Tony Martin era Black Sabbath

[CAIRATH]

So yes, I was bored and decided to venture into post-Dio era to see what some of the lesser mentioned Sabbath sounds like and went to check out the two albums from the first Tony Martin period.

I'm curious what people's opinions on these records are. They have a very typical overproduced 80's rock/metal sound to them, and are much more epic than anything Sabbath has done before that (epic could be replaced with cheesy, I suppose). But they're catchy and the riffing is still thick as ever. They are not on the same level as earlier Sabbath (though better than Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die in my opinion) but I think they are quite fun to listen to in a catchy heavy metal sort of way.

So, good? Mediocre? Horrible? Guilty pleasure?

 

[soundave]

It's pretty easy to be better than TE or NSD...

 

[Powers]

Ozzy era - Classic Sabbath, brilliant.

Dio era - Technically the best, but not pure Sabbath, will always be maligned for this reason.

Anything after - Mediocre at best.

 

[daz436]

Ozzy era - Classic Sabbath, brilliant.

Dio era - Technically the best, but not pure Sabbath, will always be maligned for this reason.

Anything after - Mediocre at best.

Agreed.

 

[Arjen W.]

I really love those albums! Anno Mundi, The Lawmaker, When Death Calls... Just a few of the songs I really like. The albums are pretty much never talked about, I even learned from this thread that it's a controversial thing to be liking? I wouldn't call it a guilty pleasure myself, I think those two albums have some kickass songs and I'm not ashamed of anyone knowing.

 

[Abhorsen]

Ozzy era - Classic Sabbath, brilliant.

Dio era - Technically the best, but not pure Sabbath, will always be maligned for this reason.

Anything after - Mediocre at best.

.

 

[arzachel]

lol @ post-Dio Sabbath. The 'Born Again' cover is pretty kv1t tho. :immortal:

 

[opethmaniac]

Tyr is a pretty good album at my eyes...as different from the other Black Sabbath stuff as Never Say Die is too !! And I do enjoy NSD a lot more then Sabotage, for instance...
Never listened to Headless Cross though...

 

[soundave]

Tyr is a pretty good album at my eyes...as different from the other Black Sabbath stuff as Never Say Die is too !! And I do enjoy NSD a lot more then Sabotage, for instance...
Never listened to Headless Cross though...

WTF?!? Really? You like NSD better than Sabotage? Wow... Sabotage has always been one of my faves... I would be surprised if many people felt the same way as you. What's better about NSD iyo?

 

[arzachel]

the title tracks owns, the rest however ranges from average to unbelieveably awful.

 

[NFU]

sabotage is hands down better than never say die. it shouldnt even be discussed.

 

[Abhorsen]

What these last two dudes said.

 

[DEMIgOD]

i personally like the tony martin years more then the dio years.

 

[NFU]

i personally like the tony martin years more then the dio years.

well. that is quite frankly absurd in my eyes...but rock on. truth is ANY era sabbath is better than any typical moonsorrowesque trash most people listen to these days.

 

[Slayer101]

^So True

 

[opethmaniac]

WTF?!? Really? You like NSD better than Sabotage? Wow... Sabotage has always been one of my faves... I would be surprised if many people felt the same way as you. What's better about NSD iyo?

Can't really explain it, Dude !
"Junior's Eyes", "Over To You", "Air Dance" are just amazing at my eyes...dunno, the piano stuff on these songs may be the reason why i feel like that about NSD...There are, in some ways, the following of prog songs from "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"...also, there is some jazzy touches on this record, like "Break Out" ..At my eyes, "Sabotage" is for B.S the same than "No Prayer for the dying" for Iron Maiden : back to the roots with a different sound...I really enjoy a couple of songs from Sabotage though, such as Megalomania or Symptom Of The Universe...

 

[Eternal_Decadent]

Never Say Die is a really good Hard Rock album , yes it's flawed but i like it.

 

[soundave]

Can't really explain it, Dude !
"Junior's Eyes", "Over To You", "Air Dance" are just amazing at my eyes...dunno, the piano stuff on these songs may be the reason why i feel like that about NSD...There are, in some ways, the following of prog songs from "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"...also, there is some jazzy touches on this record, like "Break Out" ..At my eyes, "Sabotage" is for B.S the same than "No Prayer for the dying" for Iron Maiden : back to the roots with a different sound...I really enjoy a couple of songs from Sabotage though, such as Megalomania or Symptom Of The Universe...

Interesting comparison, though I think Sabotage is far superior to NPFTD! Sabotage was one of my first Sabbath records, so I've always been attached to it. Hole in the Sky and Supertzar are some of my faves in addition to your offerings.