Heaven and Hell – The Devil You Know – 2009 THe opening track, “Atom and Evil” (ugh, are these guys 15?) has the pace of a funeral processional. Almost as if the band is trying to instill depression. It’s not fun. Heaven and Hell are the holy/unholy marriage of Dio Continue Reading
Black Sabbath
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Forbidden
Black Sabbath – Forbidden – 1995 I worked with Ice T once. I was a guest on his show “Players”. We had a nice chat. Seems like a nice guy. And he’s featured on the bridge of easily the most annoying Sabbath song ever, “The Illusion of Power”. Uninspired. Insipid. Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes
Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes – 1994 So, Sabbath decides to open for Ozzy, who is now an international bat biting superstar. Dio thinks this is beneath the band and he up and quits. What does Iommi do? He brings back his co-hort in the band’s best recent material, Tony Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer
Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer – 1992 Dammit. Dio. You know, if right after Mob Rules Sabbath had put out another album with the same lineup I would probably have been excited. That was before I had to slog through 38 solo albums by the metalelf. So, now we’re back to Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Tyr
Black Sabbath – Tyr – 1990 Nothing you have heard from Black Sabbath is really gonna prepare you for Tyr. What seems to be a concept album about Norse mythology is much more than that. The band denies any conceptualizing or thread but it seems so obvious. So what is Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Headless Cross
Black Sabbath – Headless Cross – 1989 Building on the success of the surprise hit, The Eternal Idol, Iommi and Martin (and Brian May on a guest solo on “When Death Calls”!!!) come back harder, stronger and even more impressively on Headless Cross.It’s as though they decided not to try Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – The Eternal Idol
Black Sabbath – The Eternal Idol – 1987 I do not like this new vocalist. Tony Martin sounds like a cross between Rob Halford and David Coverdale, incorporating the worst of both singers. Maybe he’ll grow on me. I dunno. The opening track, The Shining is certainly the most epic Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Seventh Star (featuring Tony Iommi)
Black Sabbath – Seventh Star – 1986 Okay, so this isn’t really a Black Sabbath album. It IS, but it isn’t. It was meant to be Tony Iommi’s solo record. Look at that cover. Black Sabbath FEATURING Tony Iommi?What? Iommi INVENTED Black Sabbath. He was one of the four originals Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Born Again
Black Sabbath – Born Again – 1983 Well, here we are. Another Purple Sabbath crossover. Ex-Deep Purple lead singer Ian Gillan joined Black Sabbath for their most reviled album of their career. First off, from the beginning it sounds NOTHING like a Sabbath record. “Trashed”, the lead off song is Continue Reading
Listening Post: Purple Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman – 1981 Blizzard of Ozz part 2. this one actually follows the same pattern laid down by Blizzard. Great opener “Over the Mountain”, blistering follow-up “Flying High Again”, power ballad “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll”. And so on. Instead of “Mr. Crowley”, Continue Reading