Out of all the discography reviews I have done over the years, I am probably the least happy over the one I did on Black Sabbath. Not only did this one take an ungodly time to complete (sure, there are 19 albums to get through, but I was still slow as hell on this one), but I feel like I never gave most of these albums their due. After all, this is the band that started it all, the group that every other metal band who has ever existed has to thank to get this thing called metal rolling, so it is just silly with me being so hap hazard with this particular series (especially the ending, god damn). Well, hopefully I regain some respect back with this ranking, and while most of my thoughts and feelings for these albums are mostly the same, it still gave me a chance to revisit and rethink over what every record tries to do, and what they ultimately accomplish. So strap yourselves in, and watch me rank all 19 studio records of Black Sabbath.
19. Never Say Die!
The end of the original Black Sabbath was far from pretty, and nothing exemplifies that better than "Never Say Die!", the last record Ozzy, Tony, Bill, and Geezer did together. If "Technical Ecstacy" was a full on experiment, this one was just the product of a band that was more than ready to dissolve, with no direction what so ever, and songs that just leaves you clueless. Most of these songs are very much forgettable, or even out right dumb. What is even stranger is that this record, one of the worst ones in the band's entire existence, might have one of the best opening one-two punches of any Sabbath record. If the rest of the record had the same infectious qualities as the title track and "Johnny Blade", maybe the gang would have been together for at least another year or so.
18. Forbidden
I will always be a defender of Tony Martin and his time in Sabbath, he is a great singer who never really got the recognition he deserved, never seemed to step out of Ozzy's and Dio's shadow. With that said, I just cannot defend his (and long time seemingly Sabbath's) last effort "Forbidden". This album is boring in every sense of the word, not improving at all on the sound the band had established during this era, instead leaning on mediocre radio rock with bland riffs and questionable vocal performances. "I Won't Cry For You" and "Rusty Angels" are acceptable, the rest are not. Also, you wanna know what is the most interesting part of this record? Ice-T's cameo in "The Illusion of Power". Now that is a crossover.
17. Seventh Star
I still hate the fact that we have to judge "Seventh Star" as a Black Sabbath record, because this is obviously not a Black Sabbath record. It was originally planned to be a solo album by Iommi (for gods sake, he even fronts the cover art alone), but he was persuaded to release it under the Sabbath moniker. So if you ever wanted a Sabbath record with a generic 80's rock sound that has hints of Yngwie Malmsteen and The Scorpions, then congratulations, you got it... you sick bastard. It still got some nicely crafted guitar work at least, and it shows that Iommi has more under his song writing belt than one might think, but this is as forgettable as it goes. Next please.
16. Born Again
The Ian Gillan era of Black Sabbath was short, but was it sweet? Well, let us call it strange instead, because "Born Again" was exactly that, strange. It is a dark and eerie album that is sort of reminiscent of the band's early work, but because they had Ian on the vocals, it kind of got this glammy vibe to it that got you out of the moment. Do not get me wrong, Ian is a fantastic vocalist, and I love his work on Deep Purple, but he just did not fit in with Sabbath. It did not help either that "Born Again" was a murky enigma of an album, with unclear production and uneven setlist. It has its moments, and there is a section of the fan base that absolutely loves this record, I am just not one of them.
15. Cross Purposes
So I wrote in my old review that "Cross Purposes" had some grunge vibes to it, which made me think "what the hell was I smoking while writing that? Sabbath going grunge? No freaking way". Well, I quickly listened to this album to jog my memory, and sure enough, there is grunge in here ("Virtual Death" could just as well have been an Alice In Chains song). Besides that, there is not all that much that differentiate this album from previous Tony Martin era albums. It is still fairly dark and fairly heavy, but the song writing in here is way more inconsistent, which instantly makes it inferior to the three records before it. It is a strange one, let us just leave it at that.
14. Technical Ecstacy
This is a weird record on so many levels. From the artwork, to the songs, "Technical Ecstacy" makes you wonder if you accidentally ingested said drug before pressing play. There are so many strange elements to this record that should not really work, but somehow it pulls it off quite well with some interesting techniques and fun melodies. Just the Beatles inspired ballad "It's Alright" where Tony plays the piano and sings makes you go "what the hell?", but you can't deny the excellent craft that is behind it. Sure, this is not a metal record what so ever, it is barely a rock record, but it has a charm to it that peaks your interest.
13. 13
This is the only Sabbath record released that I was knowingly aware of during my life time, and looking back at that time, I was definitely bit by the hype bug, enjoying this record more than I should have had. That's not to say that "13" is a bin filled with garbage, it still has some nice energy to it (how Rick Rubin managed to squeeze it out of those oldies I will never know), and it is cool to see the band going back to their roots. Still, this is a spotty record, with some great highlights ("Methademic", "Loner", "God Is Dead?"), and some lows ("Damaged Soul", "Dear Father"), but at this stage of the band, we did not really need much more. This is a fairly solid record, and a worthy final effort for the band.
Also, I swear to god I did not purposely put it on this spot just because of the name, it just happened lol.
12. The Eternal Idol
The Tony Martin era of Sabbath started out with one thing in mind, reestablish the brand of the band. "The Eternal Idol" did just that, giving the band a new identity to evolve on for the future. The album itself is solid, but not much more. It has several cool moments, like the ominous opener "The Shining", the groovy "Hard Life To Love", the fast paced "Lost Forever", and the nostalgic title track. It is not an album that grabs your attention all that much, but it does its work well enough to leave you with some hope for what's to come. It is a start for a band reborn, and it is a good one for sure.
11. Black Sabbath Vol. 4
Out of the first six records, "Vol. 4" is the one that has never clicked for me. It has some amazing tracks like "Supernaut" and "Tomorrow's Dream", and it is daring of the band to try their hand at a traditional ballad in "Changes", but overall it just does not have the star power that the other early records has. It is more inconsistent in its quality, and it also feels like sort of a transitional album, knowing that the first three records are different from the two coming after this one. It is the typical middle child of the original Sabbath era, an album that is perfectly fine and has its moments, but is also easily forgotten.
10. S/T
The album that started it all, the grand daddy of the bunch, the old geezer that will aimlessly tell its life story to all of its children. Okay, that was silly, but there is no denying that "Black Sabbath" is an interesting debut that shook the world in 1970, sending a shock wave that spawned a mad, musical earthquake that has not settled yet. Some songs are definitely dated, but tracks like the title track, "The Wizard", and "N.I.B." still hold up today, almost 50 years later. It may not be a perfect record, but the historical impact this album had on generations to come is something no one can take away from it.
9. Headless Cross
As far as progression goes from the predecessor "The Eternal Idol", "Headless Cross" did not exactly do much different, but the band did amplify the sound enough to make this a natural follow up. It gave the people some more taste of the new singer Tony Martin, and he delivers with power and confidence, seemingly determined to prove the doubters wrong, with the rest of the band helping him out with some stellar performances all around. For the era being, "Headless Cross" is a nice little album, although I do remember enjoying this album more when I first listened to it, and while I still think "Headless Cross" is a solid contribution to the band's discography, it does not stack up to the absolute best of the best.
8. Mob Rules
Following on the wave of the predecessor, "Mob Rules" is another stellar Dio effort that packs quite a punch. From the slow epic "The Sign of The Southern Cross" and the high accelerating "Falling Off The Edge of The World", to the almost thrashy title track, this album has enough awesome moments to spare, showing just how good this group could be. Sadly, this album is a little too uneven for me to fully appreciate it, mixing the previously mentioned classics with completely different tracks, losing the identity of the album in the process. Still, there is enough good bits to make it through the record, and having Dio and Iommi at the wheel helps a lot too. The mob does indeed rule.
7. Master of Reality
There is not much that can go against "Master of Reality" and its A side, including the terrific trio of "Sweet Leaf", "After Forever", and "Children of The Grave". It is a first half that is as banging as any other part of the Sabbath discography, letting everyone shine in all their glory. This does make "Master of Reality" quite front heavy since the B side is not as strong, but there is enough quality on the other side of the LP to make this album another stellar inclusion in Sabbath lore, keeping the fire burning as hot as ever during that early stage of the band's career. Also, Toni's coughing in "Sweet Leaf" might be one of my favourite Sabbath moments of all time, it's so good.
6. Dehumanizer
"Dehumanizer" will always be "that one forgotten Dio album" in the Sabbath discography, and even if it had more of a side project feel to it being squeezed between the Tony Martin albums, it still has enough quality to it to make an impact. Dio by himself makes the album pop, but it is the futuristic feel of the record that truly makes it one to remember. Songs like "I", "Letters From Earth", "Master of Insanity", "Buried Alive" and "Sins of The Father" are classic Dio bangers that makes everyone happy. This one gets the highly coveted "my own personal favourite" award, so while it might not be one of the best ones, it is still a cool album that I keep coming back to.
5. Tyr
Yeeeeeeeah, looking back at my review of "Tyr", I might have been a bit generous with the score, and that I also found this to be the second best Sabbath record is quite laughable. You know what though? "Tyr" is still a brilliant album, and is easily the best one among the 90's records, hammering you with a Mjölner made of expertly crafted songs and slick production. It is an epic onslaught of a band that was finally back at full speed again, showing off some mighty and creative tricks that they had not shown in years. If you are one of those unfortunate souls who dismiss the Sabbath records of this era, then you are sadly missing out on a gem that is not getting enough credit, one that is played regularly at the halls of Valhalla.
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
There is no denying that "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" is an excellent album, one that has a solid track list of memorable songs. It is very easy to sing along to tracks like "Looking For Today, "Killing Yourself To Live", and the title track, while "Sabbra Cadabra" makes you wanna boogie in a voodoo like trance. It seem to have a strong reputation among the metal crowd, and while I am ultimately not THAT enthusiastic of this record, it is still one of the more solid ones Sabbath has put forth, with no pot holes to drive over to bumpen your experience.
3. Sabotage
The cover of this record probably scared away a ton of people from giving it an honest chance, but it fortunately does not reflect the sound of the record. "Sabotage" might have been the most progressive effort of the band thus far, highlighting some long ass songs like "Megalomania" and "The Writ", while also improving on what worked in the predecessor "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". The end result is a classy experience of interesting twists and turns that never makes the album dull, offering you new little bits and pieces every time you run through it. Cool album with highly questionable fashion choices (those god damn red pants are an eye sore).
2. Paranoid
This is probably the only album since the discography review that has actually grown on me, weirdly enough. I long felt like "Paranoid" had the "The Number of The Beast" syndrome, with the best songs ("War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man") being so much better than the rest of the record. Nowadays, I have learned to appreciate tracks like "Planet Caravan", "Hand of Doom", and "Fairies Wear Boots" much more, which has increased my appreciation of the whole album immensely. It is an all time classic that everyone should hear and experience, an assault of excellent early heavy metal. However, "Rat Salad" can still take a hike, will never understand why that instrumental track is contributing to this album.
1. Heaven And Hell
Whenever someone mentions Black Sabbath, I will always look back to that original line-up, to those 8 albums they did together, everything after that is just a remix of the band that started it all. Still, there is no denying that adding Dio after Ozzy's departure was the best thing the band could have ever done. Not only did they get one of the best singers and song writers of that time, they also got some new, fresh blood that could revive the band, and he did that and more with "Heaven And Hell", an album that is a complete master class of how brilliant these musicians were.
It sets the tone instantly with the speedy "Neon Knights", and shows its range just as quickly with the second track, the calmer and moodful "Children of The Sea". The amazing tracks just keeps on coming after that, like the epic title track, the groovy "Wishing Well", the aggressive "Die Young", and the closer "Lonely Is The Word". This is a record I keep coming back to time and time again, because it just delivers on all fronts, displaying music made by devils, for angels. Pure excellence from start to finish.
And as a bonus, here are my ten favourite tacks from the band, in alphabetical order
Children of The Grave
This song has such good riffs that it do not even need a chorus
Heaven And Hell
Pure Dio magic
Iron Man
You can almost not get any more iconic than this
Megalomania
A groovy joyride of high level insanity
N.I.B.
The riffs! OH MY GOD THE RIFFS!
Paranoid
The genius in the simplicity is unreal here
Supernaut
Ward and his drums takes the charge in this groovy gem
The Mob Rules
Stop listening to fools, and listen to this instead
The Sabbath Stones
If you are only going to listen to one 90's Sabbath track, listen to this one
War Pigs
The sound versatility in this song is ridiculous
So what are your thoughts? Is this ranking correct or would yours be different? Let me know in the comment section below, or leave a tweet (@ForsakenGates).
Stay metal
Sharkruisher
No comments:
Post a Comment