Believe it or not, this was the first album by Black Sabbath I ever bought. I picked it up along with Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears. Kind of strange that my first Sabbath record did not feature Ozzy and I got it at the same time as an Ozzy album. Anyway, Tony Martin was the singer for the band at this time. The band still had Tomy Iommi and Geezer Butler in it so it had the backbone of the band intact. This was the last good album full of original songs that Black Sabbath released. As I said, this is actually a very good album. Tony Martin bears a slight resemblance to Ronnie James Dio if he had a lower voice. The guitar work is the highlight. Tony Iommi had not lost a step and the trademark evil atmosphere is still present. As for the songs, "Cross of Thorns" is probably the best. Slow-building, establishing the atmosphere, waiting to strike. The second half is mostly filled with faster songs and the album closes with a bang. Overall an impressive album for a band that has lost a lot of its identity. I just wish they had ended with this one and not recorded the rushed Forbidden.
No comments:
Post a Comment