Ive recently (in the past month) come into completing my Black Sabbath collection and have finally acquired all the (very hard to find) Tony Martin Sabbath albums. All I have to say is Oh My God!!!!!! because
.
WHY ON EARTH ARE THESE NOT KNOWN AS ESSENTIAL METAL RELEASES?!!!!!!!?????!!!!!
Sure, Forbidden is rather weak (but with its moments), but Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes and Eternal Idol are possibly Sabbaths best efforts put out not to mention that Live Cross Purposes has the coolest setlist ever (an actual variety from all eras) with top notch performances from the band.
And my god, Tony Martin!!!! This mans voice is like it fits with every era so well. He sounds at home just as much on Ozzy tracks as he does on Dio tracks, not to mention his own. His voice just melts into the band.
But now I wanna actually get into the actual albums.
Tyr has to be the coolest thing ever recorded . The opener Anno Mundi is fantastic. It sounds mystical, evil and heavy!!! Just like metal sound. The perfect way to open an album Law Maker just screams Mob Rules (era) song writing which I believed was lost. It has that upbeat fast rock tempo. Jerusalem is a great rocker and The Sabbath Stones is a fantastic epic in the vein of Heavy and Hell and Black Sabbath.
The Eternal Idol is probably the best of the Martin albums, or at least the most consistent, with EVER track (and I mean every single one) being a standout. This album is more rockish than my favorite of the bunch (Tyr with its more epic power metal vibe) but with what this album does, it does it better than most. The Shining, Ancient Warrior, Born To Lose and the evil title track make the grades on this though, and wow baby wow did this album not tack off into heavy metal popularity? Its packed with way more energy and metal than the classics like Vol. 4 that are oh so popular
And Headless Cross this album, what can I say? The moody intro track sets ya up for this ride in a way that lets ya know youre on your way to hell, and its gunna be a fun ride. The title track has to be one of my all time favorite Sabbath cuts, and might even have bumped Heaven and Hell from my coveted FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME spot that it has held for about a good solid 4 or 5 years after listening to that song youre lucky you still have a soul to sell, because chances are its been crushed by the heavy godly soul crushing riff. Devil & Daughter really gets the album going and When Death Calls slows it down again showing you that you can not escape the Sabbath! Nightwing is a great closer track too, really showing off the abilities of everyone in the band quite well.
Cross Purposes is a good album too, but doesnt seem to quite match up to the others I Witness is a good heavy opener with great leadwork by Iommi (but when is it not great?). Cross Of Thorns is very moody and atmospheric. Psychophobia is a heavy track that speeds circles around you. Another standout track is Cardinal Sin, a pure Sabbath track.
Forbidden is alright, but we could all do without I dont really feel like listening to it again to post my thoughts on it fresh, but I will say what I remember from it. The Illusion Of Power was pretty cool until I heard that weird ass rapping thing going on in it (Why god dear god why???!!! Not in my Sabbath!!!!) Can't Get Close Enough is a good track (probably the best on the album, but Martin sounds slightly whiny in it though ) and I remember thinking the bonus track Loser Gets It All was one of the best on there (so why was it only a bonus?) but I also remembering (while listening to it) thinking that it sounded like a leftover from Cross Purposes.
Still though, why arent these albums on everyones wish list? Why doesnt everyone own these already? Theyre amazing, and really worthy of every metalheads time. Just because Ozzy or Dio aint on it, it dont mean you should write it off. Its some of Sabbaths best.
WHY ON EARTH ARE THESE NOT KNOWN AS ESSENTIAL METAL RELEASES?!!!!!!!?????!!!!!
Sure, Forbidden is rather weak (but with its moments), but Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes and Eternal Idol are possibly Sabbaths best efforts put out not to mention that Live Cross Purposes has the coolest setlist ever (an actual variety from all eras) with top notch performances from the band.
And my god, Tony Martin!!!! This mans voice is like it fits with every era so well. He sounds at home just as much on Ozzy tracks as he does on Dio tracks, not to mention his own. His voice just melts into the band.
But now I wanna actually get into the actual albums.
Tyr has to be the coolest thing ever recorded . The opener Anno Mundi is fantastic. It sounds mystical, evil and heavy!!! Just like metal sound. The perfect way to open an album Law Maker just screams Mob Rules (era) song writing which I believed was lost. It has that upbeat fast rock tempo. Jerusalem is a great rocker and The Sabbath Stones is a fantastic epic in the vein of Heavy and Hell and Black Sabbath.
The Eternal Idol is probably the best of the Martin albums, or at least the most consistent, with EVER track (and I mean every single one) being a standout. This album is more rockish than my favorite of the bunch (Tyr with its more epic power metal vibe) but with what this album does, it does it better than most. The Shining, Ancient Warrior, Born To Lose and the evil title track make the grades on this though, and wow baby wow did this album not tack off into heavy metal popularity? Its packed with way more energy and metal than the classics like Vol. 4 that are oh so popular
And Headless Cross this album, what can I say? The moody intro track sets ya up for this ride in a way that lets ya know youre on your way to hell, and its gunna be a fun ride. The title track has to be one of my all time favorite Sabbath cuts, and might even have bumped Heaven and Hell from my coveted FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME spot that it has held for about a good solid 4 or 5 years after listening to that song youre lucky you still have a soul to sell, because chances are its been crushed by the heavy godly soul crushing riff. Devil & Daughter really gets the album going and When Death Calls slows it down again showing you that you can not escape the Sabbath! Nightwing is a great closer track too, really showing off the abilities of everyone in the band quite well.
Cross Purposes is a good album too, but doesnt seem to quite match up to the others I Witness is a good heavy opener with great leadwork by Iommi (but when is it not great?). Cross Of Thorns is very moody and atmospheric. Psychophobia is a heavy track that speeds circles around you. Another standout track is Cardinal Sin, a pure Sabbath track.
Forbidden is alright, but we could all do without I dont really feel like listening to it again to post my thoughts on it fresh, but I will say what I remember from it. The Illusion Of Power was pretty cool until I heard that weird ass rapping thing going on in it (Why god dear god why???!!! Not in my Sabbath!!!!) Can't Get Close Enough is a good track (probably the best on the album, but Martin sounds slightly whiny in it though ) and I remember thinking the bonus track Loser Gets It All was one of the best on there (so why was it only a bonus?) but I also remembering (while listening to it) thinking that it sounded like a leftover from Cross Purposes.
Still though, why arent these albums on everyones wish list? Why doesnt everyone own these already? Theyre amazing, and really worthy of every metalheads time. Just because Ozzy or Dio aint on it, it dont mean you should write it off. Its some of Sabbaths best.
