself rather than singing with himself to create the right harmonies.

As for the two B-sides, I really like the original version of “Black Moon”, which makes great use out of the organ. “Some Kind of Woman” is kind of forgettable, though.

In the end, I do think THE ETERNAL IDOL has some problems, but “The Shining” and “Hard Life to Love” are definitely classics and there’s still enough good music overall to enjoy. Interested in seeing where the Martin era goes from here, since this was really just him filling in for someone else whereas the future albums are where he has more influence.

[metaldams]

Sam, you make a good point about Martin not being involved in the writing until the next album.  That will definitely be discussed.  I plan to getting that review in this weekend, but want to catch up on Steely Dan and Elton first.

[metaldams]

 


     I hope you guys can handle what I’m about to say.  After the last tour ended, Tony Martin was the singer.  He even sang on the album that was being toured for.  Now, the next Black Sabbath album is released and Tony Martin is still the singer!  Same singer, two albums in a row.  Been a while, eh?  HEADLESS CROSS, to certain younger sects of Sabbath fans, is considered a top tier Sabbath album, one of the very best.  For this younger side of middle aged Sabbath fan (1994’s CROSS PURPOSES was the first album I got into as a new release, so there are certainly older fans than myself), it’s grown on me in recent years.  I have my pros and cons with it, though the cons section can be overlooked by most and is something I’ve been more forgiving of as of late.  I’ll get to that in a bit.

      First, singer stability aside, lots of changes.  With the label situation, HEADLESS CROSS, like the three Tony Martin albums that follow this one, are on the now defunct I.R.S. Records.  This label was an indie that also sported R.E.M.’s earlier recordings and due to it’s defunct status, these albums have been in legal Hell for years.  I did buy CD copies back in the 90’s when they were in print, but these days? YouTube is your best bet, don’t look to Spotify.  Fairly recently, Iommi did obtain the rights to the I.R.S. albums and a rumored Tony Martin era box set is in the works, so fingers crossed that happens.  A lot of fans want it for sure.

      Personnel wise, stability beyond the singer, by post Ozzy Sabbath standards, happens here.  Most importantly is drum legend Cozy Powell.  He will play on three Black Sabbath albums.  Check out his resume on Wikipedia, it’s quite impressive.  For here, let’s just say he played with Dio in Rainbow (and one album without Dio).  That history will play a part of the story come DEHUMANIZER time.  Amusingly enough, when ELP (AKA Emerson, Lake and Palmer), wanted to make an album in the 80’s without Palmer, Powell became the new “P.”

      Bass wise, session player Laurence Cottle played on the album and appeared in the video for the title track.  Never a member of the band, he was replaced on tour by Neil Murray, who previously played with Powell in Whitesnake.  Along with the ever trusty Geoff Nichols on keyboards, this line up would record two non-consecutive albums together after this, making them the most prolific post-Ozzy line up after Dio/Iommi/Butler/Appice.

      So the pros and cons of the album for me?  Musically, the majority of it I like a lot.  I’ll get into that detail in the track by track.  It’s lyrically where I have to be more forgiving.  This is the first album where Tony Martin writes the lyrics and it’s almost like he’s feeding into what people expect from Sabbath, the Satan and demons cliches.  It’s not so much on future albums, but man, I miss those intelligent Geezer Butler lyrics.  Still, it’s something I try to ignore or maybe even accept on its own terms like a horror movie, because musically, there’s a lot of cool stuff here and Martin’s vocals are really good.  Onto the track by track.

      “The Gates of Hell/Headless Cross” After a brief one minute atmospheric album opener, Cozy Powell makes his presence known with a powerful drum intro and we get the classic title track.  Somewhat forced Satan references aside, this is musically a really awesome track.  Fantastic vocals by Martin, Powell puts on a clinic and those blocked Iommi chords are all accented in the right place.  The verse rhythm gallops like “Heaven and Hell.”  A latter day Sabbath classic.

      “Devil and Daughter”  “She’s hot, evil and ready.”  Those lyrics are fine for KISS, but again, the only thing in the debit column of what is otherwise a cool song.  I can see how the younger metal guys, the types who like power metal, are into this.  High Tony Martin vocals, tons of double bass drum and even some keyboards in the riff.  Very melodic and catchy.  Fantastic guitar solo from Iommi.

      “When Death Calls”  Again, making allowances for the lyrics, my favorite song on the album.  A beautiful melodic intro, which I believe is played on the high register of the bass, and some really really mellow and beautiful singing by Martin.  It leads into a powerful, heavy chorus - but it’s that middle section that is to die for.  To quote El Brendel, “Yumpin Yimminy!”  Makes me wanna raise my fist in the air and that guitar solo?  Played by none other than Tony Iommi’s good friend, Brian May of Queen.  A stone cold classic here.

      “Kill In the Spirit World” Gotta be honest, side two of this album has never been one of my more listened to sides, but I’ve revisited a few times for this review.  This particular track, all I got to say is starts off to happy, but then all of the sudden goes into these cool atmospheric parts in the middle with some cool Iommi riffs.  A song where I like some parts better than others.

      “Call of the Wild” Not a song that has stood out for me over the years, upon recent listens it does have some cool Middle Eastern motifs by Iommi and the whole “Hero” chorus does have a bit of a cool eighties vibe to it.

      “Black Moon”  Black Sabbath produce a song that, in every way imaginable, from the vocals and instruments, sounds like a mid level Whitesnake song.  Not necessarily a bad thing, just not very Sabbath and perhaps trying to compete with a band who, at the time, we’re more successful than they were.

      “Nightwing” Talk about a revelation these past couple of weeks!  This song was never on my radar and now I love it.  Love the progressive nature and the different mood changes.  Tony Martin shines here and I love the light and shade from Iommi with the electric and acoustic.  Great album closer.

      So if you want to hear this one, YouTube is the way to go, so link below.  The band themselves had minimal American success but were touring Europe, including Russia - bear in mind this is 1989.  A good album and one, like some of these other upcoming Tony Martin albums, I should listen to more.  God knows the ones before this I know by heart.

     

[metaldams]

From Russia With Love.  Pro shot footage.

Ozzy played Russia in 1989 as well - with Geezer.

[Moose Malloy]

When I bought and installed my first 8 track stereo in my new (used) Camaro convertible I only had enough bread left  to buy one 8 track and  I chose Black Sabbath. Man I was one cool dude roaring down the road, head banging while blasting  the driving beat of PARANOID

Another first was the speeding ticket I got that day doing 80 in a 55! I never played that song again in the car.

[metaldams]

I was listening to KISS ALIVE II for my speeding ticket, a 40 in a 25.

[JazzBill]

I was listening to police sirens when I got my first speeding ticket.

[Umbrella Sam]

As an album overall, pretty disappointing. I guess maybe my expectations were a bit too high considering so many fans say that this is the best of the Martin era albums and it’s supposed to be this underrated classic. I didn’t exactly hate anything (well, OK, I’ll admit I did find the title track a bit annoying), but there were some moments I felt were just generic and kind of boring, although certain tracks were exceptions and there was one big, BIG exception.

But let’s start with the stuff I didn’t like so much: the title track, “When Death Calls”, and “Call of the Wild”. The title track...sorry, just didn’t work for me. The riff just wasn’t that memorable and like I hinted at earlier, I did find Martin’s constant screaming of the title phrase pretty annoying. I do like the quieter opening to “When Death Calls” and it is interesting to hear Brian May take on a Sabbath guitar solo, but the main body of the song does feel a lot more formulaic and bland. I do like the occasional Middle Eastern sections of “Call of the Wild”, but otherwise I don’t really feel there’s anything that interesting about it.

Getting to the better tracks, I did like the funeral aspect to the keyboards on “Devil & Daughter”. “Kill in the Spirit World” is paced pretty well and I especially like Martin’s vocals on it. I like “Black Moon” too, although nothing about it sticks out significantly compared to the original version, even the organ parts sound similar. I also liked the bonus track, “Cloak and Danger”. Kind of bluesy at times, which is interesting to hear at such a late period and unlike “Heart Like a Wheel”, it’s much more contained and paced right. These tracks are definitely better, but even then, I don’t feel like they really show off the uniqueness of Black Sabbath. These sound like tracks that could be done by just about any metal band; I didn’t get the feeling that the drums were by this absolute legend in his field. That is, until...

“Nightwing”. If the majority of this album didn’t really meet my expectations, then this one definitely exceeded those expectations. I LOVE this song. The arpeggiated acoustic riff is fantastic, the drums are very dynamic, the guitar solos are excellent, the keyboards at times take on a string approach, and there’s a brief little Spanish interlude I really enjoy. I was not expecting a track of this quality this late in their career; this is easily a top 10 Sabbath song for me, maybe even top 5, that’s how much I liked this song.

As for the rest of it, not bad overall, I just don’t see the hype, and outside of “Nightwing”, the band just doesn’t sound as together as a unit on it as on their other work. I wouldn’t say it’s my least favorite so far, but that’s for the sole purpose that “Nightwing” is on it, as that alone is better than the best on the previous two albums. If it wasn’t on here...then, yes, it probably would be my least favorite.

[HomokHarcos]

I liked this album quite a bit, I wouldn't say it's like the other metal music popular during this time, because I did not get hair metal vibes from this release. Instead I found a good metal album.

"The Gates of Hell/Headless Cross": I liked the opening buildup, followed by the really cool rocking track. I liked Tony Martin's vocals on this one, I didn't find the vocals to be grating. I love the guitar solo in the track, and the bass that can also be heard during that section. I thought "Devil and Daughter" was even better, the quick riffs are so cool. I'm not too well versed in power metal, but if this is what the song is I might like to check out some more.

"When Death Calls" is another very good track on the album. Like the opening track, there is a nice buildup to the more hard hitting chorus. It has quieter parts that focus primarily on the vocals, and a VERY awesome guitar solo. Probably my favorite part of the album. "Kill in the Spirit World" has a more generic feel to me, aside from the section that metaldams mentioned. "Call of the Wild" I like aside from the chorus. I thought the Hero part was kind of cheesy, like it was made for an action movie.

"Black Moon" was a good rocker, even if it could have been done by several other bands at the time. "Nightwing": I agree that it is a pretty good track. A contender for my favorite on the album along with from "When Death Calls". I like the end of the song with the instrumental sections in this song, and I think it was the best way to finish the album.

Overall, I think it's a good metal release, but I wouldn't call it one of Black Sabbath's better releases.

[metaldams]

Heavy metal of 1989/1990, from a mainstream perspective in America, was either Guns N’ Roses and other “hair” bands, or heavier stuff like pre Black Album Metallica.  The traditional metal bands, the ones in between, like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and yes, Black Sabbath were not as popular. I know that’s especially hard to believe with Maiden considering how popular they are today. But it’s true at the young kids my age were not listening to that type of metal - I discovered it a few years later.. Ozzy got by because of image and reputation.  So HEADLESS CROSS was just traditional heavy metal for the time.  I think Sabbath actually stopped being innovators once Ozzy left, which of course doesn’t mean good music stopped being made.  It’s just that starting in the 80’s, the genre Sabbath explored became mainstream and the bands that took it to other levels no band from the seventies approached.

Which takes us to the preview video of the next album.  Now this, I can promise you, is about as generic a 1990 song and video as you can get.  I was 11 in 1990 and was discovering music for the first time and devouring MTV.  This era I remember well and trust me, this is very dated to 1990. The rest of the album does not sound like this and after this - we get a Dio album!

[HomokHarcos]

There seems to be a point for many bands where they essentially becomes legacy acts, people are more interested in listening to their older music instead of checking out new releases.

[metaldams]

There seems to be a point for many bands where they essentially becomes legacy acts, people are more interested in listening to their older music instead of checking out new releases.

These days, it’s because nobody buys albums anymore, but yes, that’s true.

Black Sabbath were a consistently creative band until 1995.  Ozzy then rejoined and yes, they became a total nostalgia band at that point.  I plan for on devoting an entire thread on that.

[metaldams]

      The next Black Sabbath album, TYR (pronounced “Tear” as in crying), is probably my least listened to album up until this point and I still find half of it really good and the other half passable.  I guess I really like this band but relative to the preceding catalog, it’s just another Black Sabbath album.  The line up that toured the last album plays on this album, so there’s not too much drama or story to tell here.  That will change for the next album, I promise.  I will say, my opinion about HEADLESS CROSS being too heavy on the Satan references is shared by Tony Iommi and I just found this out.  Here’s an excerpt from his autobiography (which I need to read), taken off Wikipedia, and how it relates to TYR.

“For our next album, Tyr, we went back to the Woodcray Studios in February 1990, with me and Cozy producing it again. On Headless Cross, Tony Martin had just come into the band and he assumed, oh, Black Sabbath, it's all about the Devil, so his lyrics were full of the Devil and Satan. It was too much in your face. We told him to be a bit more subtle about it, so for Tyr he did all these lyrics about Nordic gods and whatnot. It took me a while to get my head around that”

      So yeah, more Norse lyrics here, less Satan.  Again, this is a case where Black Sabbath had no commercial standing in America and did most of their touring in Europe.  Most people consider this and HEADLESS CROSS the two best Martin albums, I’m an ETERNAL IDOL and CROSS PURPOSES guy.  Go figure, but I enjoy all four albums.  Let’s go to the track by track.

“Anno Mundi”  Love it, my favorite Tony Martin era song and a real Sabbath classic.  I love those chant like harmonized vocals Martin does to open the song and after a beautiful mellow intro, the song kicks into that riff!  Fantastic Iommi riff and I love the groove of the rhythm section behind it.  Very beautiful and dramatic chorus with some great drumming by Cozy Powell to add to the tension.  Just an amazing song.

“Lawmaker”  Just a cool metal song that sounds like it can be a mid level track on a nineties Iron Maiden album.  Cozy Powell plays drums here, but it may as well be Nicko McBrain.  Sounding like other bands besides themselves aside, an entertaining track.

“Jerusalem” An OK song.  The chorus always sounds too happy for my tastes.  Tony Martin did a solo album in 1992 when Dio returned to Sabbath that I really need to check out.  He re-recorded this song for that album.

“The Sabbath Stones” Oh yeah, now we’re talking!  A really progressive and adventurous track with a lot of mood changes, great songwriting.  Starts out doomy with a cappella singing, kind of like the verses of “War Pigs.”  Goes into this cool riff, gets mellow and then has this epic speedy metal ending that makes me raise my fist in the air.  Great track.

“The Battle of Tyr/Odin’s Court/Valhalla”  Three separate tracks that are really one.  The first part is a one minute instrumental that sounds like music that should be played going into battle in Ancient Greece.  Really, just soundtrack music probably played by Geoff Nichols on keyboards.  Then the second part is this mellow bit with some nice singing from Martin and some gentle guitar tones from Iommi.  Then it goes into the third and final part which is this melodic power metal monster of a track.  Another one to raise your fist to and again, I can see why stuff like this is held in high esteem by young metalhead who don’t get the seventies in general but eat stuff like this for breakfast.  Even when I heard this as a teen, it made an impression and I love the way each part builds into each other seamlessly.  A mini epic.

“Feels Good To Me”  After a mini epic, we get Black Sabbath obviously writing a song to break the American market.  This sounds like just about any other ballad bands were doing in 1990 just before grunge went mainstream.  Not a bad song, these guys are classy musicians and that quality comes through versus a tenth generation hair band, but really, this is Sabbath chasing trends.  Not something they’ve done too often, it must be said.

“Heaven in Black”  A catchy, speedy power metal song to hoist your beer stein in the air to and end the album with.  Not quite the awesome level of the previous album closer “Nightwing” but it does sport a great drum intro from Cozy Powell and some killer guitar soloing from Iommi as the album fades.

      OK, so the band tours and on the last gig of the tour, they are briefly joined on stage by Geezer Butler, who just finished touring with Ozzy.  Geezer also joined Dio on stage at a gig around the same time.  You think something might be brewing here?  For whatever lack of story and drama there is with TYR, it will be made up for ten fold on the next album.  Stand up and shout folks, Dio and Geezer returns.  As far as Cozy, we’ll see what happens.

Again, not available on streaming services, so listen here.

[Umbrella Sam]

I really liked this album. Yeah, I’m surprised I’m saying that too, having been so disappointed by HEADLESS CROSS and knowing this one’s not quite as loved, but this one was so enjoyable, so unique, that my expectations were beyond surpassed. This is easily my favorite Martin-era album so far.

It’s interesting that they focused on Norse mythology for a theme because it seems to have given them the push they really needed to branch out. HEADLESS CROSS and (to a lesser extent) THE ETERNAL IDOL felt a bit too safe at times. What I really liked about “Nightwing” on HEADLESS CROSS was that it felt like something fresh, something that had its own unique identity for a band like Sabbath, which by this point kind of felt like it was trying to recreate what it did in the past. I’m not saying that’s necessarily always a bad thing, especially since I did like the majority of THE ETERNAL IDOL, but it also draws unfavorable comparisons to that older work as a result. I feel like TYR does hold up against that older work, because it does have its own unique identity, and it was consistent as a whole in a way I don’t think I’ve really heard since HEAVEN AND HELL.

Starting off the album is the fantastic “Anno Mundi”. I love those Queenesque vocals at the beginning as well as how they return later with kind of this funeral arrangement backing them. Martin’s vocals are great, Cozy Powell feels a lot more comfortable with his drumming, the guitar work is great. It’s a really solid opener. I really like “The Law Maker” as well. I do see your point about the drums, as they are unusually fast, but again that’s not really something you hear with Sabbath and it is interesting to hear them take a crack at it. I have to admit that I’m not that familiar with Iron Maiden, but if this was the type of music they were doing in that period, then I really should check that out, because this song left a really good impression.

I can kind of see your point regarding the “Jerusalem” chorus being a bit happy, but again...it kind of gives it a unique identity as a result. The whole “Jerusalem” vocals have a “singalong” feel to them that I enjoyed, and it’s fascinating hearing that kind of thing with such a dark guitar tone. For me, it works. Pretty much entirely agreed on “The Sabbath Stones”. Lots of changes throughout, an occasional quieter section, but it still ends with a hard edge, all the while making those transitions completely natural.

And yes, “The Battle of Tyr/Odin’s Court/Valhalla” does feel like an epic. After the cool keyboard intro, it transitions into this very nice acoustic piece. I feel like in general this album uses a lot more acoustic guitar than usual, which is always welcome in my book. After that beautiful piece, we transition into a really awesome heavy metal track. Once again, Powell sounds really engaged in his drumming and Martin sounds fantastic. That line, “When the wings of Valhalla run cold” is super catchy, I just loved it so much. A really awesome combination. I actually quite enjoyed “Feels Good to Me”. Yes, I’m aware that even the band feels it’s out of place and, sure, maybe lyrically it is out of place. But production and sound-wise, to me it feels right at home. The guitar work in the first half actually reminds me somewhat of “Nightwing”, so that’s definitely a point in its favor. To me, the album still flows well even with it there. The last track, “Heaven in Black” is a good, heavier song in the older tradition. Ironically, it’s probably my least favorite song, but that’s because the rest of the songs leave such a high standard. And, there is something about Martin’s vocals that really carry it to being an effective closer. While I’ve liked his voice from the beginning, I feel like he’s really found it with this album, the vocals are just so varied and interesting, it doesn’t feel like he’s just trying to sound like a Dio/Ozzy combo like he did at times on the previous albums.

So, yeah, a really solid album in my opinion. I think it flows well, they experiment with other styles and do them well. Ironically, I think it’s kind of a shame they briefly stopped here, as I would have liked to have seen where this momentum went, but at the same time, we are getting Dio back, so I’m really looking forward to that as well. TYR is definitely an album I’ll be revisiting again in the future; a very enjoyable experience.

[HomokHarcos]

This may sound like a shocker, but this might be my favorite post-Ozzy album that I've listened to. Not a single track I didn't like, and what stood out is there seemed to be a good balance between more melodic sections (Sam mentioned more acoustic guitars) and heavier tracks.

Dare I say "Anno Mundi" is a contender for favorite Black Sabbath opening track for me? I liked this one a lot! Especially the guitar riff. "The Law Makerwas also a good followup. I've never really listened to much of power metal, but if this album is mostly an example of it, I might ended up becoming a fan of the genre and listen to more artists. "The Sabbath Stones", "Odin's Court" and "Feels Good to Me" were other standouts to me due to the lighter, more melodic nature of the songs, and I'm glad they were sprinkled throughout. "Heaven in Black" was more heavy, but would I have wanted the album to end another way? I don't think so.

I was taken by surprise from this, it was a very good listening experience.

[metaldams]

Pleasantly surprised by the praise of TYR.  Glad you guys like it.  It has grown on me over the years.  I like it better now than say, when I was 16.

Preview video for the next album.  Good song, but there are some stone cold classics on DEHUMANIZER I think they should have made a video for instead.  Conceptually, this is a creative video.

[metaldams]

So just to let you guys know, there are six entries left.  4 Black Sabbath albums left, 1 “Heaven and Hell” band album which will be treated as a Black Sabbath album (because it is in everything but legality), and one entry covering the artistically barren but culturally and touring important years of 1997 - 2006.

[metaldams]

Dio documentary coming to theatres 9/28.  I’m sure it will be on streaming services as well.

[Umbrella Sam]

Dio documentary coming to theatres 9/28.  I’m sure it will be on streaming services as well.

I heard about this. Sounds like it could be really interesting and I’m looking forward to being able to see it eventually.

[metaldams]

       Well, Geezer is back.  Dio is back, for one album, at least.  The story of how it came to be?  Commercially, neither Sabbath or solo Dio were doing that great in 1990 (as much as I’ve tried, I never could get into Dio’s LOCK UP THE WOLVES album).  Part of it is because if you weren’t glam or thrash and were traditional metal, you got lost in the shuffle at that time commercially.  There’s also the fact that by the time 1992 and DEHUMANIZER came around, grunge took over.  I remember this time well.  By the summer of 1992, unless if you were Metallica or Ozzy (more on that in a bit), commercially grunge effected every 80’s hard rock and metal band in the 90’s.  80’s bands were considered dinosaurs overnight at the time - so of course as a teen in the nineties, this is when I discovered all these 80’s bands!  This is the environment Sabbath is in now.

      On a band level, this reunion never seemed comfortable from day one, though artistically we get a cool album.  I guess there were still some scars from the initial break up ten years earlier that had yet to heal.  There’s also the fact at the beginning of the writing and demoing sessions, Cozy Powell is still the Sabbath drummer.  Dio and Cozy played together in Rainbow in the seventies and apparently, they did not get along either (on a side note, can’t recommend those Rainbow albums enough).  Well, this got settled as Cozy was in a horseback riding accident after the demos were done and needed to rehab his hip.  So they eventually get Vinny Appice back on drums!  Yes, the MOB RULES/LIVE EVIL line up has reunited.

      I really do dig this album and while it’s almost impossible to top HEAVEN AND HELL and MOB RULES, DEHUMANIZER has aged wonderfully.  This would be the first Sabbath album I ever owned  - on cassette.  I bought it bulk with a bunch of other tapes and at the time hardly ever listened to it.  I did not own the Ozzy albums yet and was simply not ready for Sabbath with anyone but Ozzy.  I was 13.  It should also be noted the song “Time Machine” appears on the Wayne’s World soundtrack, which I owned.  Due to both the success of that movie and “Bohemian Rhapsody” getting a huge second life, that soundtrack album  Sabbath was on hit number one on the charts.  Let’s do the track by track and then the story of how this band broke up - which is a fascinating one.

“Computer God”  Fantastic opener and a track I definitely consider to be a Black Sabbath classic.  Written thirty years ago, lyrically this song has aged very well, sadly.  Monstrous chords under those verses, excellent and catchy chorus and the song takes a beautifully progressive direction during the mellower middle section with some beautiful Dio vocals.  Great song!

“After All (The Dead)” Another classic.  This one starts out with a guitar part that has a smooth, violin like effect and the build up of this song is dramatic and incredible.  So much so, in fact, that Sabbath, or excuse me, “Heaven and Hell” deemed this song worthy to open their concerts with when this line up reunited in 2007.  We start off with two classics, however…..

“TV Crimes”  One problem I have with DEHUMANIZER is that some songs are classics and the others are average.  Nothing terrible.  What I perceive to be average songs are all pieced too close together and this is the start of it.  ‘TV Crimes,” the lead off single, is in my opinion the best of the average songs, but I can think of better choices for the video and single.  Still, I dig the speed and energy of the song and it’s good to have Geezer back!  Listen to that bass.  A song about crooked TV preachers.

“Letter from Earth”  As many times as I’ve heard this album, this song has just never made an impression on me.  It’s pleasant enough when I hear it, but it’s in one ear and out the other.

“Master of Insanity”. The music industry is cutthroat.  In the 80’s, Geezer Butler had a band that never got signed.  This song was written by guitarist Jim Bell in that band and at least according to Wikipedia, Bell never got paid.  He certainly gets no songwriting credit.  Not a bad song, the chorus is pretty catchy and there are some cool changes throughout the song tempo and mood wise.

“Time Machine” Oh yeah!  Now this should have been the lead off single.  There are two versions of this song and I prefer the album version to the version that appeared on the Wayne’s World soundtrack.  Incredibly catchy chorus and a somewhat “Symptom of the Universe” like energy throughout that makes me want to jump around the room and break things.  A total classic and not the last song on the album to give me this feeling.

“Sins of the Father”  The beginning of this song is too happy for me, it reminds me of some obscure NWOBHM band called Witchfynde, who does this kind of thing better.  The second half of the song is heavier and more rocking.  I love that riff that starts at around the two and a half minute mark.  The last of what I perceive to be the average songs, it’s all killer from here.

“Too Late” The ballad of the album and a fine one.  A great showcase for Dio’s vocals and the song gets a bit heavier at the end.  I really love this song.

“I”  Hell yeah, another song I consider an all time Black Sabbath classic and like “Time Machine,” makes me want to go crazy.  Seriously, it’s adrenaline pumping stuff like this that makes metal so cool for me.  The lyrics and vocals on this thing are amazing, Dio really outdid himself here.  The riffs and rhythm section give this thing a solid bottom and I love the mellow and bluesy Iommi riff that starts this before the monster kicks in.  Did I say hell yeah?  I did.  Well, I’ll say it again.

“Buried Alive”  The closing track and the song that has grown on me the most over the years.  The main riff does have a “Zero the Hero” feel to it it and there are lots of cool changes throughout this song to keep it progressive and interesting.  A fantastic closing track and sadly, also the end of this run of the line up.

      A good album overall.  Not as good as the early 80’s albums but that would be unfair to expect.  I can’t name one metal band in the grunge friendly era of 1992 who were making albums that topped their early 80’s albums.  The fact Sabbath made an album with Dio that has four or five classics on it is more than acceptable for me.  This charted at number 44 which again, under the circumstances, was respectable.  We got some good music, but the commercial timing of this reunion was not good at all.

      So what happens?  Ozzy actually comes into play with this line up breaking up again.  Ozzy had a monster hit of an album at the time called NO MORE TEARS and being what was perceived as old (43, my age), decided to announce his farewell tour.  Complete bullshit with hindsight, but in the early 90’s, there was no record of people in their 70’s touring like today.  NO MORE TOURS would start the trend of farewell tours that are not farewell tours (OK, I guess The Who did it ten years earlier).  But let me tell you, Ozzy’s “farewell tour” was being hyped all over the place at the time and people believed it.

      The last gigs of Ozzy’s “farewell tour” were in November of 1992 in Costa Mesa, California.  Ozzy’s opening act for those gigs was Black Sabbath.  Dio, for months on end, said he refused to do those gigs opening for Ozzy, and can you blame him?  The band thought he was bluffing but when the time came, Dio stuck to his word and was once again gone.  For those two gigs, Sabbath got recently departed Judas Priest singer Rob Halford to fill in on vocals!  That must have been a trip to see and would not be the last time Rob helped Sabbath out.  I’ll tell you my story about that when the time comes.

      At those “farewell” Ozzy gigs, the original four of Black Sabbath got on stage together and performed four songs.  The version of “Black Sabbath” the song they performed together appears on Ozzy’s 1993 live album LIVE AND LOUD.  To show how disingenuous this whole farewell thing was, there were negotiations at the time for the original four to reunite for a reunion tour.  The negotiations fell apart, but this would happen eventually.  Before it does, we have two more Black Sabbath albums to go with returning vocalist, Tony Martin.

      Like in 1982, Tony and Geezer stick around for the next Sabbath album and Dio and Vinny do the next Dio album.  If you like DEHUMANIZER, I would highly suggest checking out the next Dio album, STRANGE HIGHWAYS.  Stylistically, it’s more of a follow up than the next Sabbath album and is in my opinion a very strong Dio album.

[Umbrella Sam]

Looking up this album, the main thing a lot of people seem to agree on is that it’s the heaviest of the Black Sabbath albums, and I can see that. It feels like there are a lot more doom riffs in the style of the Ozzy era and the lighter moments are much fewer to come by, certainly a lot less than TYR. But that’s part of what I liked with TYR; it felt balanced, like there was a real sensibility as to when something should be light and dark. This is more or less a doom album from start to finish, and to its credit, most of the songs are good, though not always super memorable and occasionally a bit repetitive.

One major negative thing I will say is I think there are way too many effects on this album. I get it, it’s the early ‘90s, that’s just how things were with ‘90s production, but for an album that otherwise is pretty much rooted in guitar heavy sounds, they do sound pretty dated.

“Computer God” is a good opener. Thematically, it’s very ahead of its time and there are some great stylistic changes throughout, including one of the few notable lighter sections in the middle. You can almost tell immediately that that’s Geezer; I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to make himself heard even when he’s not a producer on it. “After All (The Dead)” has that cool violin like effect at the beginning and the doomy riff especially reminds me of Ozzy era songs like “Black Sabbath”. “TV Crimes” is one of those fast paced songs that I find fun to listen to, but at the end of the day doesn’t stick out as super memorable, certainly not in the same way as something like “Computer God”. Once again, though, Geezer stands out on this track. “Letters from Earth” is fun enough; the riff at times calls to mind “Snowblind” from VOL. 4, not quite as infectious, but it’s nice to hear.

“Master of Insanity” is a real highlight; I love the tempo changes, especially that little guitar section near the beginning that also closes out the song. Some really awesome guitar work and drums throughout this one. “Time Machine” was kind of underwhelming. I saw WAYNE’S WORLD once a long time ago and remembered liking it; it’s one of those films I really want to check out again. But, man, this song just came through one ear and went out the other for me. There’s definitely energy there, just not the kind of riffs or stylistic changes to really keep my attention. “Sins of the Father” is an improvement, and actually wouldn’t sound completely out of place on MOB RULES if they removed some of the effects and maybe polished up the beginning a bit. Iommi once again does some great guitar work on it. I especially liked the quieter sections of “Too Late”. I always like hearing Dio get to have quieter moments and really show off just how great his voice is; the Rainbow song “Rainbow Eyes” is a great example of this, probably my favorite Rainbow song. Supported by some excellent acoustic work from Iommi in the quieter sections and some really awesome bass work from Geezer in the heavier sections, this is a highlight of the album for sure.

“I” is my favorite track on the album. It has this kind of “Hand of Doom” effect to it where the guitars and bass kind of just play alone for a while before the drums really kick in. Dio sounds great on it, the riff is super memorable, the drumming is great...a solid song overall. The riff to “Buried Alive” does indeed sound very similar to “Zero the Hero”, but it doesn’t pull it off nearly as well. I don’t know, “Hero” just felt like it had more hooks and the drumming felt a bit more spirited. This one isn’t bad; once again, Geezer does really show off his bass playing, but it also doesn’t have the feeling of a true closer in the same way as “Lonely is the Word” or “Over and Over”; it just kind of feels like a song treading on previous ground.

And that’s the long awaited Ronnie Dio Sabbath reunion. Some really good stuff here, but as a whole, it does not hold together as well as HEAVEN AND HELL or MOB RULES. It also doesn’t hold together as well as TYR, which was a real surprise as prior to hearing that, I was expecting this album to kind of be the big comeback musically. I can see why some fans might really like it if they’re looking specifically for that heavy sound, but as I said, I do prefer it when they balance things out between the heavier songs and the ballads, something that TYR and the previous two Dio Sabbath albums did so well. Well, that ends the Dio era once again; I guess we’ll see how much things change again years later when we get to THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

[metaldams]

       The slow doomy stuff actually is in a lot of the latter Dio catalog in general with MAGICA being the major exception.  As far as effects and being dated to the nineties, the album ANGRY MACHINES might not be for you then - though it isn’t for most people.  Considered by most to be the worst Dio album, I’m one of the few who like it.

[Umbrella Sam]

       The slow doomy stuff actually is in a lot of the latter Dio catalog in general with MAGICA being the major exception.  As far as effects and being dated to the nineties, the album ANGRY MACHINES might not be for you then - though it isn’t for most people.  Considered by most to be the worst Dio album, I’m one of the few who like it.

The thing is, I could see the effects working for Dio, just not Black Sabbath. I’ve only listened to the first three Dio albums so far (eventually plan on getting to all of them), but based off of those it seems like his biggest hits were based around heavy keyboard riffs. There was great guitar work on them, but stuff like “Rainbow in the Dark” or “The Last in Line” had more of a futuristic feel to them than his work with Sabbath, so I could see this potentially work for him. With Sabbath, though, it just sounds off because for the most part the songs sound straight out of the ‘70s or early ‘80s, but then the effects feel super out of place as a result.

[metaldams]

Here’s the preview for the highly underrated CROSS PURPOSES.  I will be out of state for a family wedding this weekend and while I’ll have my iPhone with me and can make small replies to things on the board, I won’t have time for a full review.  Except the next Sabbath review Monday or Tuesday.  Not that many reviews to go.

[HomokHarcos]

When Metaldams posted his review of Steely Dan's album Pretzel Logic, he had this to say: "In one ear and out the other for only one listen, but in a good consistent way.  Every track in hear and very pleasing and easy to listen to. " That’s what my thoughts were on this album. It was a really fun heavy metal release. Not exactly one I would call one of my favorites on their lineup, because as Umbrella Sam stated it’s mostly heavy tracks, but it’s a fun album to put on and listen to.

The opening track, “Computer God” is a very good opening track. It certainly doesn’t sound like 1992 to me, but it’s a good 1980s style song. “All the Dead” is a strong follow-up, instead of going for the fast and heavy, it goes for slow and heavy. Quite atmospheric. “TV Crimes” and “Letters from Earth” are both good songs to listen to, but I wouldn’t say they are standouts.
“Master of Insanity” reminds me of “The Wanton Song” as the main guitar riff is similar. Maybe Zeppelin were in fact influencing heavy metal bands! “Too Late” was a nice ballad from the band, Dio has a great voice and it was the track that was not going for the heaviness. “Buried Alive” is a good way to end the album, the song that comes the closest of any on here to sounding like a 1990s track to me, but Dio’s vocals sound 1980s.

I’d still say Black Sabbath has not put out a weak album yet. It is possibly the heaviest, and that was what they were probably aiming for. I didn’t like it as much as Tyr, but I’m not complaining, because it  was still a very good listen. Awesome cover art, too. Thanks for bringing up the background information and what was going on behind the scenes, it’s a very entertaining story by itself. Sounds