Black Sabbath

It's really curious that everybody in the whole world didn't know anything about the mystrerious woman until today. Even the guys of the band. Then Rolling Stone take the phone and make a couple of calls and that's it.
The woman and the designer didn't talk in interviews in 50 years. Amazing!
 
Unfortunately I cannot post anymore in archived game topics (I particularly enjoyed reading this
World Cup of Maidenfans final: Black Sabbath versus Judas Priest again!) but I wanted to update my Sabbath appreciation since I'm playing all the albums with my oldest son.

Back in 2012 I said:

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Black Sabbath
I do enjoy most albums with Tony Martin very much. But I am less over the moon by a few albums with Ozzy (Never Say Die & Technical Ecstasy), Glenn Hughes (Seventh Star), Ian Gillan (Born Again), Dio (Dehumanizer), and one with Martin (Forbidden). If we count the album by the group Heaven and Hell I'd put it in this same category. These 6/7 albums have some great tracks, but looking at the complete pictures, they are simply not that great.

That leaves 12 strong Sabbath albums:
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Master of Reality
Vol. 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabotage
Heaven and Hell
Mob Rules
The Eternal Idol
Headless Cross
Tyr
Cross Purposes
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But now I will also add Seventh Star and Dehumanizer to the group of strong Sabbath albums.

Seventh Star had lacked my attention (one of the least played Sabbath albums of the past) and now that I hear it again after so many years I really like it. Danger Zone has about the best riffing of the whole catalogue. Totally my taste: melodic, great hook, sound and rhythm, all in one. And I now appreciate the voice of Hughes, at least on this album. The weird thing is that this is the only Sabbath album with a song (Turn to Stone) with a big use of double bass, making it some sort of Priestish / power metal song. Very un Sabbathish but I do not mind. The opening track in Tyr has this as well, but in lesser extent (less double bass work). All in all an original, mellow record with atmospherical contribution by Geoff Nichols, Sabbath's fifth member.

Dehumanizer. I think the contrast with the Tony Martin era (before and after this album) was (and still is) big, but I am really starting to appreciate its own qualities. The riffing and solos, the dark atmosphere, the drumming by Vinny Appice and of course Dio who did a great job. You feel he's totally into it.

This makes 14 strong Sabbath albums:
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Master of Reality
Vol. 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabotage
Heaven and Hell
Mob Rules
Seventh Star
The Eternal Idol
Headless Cross
Tyr
Dehumanizer
Cross Purposes
 
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Forostar said:
Unfortunately I cannot post anymore in archived game topics (I particularly enjoyed reading this
World Cup of Maidenfans final: Black Sabbath versus Judas Priest again!) but I wanted to update my Sabbath appreciation since I'm playing all the albums with my oldest son.

Back in 2012 I said:

= = =
Black Sabbath
I do enjoy most albums with Tony Martin very much. But I am less over the moon by a few albums with Ozzy (Never Say Die & Technical Ecstasy), Glenn Hughes (Seventh Star), Ian Gillan (Born Again), Dio (Dehumanizer), and one with Martin (Forbidden). If we count the album by the group Heaven and Hell I'd put it in this same category. These 6/7 albums have some great tracks, but looking at the complete pictures, they are simply not that great.

That leaves 12 strong Sabbath albums:
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Master of Reality
Vol. 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabotage
Heaven and Hell
Mob Rules
The Eternal Idol
Headless Cross
Tyr
Cross Purposes
= = =

But now I will also add Seventh Star and Dehumanizer to the group of strong Sabbath albums.

Seventh Star had lacked my attention (one of the least played Sabbath albums of the past) and now that I hear it again after so many years I really like it. Danger Zone has about the best riffing of the whole catalogue. Totally my taste: melodic, great hook, sound and rhythm, all in one. And I now appreciate the voice of Hughes, at least on this album. The weird thing is that this is the only Sabbath album with a song (Turn to Stone) with a big use of double bass, making it some sort of Priestish / power metal song. Very un Sabbathish but I do not mind. The opening track in Tyr has this as well, but in lesser extent (less double bass work). All in all an original, mellow record with atmospherical contribution by Geoff Nichols, Sabbath's fifth member.

Dehumanizer. I think the contrast with the Tony Martin era (before and after this album) was (and still is) big, but I am really starting to appreciate its own qualities. The riffing and solos, the dark atmosphere, the drumming by Rondinelli and of course Dio who did a great job. You feel he's totally into it.

This makes 14 strong Sabbath albums:
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Master of Reality
Vol. 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabotage
Heaven and Hell
Mob Rules
Seventh Star
The Eternal Idol
Headless Cross
Tyr
Dehumanizer
Cross Purposes
Click to expand...
Dehumanizer is a great album. By the way, isn't it Vinny Appice on drums though?
 
What are everyone's thoughts about the Forbidden album?
On Loudersound it's in The Top 20 Worst Rock Albums ever made but is that really justified?
I see Billy Idol's Cyberpunk on that list too which is almost blasphemy, that album was ahead of its time.
 
I wouldn't take lists seriously, they usually throw in some bullshit to get people riled up.

My favourite example is when Guitar World did a 100 best solos and 100 worst solos list. Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" came in somewhere like number 11 in the worst guitar solos because "it lazily copied the vocal melody". Smells Like Teen Spirit was the 4th best guitar solo despite it also only being a copy of the vocal melody.
 
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It seems I remembered the positions wrong TS was 12th worst and SLTS was 26th best. Which is not quite as spectacular as 4th best, however here's the solos that it's slightlty better than:

30) "Surfing with the Alien"
29) "For the Love of God"
28) "Mr. Crowley"
27) "Pride and Joy" :lol:
 
To keep this on topic: The Illusion Of Power! What a doomy master riff!
Kiss Of Death is my personal favorite here. :wub:
If you'd make a band with only underrated artists, Tony Martin would be the singer.
 
I don't believe in that kind of lists. Anyway it could be the worst album of Iommi with Tony Martin, Cozy Powell, Geoff Nichols and Neil Murray. There are 2 or 3 good songs. I agree with Kiss of Death could be the best one of the album. Illusion of Power is a kind of boring song to me.
 
So I have finally compelted listening to all of Black Sabbath's Studio catalog (I'm Including The Devil You Know in this since it is essentially a Black Sabbath record) and have decided to rank them.


5 Stars
  1. Heaven And Hell
  2. Headless Cross
4 Stars
  1. Dehumaizer
  2. The Eternal Idol
  3. Paranoid

  4. Tyr
  5. Seventh Star
  6. Mob Rules
  7. Cross Purposes

  8. Born Again
  9. Master Of Reality
  10. The Devil You Know
  11. Vol. 4
  12. Sabotage
3 Stars
  1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
  2. Black Sabbath

  3. Forbidden
  4. Technical Esctasy
  5. Never Say Die
2 Stars
  1. 13

What I can say is the I really need to revisit the Ozzy side of the catalog in the near future since his vocals have been growing on me a lot over the past few months so I could see albums like Sabotage, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Vol 4, Master Of Reality and potentially the debut rising a few notches while a few others might end up dropping a little. The Tony Martin era I quite enjoy along with the Black Sabbath era with Dio not as much the separate Heaven And Hell band. This ranking doesn't surprise me much at all.
 
Could be interesting but to be honest I'm tired of Iomi's line-ups, It's like they're laughing at the fan's face, now with Heaven and hell ,coming back with Ozzy to make a lot of money, back with Heaven and Hell with Halford now… . By the other hand I don't know if Iomi could play due to his health problems, but hey It could be interesting. But I hope Halford don't leave Priest to do this. Anyway he has to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Priest, record a new album…Time will tell.
 
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Come on, do you really think Iommi needs money ? Sabbath is his life, he is ill and Ozzy doesn't want to play with them. I understand why he looks for another high profile singer.
 
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For Ozzy's wife for sure, for Ozzy himself perharps, but Tony and Geezer ? I admire those guys so much that I would never believe they are doing it only for greed.
 
Why shouldn‘t they do it? They’re musicians, they like to play. The Devil You Know was great, and just like Pardo I’d like some new Iommi+Geezer as well.
 
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