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| Black Sabbath - Born Again Band: Black Sabbath Tracks: - Trashed - Stonehenge - Disturbing the Priest - Dark - Zero the Hero - Digital Bitch - Born Again - Hot Line - Keep It Warm Why Didn't This Album Make It? Actually, it did. Anyone who can read can glance at the insert and see that this album placed number 4 on the charts when it debuted. Not too shabby, is it? Of course not, but when an album becomes a mass-market sellout...thankfully, enough people despise Black Sabbath to keep them a somewhat underground favorite. Ian Gillan sure sounds different than he did during Deep Purple Mk 1, with a new force to his voice. Singing softly one moment and screeching at the top of his lungs the next, Gillan characterizes the bruising frame of "Born Again." Chord for chord, the Sabs orchestrated perhaps the heaviest album they've ever done. It comes as no surprise that it happened when Tony and Geezer came the closest they ever would to reuniting the original lineup. Bill Ward drums with a ferocity reminscent of his earlier days before his health deteriorated, and no offense Vinny Appice, but Bill Ward can mop the floor with you any day of the week. With the remastered version, "Born Again" actually sounds respectable and compared to the original mix, it's a Beethoven nocturne with a demonic twist. Here and there, you can actually hear Geezer thumping away with the bass, but on "Digital 'Female Dog'" you can crank up both the volume and the bass until Sparks fly from your speakers and you still can't hear it. Tony proves that no one can out-sludge the master of grinding guitar-work, and he turns in his best riffing since at least "Sabotage." It proves that a heavy metal superstar doesn't have to be wacked-out on speed to be the greatest. "Trashed" is perhaps the hardest-hitting song on the album, and not just because of its machine-gun guitars or savage vocals. The lyrics are no subtle poison-in-the-wine but a sledgehammer through the skull, driving home the point in a blunt and painful way. The only problem with this album are the two instrumentals, "Stonehenge" and "The Dark." It would have been nice if Tony and Ian had decided to record two more classic tracks such as "Zero the Hero." Yeah, yeah, Guns'n'Roses stole the riff for their own "Paradise City," the thievin' blackguards, and even though you couldn't Call them a luvvy-duvvy hair-metal band, they still aren't fit to lick Black Sabbath's boots, much less copy original crushing rhythm. It's only a matter of time before some white-rap Band like Limp Bizkit steals the hallowed "Iron Man" and escapes a lawsuit. Do not overlook "Born Again." Of all the five-star post-Ozzy albums, this is my favorite, and I've only had it for two weeks. Heavy in a new sense and powerful in the strictest meaning of the word, it was a brief return to form and majesty. Too bad it didn't last... very different wow. if you're expecting anything th zon.com/images/P/B000005RFK.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg Buy Black Sabbath Born Again at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
