13 --- Black Sabbath --- 2013 (Vertigo)
Apparently the worst-kept secret in metal, though of course I didn't know about it, was the reunion of metal pioneers Black Sabbath with their original vocalist and frontman Ozzy Osbourne, and the release of their first new album in eighteen years, their first proper with Ozzy in thirty-five. Sadly, it's not the full original lineup as "contractual problems", whatever they may be, prevented drummer Bill Ward from joining up, so he had to be replaced, both for the tour and the album. But what of the album? Many bands have reformed, ostensibly "for the money" --- Eagles, Deep Purple, Take that (?) --- and although Sabbath never officially split, this lineup has not been seen together since 1998, and really not since "Never say die", twenty years prior to that. So was this just one big publicity stunt? After years of prostituting himself to reality TV, did Ozzy still have it? Would this even sound like the Sabbath we knew and loved?
Right from the first chords we're back in 1970 and it's the emergence of a staggering new talent as Tony Iommi's dark, doomy powerchords introduce the perhaps appropriately-titled "End of the beginning". Even the echoey guitar riff is almost right out of the opener, and title track, to their debut. When Ozzy comes in with the vocal it's like he's never been away. So, then, is this a band trying to recapture former glories, copy-and-paste from their early albums, or is there anything new here? Well the riff soon gets uptempo and rocks along nicely, and I'm sorry Bill Ward but I couldn't tell you're not there: nothing against you but as I've mentioned before I can't tell a good drummer from an okay or even bad one. Good to hear Geezer Butler's controlling bass licks though. Also nice to see that the old guys (hey, they gotta be in their sixties now!) can still show the whippersnappers of today how it's done!
Those super solos Iommi rips off almost effortlessly are abundant of course, and the whole band chugs along like a well-oiled machine that's been working together for thirty years, not one that has been missing a component for longer than that. Sabbath always had a great way of fusing heavy riffs and power with proper melody and great lyrics, something many of today's metal bands could learn a thing or two from. "God is dead?", the lead single opens on a dark, ominous guitar riff, much slower than the opener, with attendant "spooky" sounds in the background. Iommi then hammers his way into the tune, suffusing it with a brooding, menacing presence while Ozzy's voice has seldom heard as eerie since that opening track on their first album. There's also an element of "War pigs" about the lyric as Ozzy sings
"Swimming in sorrow/ They kill steal and borrow/ There is no tomorrow/ For the sinners will be damned."
Near the end it kicks up into a real boogie metal rocker on the back of Iommi and Butler's partnership, then "Loner" swaggers along as if it owns the street, and has quite a nod back to Led Zep in it. Slow laidback acoustic guitar then for "Zeitgeist", soft percussion which reminds me (and everyone else probably) of "Planet caravan" off "Paranoid", then we're back rocking with "Age of reason" and some great guitar histrionics from Tony Iommi. "Live forever" slows everything back down to that familiar Sabbath grind for a moment before taking off at a gallop, the beat driven by new guy Brad Wilk on the drumstool.
Sounding like something you'd expect to hear from Hendrix, "Damaged soul" has a great opening line:
"Born in a graveyard" and swings with a real blues rhythm, accentuated by some great harmonica from Ozzy. Some fine interplay too between Butler and Iommi, but when I hear that guitar riff the first thing I think of is "Crosstown traffic"... We close then on "Dear father", with a powerful guitar riff and a recurrence of the motif from that first song all those years ago. The guys really go all out on this one, finishing on a high note and even throwing in the rain, wind and pealing bells from their very first track, turning the clock right back to 1970. Nice touch, lads.
TRACKLISTING
1. End of the beginning
2. God is dead?
3. Loner
4. Zeitgeist
5. Age of reason
6. Live forever
7. Damaged soul
8. Dear father
There was a lot of hype about this album, good and bad. Would it live up to its promise? Would Ozzy be able to cut it after so long? Would it end up being a parody and tarnish our memory of the godfathers of heavy metal? Would Bill Ward's absence spoil the album? After listening to this several times I can say that to me it's Sabbath back to their best. I'm a Dio guy, but even I can appreciate that Ozzy was the driving force behind this band, and the place he deserves in metal history. Here he does an excellent job as not only an ambassador for metal, but as an example that some things really can get better with age.
Back on the top of the pile, standing at the head of the metal army, returning to the throne --- whichever way you look at it, one thing is very clear from this album: Black Sabbath are back!
Read more here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath