Tag: black sabbath (Page 1 of 3)

I thought these Tony Martin fronted Sabbath albums would never get the reissue treatment. As with most non-Ozzy material, they seem to get forgotten and brushed aside. This is my favourite album with Martin on vocals. It first came out in ’94 with his second stint with the Sabs. Very reminiscent of RJD with his phrasing and tone but with a more melodic element as well.

Iommi is still the riff meister he always was and he comes out with some belters on this album. I Witness is about as good as it gets in the Iommi iconic riff category and one of my favourite tracks. The riff and groove to Psychophobia seems to be taking references from Seattle and Martin’s vocal with a hint of Roger Daltry in there.

Virtual Death is pure old school Iommi at his most evil sounding. There are even elements of groove here with Back To Eden. A great swing to the main groove and Iommi is riffing up a storm. That feel continues with The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. A slow build up to the funkiest groove that the Sabs have ever put to wax.

I know a lot of people passed on this version of Sabbath and are actually discovering these records for the first time. How lucky are they?

9/10 from The Grooveman.

So, here it is! This album is ground zero for heavy metal music. Although heavy psychedelic music would have been more appropriate I guess, even though it’s taking blues chords and grooves and doing them to the max.

I was ten years old when this came out and it wasn’t until a few years later that I actually heard it. I do remember the news about them being satanists and gigs were being cancelled. It all seems a bit strange looking back with hindsight, but that cover still gives me the creeps.

Of the early albums I would say this is my favourite and the one I play the most. The track I love the most is the opening title song. That eerie bell giving way to that riff is just timeless.

It’s rightly given plaudits as a genre defining album, not only for heavy metal but also for doom and stoner bands as well.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

It’s interesting listening to opinions of this album. Some people think it’s the best album Sabbath put out, others think it should have been called something else as the sound changed so much and was not Sabbath-like at all. Well, for sure Ronnie was the band’s saviour as after Ozzie had left and the tour leading up to that, the band were a mess. As for me… I just think it’s one hell of a piece of music and a statement to Ozzie and Sharon.

One of the best openings you will hear to a record with Neon Nights. Killer riff from Tony and that pounding groove from Geezer and Bill is awesome. The cherry on the top is Ronnie with those fantasy lyrics he was so good at. This is a 2021 remaster I am playing and it sounds really good and Geezer’s bass is really cutting through in the mix. It’s really hard to get past Neon Nights as a favourite tune but I really like Heaven And Hell as that was old school Sabbath riifage with Ronnie weaving his magic over the top, and basically a big FU to all the fans that said it would not work. There is a second disc with this reissue that contains a couple of B sides and five tracks form a live gig in the USA in 1980, which are pretty stellar.

Yeah, it’s a classic but not perfect.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

There’s a reason that these early Sabbath records are rightfully called classics boys and girls, because not only are they genre defining, they were genre inventing. Sure, we can argue about who first coined the term “heavy metal” and who had louder guitars, blah blah blah, but all the metal bands around today would not be anything if it wasn’t for Sabbath.

This was Black Sabbath’s fifth album, and we are only at 1973. They crammed so much into a short space of time, it’s insane to think of that happening today. If this album only had Symptom Of The Universe it would still be a classic. Such a killer riff and groove, Ozzy’s deranged wailing vocal, plus the crazy instrumental, and then the trippy outro, make this high on the list of everyone’s favourite rock and metal tunes.

Megalomania has to be one of the longest songs the band did. It goes from tripped out hippy psych fest, to killer max riffing Sabbath classic. This album doesn’t seem to high up on peoples’ fave Sabbath albums, but I really like it as there is so much going on outside of the usual Sabbath heavy riffing.

Of course, I’m going with Symptom Of The Universe as my favourite track because that riff is undeniable, but I could easily have gone for Thrill Of It All.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.