Black Sabbath - Headless Cross (1989)

Continuing on the successful sound that came from "The Eternal Idol", "Headless Cross" was released in 1989 and was to that point Black Sabbath's darkest album after the Ozzy era. I am not saying that they completely went back to the doom groove that excelled Black Sabbath's early career, but some of the elements was added to the band's current repertoire from that era, like the dark lyrics and a slightly dirtier production. So this was ultimately as close as Black Sabbath would come to its older self.

If we compare this album to Black Sabbath's previous releases, I would say that "Headless Cross" is a lot like its predecessor "The Eternal Idol", but it also have distinct similarities with "Heaven And Hell", mostly in the shear power of the performance. And it is the singer Tony Martin Harford that really steps up to the plate. He was good in "The Eternal Idol", but he really excels in this album. His voice is showing a force that is very similar to the one that former Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio has, which is of course another reason why this album and "Heaven And Hell" sounds so similar.

But when it comes to quality in the song material, "Headless Cross" does not reach the same astronomic heights as "Heaven And Hell" did. There are indeed several songs in this album that really impress me, like the groovy "Devil & Daughter" and the hard hitting "Black Moon", but the album is not completely rock solid. Songs like "Call of The Wild" and "Cloak & Dagger" keeps this record from being one of the band's top albums. I also feel like most of the songs in "Headless Cross" does not have a very high memorability factor, which makes it harder to acknowledge the album among the rest of the Black Sabbath discography.

I am still fond of the album though. I especially like that Tony Iommi puts more emphasis on the riffs and solos. Definitely some of Iommi's best work in quite some time. But there are more details in this album that brings a smile to my face, like the keyboards in the title track or the build up in "When Death Calls". These small things, and many other intricate details, are what makes this record a winner.

I must say that "Headless Cross" is a great album and so far the best album among those that are not in the Ozzy or Dio era. With a great mix of darkness, melody and modern musicality, this album is very interesting in many aspects. It does miss another great song or two and it does have a tendency to be quite anonymous, but it still holds a good amount of quality that one should not ignore. So after some years of turbulence, it is good to hear that Sabbath has found the right path again. The question now however is if they will keep making the right decisions, or spin out of the road again.

Songs worthy of recognition: Devil & Daughter, When Death Calls, Black Moon

Rating: 8,5/10 Nightwings

Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Unite (1989)

There is few bands in the history of progresive metal that has influenced and been such a big inspiration to the genre than Dream Theater. Even though the canadian band Rush gave the genre a rolling start, DT was the band to take it at least three levels higher with their odd rhythms and fantastic musical qualities. Needless to say, Dream Theater brought a revolution to the progresive rock. But just as any great revolution, the story of Dream Theater had to start somewhere. That journey started 1985 when four students of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, John Myung, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci and Kevin Moore, formed a band called Majesty. The name was later changed to Dream Theater. Later, singer Charlie Dominici also joined the band which led to this, the bands debut album "When Dream And Day Unite".

Just as todays Dream Theater, the 1989 version of the band brings us songs that are complex, smooth and just plain odd. But there is two things I really like with this album that few of the other DT albums have. First of, even though this is the only record with Charlie Dominici, I really like his voice. I am not sure though if he is stronger than current singer James LaBrie but he definetely fits in the band. The second thing I like with this album is that it has no meaningless ballads. That is one big flaw with current DT, most of their ballads is so useless and hollow that I just skip pass them when it is their turn on the CD-player.

One song on this album that is hard to skip by is the instrumental "Ytse Jam" A great instrumental that shows off the whole bands qualities. From Portnoys crazy ass drumming to Myungs smooth and cool bass rhythms. Otherwise, Dream Theater is known for making long and epic songs. There are some long songs on this album but nothing super long. Nothing over nine minutes. And when it comes to the epic part there is not so much of it either. Sure, songs like "The Killing Hand" and "The One Who Help To Set The Sun" got their share of epicness but it stands pretty clear that DT was a more straight forward band in their early years. Well as long as they make some good, odd tunes I will be satisfied.

All in all, this IS the debut for DT and it is really good one. You can without a doubt see that, just as many debuts from big bands, the sound is still some what in the making but it is coming on nicely. The members are doing their thing and making this an great start for the band. Not enough epicness to make it all the way but the songs contain a high standard. Cudos to early Dream Theater.

Songs worthy of recognition: Ytse Jam, A Fortune In Lies, The Killing Hand

Rating: 8,5/10 Afterlifes

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