Music Review: Black Sabbath, Anno Domini 1989-1995

Rescuing the Tony Martin era from obscurity

Introit

Ah, Black Sabbath. The name conjures a host of legendary stories; everything from birthing heavy metal in response to an industrial accident, to the absolute summit of musical triumph and rock’n’roll excess, to embarrassing episodes so dire they led to the best rock’n’roll comedy ever made. Maybe.

(Yes, “Stonehenge” actually happened, well, sorta….)

Black Sabbath influenced me as a musician, especially Geezer Butler’s bass playing.

(October 2002, at the late, “great,” Chickenhead Lounge in Songtan, South Korea - I think this is the time they set the bar on fire).

Before we start, let me say that I now own every Black Sabbath studio album, some of the live albums, expanded editions, collections, the Heaven and Hell live album, video, and studio album, which is a Black Sabbath album in all but legal name. Dio’s time in the band is my favorite era, but of course I love the original Ozzy era. Yes, I can even find nice things to say about Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die. They’re not masterpieces, but they’re not as bad as you’ve been led to believe.

Black Sabbath’s music influences me as a writer, and I know I’m far from alone in this. The band’s repertoire draws on speculative fiction, infuses it, and rides shotgun alongside it. Shaped by the original band members’ English industrial working-class origins in the bombed-out rubble of post-war Birmingham, their music was a direct response to the hippy-dippy flower power of the late 1960s, which in many ways seemed too remote and bourgeois for them to find compelling.

Instead, Black Sabbath delved into everything from genuinely spaced-themed songs like “Planet Caravan,” and “Into the Void,” to the band members’ complex relationship with the supernatural and religion (see “After Forever” for a positive side, and “Immaculate Deception” for the not-so-positive side), songs that lean into the fantastic (see “Falling Off the Edge of the World,” and “Neon Knights”), songs that touch mythology (“Odin’s Court”) and songs that reach into the horrific depths of human depravity, as expressed in the songs “Black Sabbath,” and “War Pigs,” and “Children of the Grave,” and one of my favorites, “Electric Funeral.” With the Sabs, apocalypse is always on the horizon, imminent, and right behind you.

So being a bit of a Black Sabbath completionist and collector made me think of trying something different for Upstream, and that’s a music review. If the readership takes a shining to this format, we’ll do a few more and see how it goes.

Normally, I’d stick to one album and give a song-by-song review, but the recent release of a new, long-rumored box set calls for something more comprehensive and wave-top, since it compiles a little-heard and yet often much maligned period of the band. Yes, much maligned, but undeservedly so.

(3….2….1……)

Since hardcore Ozzy diehards have undoubtedly stopped reading by now, I’ll continue.

Today, we’re reviewing the CD version of Black Sabbath: Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set of the four long out of print and otherwise hard to find Tony Martin-era albums originally released by the unfortunately named (well for Black Sabbath anyway), yet highly influential I.R.S. Records. Warner/Rhino now own the rights to these albums, alongside most if not all the rest of the Black Sabbath catalogue. This box presents three remastered albums and one remixed album (Forbidden), on CD and vinyl, and marks the first time that all this material is consistently available on streaming services. This release also provides hope to those looking for an eventual rerelease of the lone Ian Gillan-led Black Sabbath outing as well, 1983’s Born Again.

Astute aficionados have noticed by now this set excludes the actual first Tony Martin album, 1987’s The Eternal Idol, and that’s because it was remastered and expanded in 2009 to include a version of the album with vocals by singer Ray Gillen alongside the official release. While it’s not part of this review, it’s also worth checking out.

Anno Domini collects Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), Cross Purposes (1994), and the legendary (and not in a good way), Forbidden (1995). You’ll note the multi-year gap due to the reunion of the Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath lineup for 1992’s Dehumanizer album and tour (another record that’s unfairly maligned). You may also note a lack of the Cross Purposes Live album and concert film, but those may appear later down the road.

Entr’acte

I’ll be frank, the story of the different Sabbath lineups, controversies, legends, truths, etc. is too long, too tedious, and too confusing to delve into for the purposes of this review. Instead of focusing on the infinite minefield of whether Henry Rollins is right and “you can only trust yourself and the first six Black Sabbath albums,” or, “which is the best Sabbath album of all time” (the answer is Heaven and Hell, in case you were wondering), or whether the replacement of ANY of the original members means it’s not Black Sabbath at all, I’ll hold my comments on that for the very end.

(For purposes of this review, I’m not going anywhere near Seventh Star, which also doesn’t suck BTW).

If you really want to wade into lore so convoluted and deep it makes WH40K look like a Hemingway book, then I recommend you go here. Good hunting. God help you.

Get on with it!

Let’s get the ephemera out of the way first. This is a nice and sturdy box; survivable, unlike most of these affairs. The lined cover art cleverly makes use of key elements of the cover art from all four albums included. It’s tasteful and well-done.

The goodies include a Headless Cross poster. It’s a nice bonus and displaying it can mark you as a person of exceedingly good taste, because Headless Cross is the best album in the set (spoiler alert).

You get two booklets as well. The first is a comprehensive look at this era of the band, and is well supplied with lots of photographs, magazine clippings, and other media references. It’s loaded with quotations and retrospective commentary from band members and associates.

Tony Iommi comes across as an embattled but determined band leader; “the guy who never quit,” owning the decision to carry on with the Black Sabbath name, despite the hardship that caused and contra earlier periods when he was open to dropping it and embarking on a fresh start.

Tony Martin is the scrappy, younger up-and-comer doing his best to make it all work, knowing from experience that he’s in or out depending on the prevailing winds.

Cozy Powell (drums), one of the best hard rock and heavy metal drummers ever to play. He is combative, asserting his Sabbath lineup is as valid as the original, which drew the ire of Ozzy. Quiet Riot’s Bobby Rondinelli plays on Cross Purposes, and while he is also a great drummer in his own right, he’s no Cozy, Vinny Appice, or Bill Ward.

Bassist Neil Murray is also a well-polished professional, but he stands in Geezer Butler’s shadow, and he knows it. More to follow on this.

The booklet helps peel back the onion on the very tail end of the pre-download and pre-streaming era of music. I know that’s a mouthful, but many listeners and readers might benefit from knowledge of “what it was like,” when you didn’t really know what you were getting in a CD case or cassette until you got it yourself and pushed “play” in your car or at home. You had to trust magazine reviews, word of mouth, or MTV.

Times have changed.

The last item I’ll go over before getting to the music is the recreated Headless Cross tour program. This is a huge disappointment, and I can’t tell if that’s due to shrinking it down for the CD version of the set, or if the real thing was this bad, or if it’s just me getting old and needing reading glasses now. The photos suffer from too much glare and poor resolution. They contrast with the background so much they’re washed out. However, the worst offenses are the band members’ biographies. The typeset and font size of the text are a chore to read against the dark backgrounds and “scary heavy metal” insets. The font is too small to work at this size. Get off my lawn.

The program hopefully fares better in the full-size vinyl LP version, but I wasn’t down for the $90-100.00 price tag. I like this music a lot, but not $100.00 a lot.

The Albums

Since we’re talking about the CD release, I don’t like the little sleeves they’re in. That works for a full-size LP, but not a CD. The discs aren’t secure and watch you don’t end up dropping them on the floor.

It also squashes the artwork. Note to record companies - simply miniaturizing LP-sized artwork and liner notes DOES NOT WORK. Vinyl LPs will always reign supreme over other formats when it comes to artwork. There’s something special about album cover artwork.

Now, the music. I’ll discuss them in chronological order. First: the remastering and remixing efforts were WORTH IT. They sound great, some of the records benefiting more than others.

Headless Cross: This is an absolute banger of a record. I own an original CD copy, and this record absolutely benefited from the remastering process. I mean, listen to this, especially around 1:27-1:50. Across the board, Tony’s playing is ridiculously good, easily among his best, and Cozy Powell was a real shot in the arm for this band.

The songs are over the top but in an enjoyable late ‘80s metal fashion. “Do you think this album needs more ‘death,’ Mr. Iommi?” / “Why it jolly well does Mr. Martin!”

Tony Iommi just sounds, well, free to play what he wants, how he wants to play it. Iommi found his inner Eddie Van Halen on this record.

Vocalist Tony Martin sounds determined to make his mark and put his stamp on the band. While not a traditional heavy metal player, session bassist Laurence Cottle wisely avoids merely imitating Geezer Butler, and supplies a tasteful and solid performance. Whitesnake veteran Neil Murray officially joins the band as bassist on this record’s tour, and in the studio for this lineup’s follow-ups: Tyr and Forbidden. Long-time off-stage keyboardist/rhythm guitarist/batman Geoff Nichols adds depth to the sound that doesn’t overpower the rest of the band.

Stand out tracks: “Headless Cross” itself, “Devil and Daughter” are my favorites. “When Death Calls” is epically over the top, and Tony Martin’s vocal performance is astounding. I mean, the Cat can sing (understatement). “Black Moor” might be more at home on a Deep Purple or Rainbow album, but it’s still pretty rad. “Cloak and Dagger” is a fun bluesy hard rock jam song.

The title track is one of those songs that make you want to go grab your garage band bros and just bang away at it. Annoyed spouses and neighbors are a bonus!

Tyr: Whether it was intentional or not, this is the closest thing Sabbath has to a “concept album.” While there’s no cohesive story, there’s a definite thematic overlay of Norse mythology. It’s excellent overall. I might like it more than Headless Cross. Geoff Nichol’s keys are very forward in the mix and a lead instrument on this album, but the songs support them well.

Standout tracks: You can’t go wrong with the four tracks of Side I: “Anno Mundi / The Law Maker / Jerusalem / The Sabbath Stones” (that one you might have heard before). “Jerusalem” is my favorite song on the whole record, easily.

Side II is the more “Norse” flavored side if you will, with “The Battle of Tyr / Odin’s Court / Valhalla” forming a kind of “suite” that gave rise to the “concept album” rumor.

The one misstep here is “Feels Good to Me.” Guys, please, please stay away from power ballads. I know they were mandatory back then, but it doesn’t belong here. You’re not good at them. It’s an awkward break in an otherwise excellent outing.

Cross Purposes: Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler is most definitely back, staying on from the just concluded Dehumanizer reunion with Dio.

The contrast between records with and without Geezer is stark. It’s not just his unique style of playing missing on the other records in this set, it’s how his playing synchs with Tony Iommi’s playing to create the Black Sabbath sound. Tony Iommi plays differently when Geezer is in and out of the band. The riff monster is there regardless, but with Geezer he’s less flashy, more rhythmic, with greater use of dynamics and empty space. Bluesier, but more restrained. He’s not trying to carry the whole band by himself, consciously or not.

The album’s sound is less harsh, less mean, and less gritty than its immediate predecessor, Dehumanizer, which, despite being demoed with Tony Martin, featured the return of Dio on vocals and Vinny Appice on drums, so by comparison Cross Purposes sounds…well, “poppy.”

However, the song structures are in line with classic Black Sabbath in their tempo changes, thematic movements, and dual lead playing between Tony Iommi and Geezer. Stylistically, it melds elements of both the Ozzy and Dio eras, which Tony Martin handles with ease. He can handle anything thrown at him, and it shows.

Ironically, while this album did decently well in sales and reviews, while it sounds more like a “true” Black Sabbath album, I don’t care for it as much as either Headless Cross or Tyr. An old college roommate had a copy, and I don’t remember it making a deep impression on me back then. The songs aren’t bad, they’re just not great. It’s not a bad album, not by any stretch of the imagination. It did something right, since this album also spawned a live record (Cross Purposes Live, 1995) and a VHS concert film. Overall, the fan base seems split on this one.

Standout tracks are the opener, “I Witness” and a song with origins in the Dehumanizer demo sessions, “Psychophobia.” I also liked “Virtual Death,” because it does call to mind early Sabbath. “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” is excellent. The best song on the album is “Evil Eye,” featuring guitar solos by none other than Eddie Van Halen. “What’s the Use?” is a bonus track, long only available on a Japanese import CD long out of print, it’s nice to finally have it readily accessible.

“Dying for Love.” Skip it. “What the Use?” Skip it. Also unimpressed with “Immaculate Deception” and “Cardinal Sin.” We get it, Geezer. We get it.

And finally, Forbidden: Oh boy. I have heard a few of these songs before on an import compilation record, which I bet Sabbath did only to fulfill its contract with I.R.S., and I didn’t like them one bit. Originally mixed by Ernie C, the guitarist for Ice-T’s band Body Count, this album’s reputation is notorious. According to the book included in the box set, there was a lot of “strangeness” surrounding the recording of this album, from the odd guest vocals by Ice-T, and as to whether he was going to “replace” Tony Martin, to poor production decisions leading to the album’s much maligned original sound. And truly, the song quality isn’t there either, despite the strengths of Tony-Tony-Cozy as writing partners on their previous records together.

The sound bothered the band members so much that what’s presented in this box set is a completely remixed version of the album by Tony Iommi. The new mix saves this record from the scrapheap; however, it can’t fix the lesser quality of the songs.

I’m not going to beat around the bush: I still don’t like the album.

Standout tracks: “Loser Gets It All” - easily the best song here. Originally only available on the Japanese import version of the record. “Can’t Get Close Enough,” isn’t bad, with an interesting guitar/vocal-only intro and outro. Tony Iommi’s solo on “I Won’t Cry for You” is good, as is his solo on “Sick and Tired.” The song “Forbidden” itself isn’t bad and worth a listen. I like “Kiss of Death.”

Misfires: Everything else. “Illusion of Power” - Tony Martin, man, you’re no Phil Lynott. Also, Ice-T is cool and all, but he doesn’t belong on this record.

This record perfectly demonstrates that trend chasing is often a terrible creative decision. If that means anything for us author types as well, I’ll leave that to your own judgement.

The mid-90s were a time of musical turmoil, with grunge and “alternative rock,” (I still HATE that term), leaving many “legacy” musicians stranded or cast by the wayside. This album sounds like Tony and company trying to play “catch up,” a criticism also applicable to the last two original Ozzy-era albums, Technical Ecstasy, and Never Say Die, released at the end of the ‘70s as punk disrupted the status quo and young bands like Van Halen rose up.

Finale

Overall, this box set is a solid release and an uncomplicated, cost-effective way to grab four albums that are difficult and expensive to acquire individually.

So, let’s sum everything up.

1. The fact is, Tony Martin deserved far better than he got from both critics and fans during his tenure. Though it might harm some to hear it, I think it’s safe to say that Tony Martin was Sabbath’s most technically proficient and polished singer. His voice is tremendously powerful and versatile. He was officially the band’s second-longest tenured singer with ten years, five studio albums and one live album. That’s not a bad run at all.

2. I feel compelled to say that while Headless Cross and Tyr are excellent, and Forbidden is “okay,” that band is just not Black Sabbath. They’re an excellent band, even with the missteps of Forbidden. The lineup of Tony-Tony-Cozy-Murray (and the ever-stalwart Geoff Nichols, the most loyal man in heavy metal who ever lived), deserved its own distinct identity.

3. Cross Purposes is almost great, but never really gets there, despite it being a “real” Black Sabbath album as far as I’m concerned. They seem stuck in a weird almost Ozzy-style almost Dio-style limbo, but the production underserves the music by keeping it too clean and pristine. However, the guest work by Eddie Van Halen is a great bit of “lost” music from that icon and worth hearing!

4. While I understand Tony Iommi’s point of view, it is true that “he never quit the band,” the prudent thing for him to have done would have been to call the band something else, even allowing for record company interference. The convoluted story of Sabbath indicates that after the first Dio run, even Tony recognized that the band wasn’t Black Sabbath anymore, and that carrying the name was a blessing, and a curse, and a creative straitjacket.

You can side with Henry Rollins. As for me, at a minimum, Black Sabbath requires Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, because that sound and that songwriting style is so definitive, so distinct, you really notice when it’s not there. That statement does not diminish the best of the work demonstrated by the HC/T/F line-up. There is excellent music here that deserves to be heard more and reevaluated in context of its time.

With that all said, I recommend this box set. At $50.00 for four albums on CD and bonus goodies, that’s a good deal for any hep to the scene fan. For the absolute diehards, I recommend the vinyl collection, because you’ll get better versions of the artwork and booklets. For the uninitiated, stream them first.