I’ve been clicking through some of the vids taken at the Brisbane gig. As noted probably many times, Ozzy is indeed the weakest link, apparently. I hate when he unintelligibly mumbles through songs that are 40 years old. Come on, Ozz!!! You don’t get an excuse to mess these up.
The band sounds GREAT to me. And I’m surprisingly really digging their new drummer (Brad Wilk, I think was his name). He’s got a really fun large style that works well with Sabbath. He flails like Animal and is a really groovy cat. Not just some going-through-the-motions technical robot that I was honestly expecting.
I actually think I’d still like to see this tour if I can. Sure, Ozzy is half the man he used to be, but I think a lot of us have kind of come to accept that. And the rest of the band are on point and strong enough and the songs are rockin’ and groovy enough that Ozzy, even with his drunken mouthful of marbles and concrete, can’t really destroy them past the point of enjoyment.
The iTunes store is streaming the entire “13” album for free. [url “https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/black-sabbath/id165907”]Go there, and look at the “Black Sabbath” page, and you can listen to a free streaming version of the entire Deluxe Edition of the “13" album now.
THE STREAM APPEARS ON THE ARTIST PAGE FOR BLACK SABBATH
NOT the pages for the 13 album itself.
It’s actually not the deluxe edition. That version has Methademic, Peace Of Mind and Pariah, and the stream ends on Dear Father.
Long story short, I never thought I’d hear a Sabbath album and think of how much it sucks that almost every song sounded the same. End Of The Beginning, Zeitgeist and Live Forever were the only standouts.
I’m listening now. Five songs in and so far only Zeitgeist has captured my attention - albeit in only a casual, fleeting manner.
It’s all so mid paced and so mundane. Some of it I’m guessing could eventually grow on me…but this is as dull as Black Sabbath have sounded in a long time.
Ozzy sounds bored and out of tune in parts. Lyrics are forgettable tripe.
“Mediocre” sums this up pretty well. All in all it’s something of a non event. Not great. Not terrible. It’s just kind of…there.
Each track just sort of lumbers along in a pedestrian sort of manner not really making much of an impression at all. It’s very “bare bones” - there’s nothing to really sink your teeth into. Where are the killer riffs? Where are the Sabbathy lyrics? It never…not ever…sent a single shiver down my spine like all the best Sabbath albums do.
I’ll buy it - it’s certainly better than any Black Sabbath album post 1990 - but I probably won’t return to it time and time again like I was hoping I would.
And now that I think of it - the album could really have done with some nice organ flourishes here and there. There’s virtually no interesting instrumentation going
on at all.
I don’t use iTunes, so I’ll wait and purchase it next week (at Best Buy so I can get all the bonus tracks).
But I loved Heaven And Hell, so if it’s half as good as that I’ll be happy.
I don’t use iTunes, so I’ll wait and purchase it next week (at Best Buy so I can get all the bonus tracks).
But I loved Heaven And Hell, so if it’s half as good as that I’ll be happy.
Yeah,I’m gonna get the Best Buy version for the extra track…I can’t remember the last time I’ve been in a Best Buy…probably 10 years…
I loved the H&H album also and many thought it was slow and plodding…this one is getting the same criticism so I might love it…
It is what it is,man…a bunch of 60+ year old legends on their last legs…and even if Ozzy sounds like dog shit I am still going to go see them live…likelihood is very good that it will be my last chance…
I heard this too. I listened to one song the other day on youtube called “Loner” and he was flat on several lines. Since I’m tone deaf me noticing he’s flat means he’s really bad.
Late,
grmpysmrf
I heard this too. I listened to one song the other day on youtube called “Loner” and he was flat on several lines. Since I’m tone deaf me noticing he’s flat means he’s really bad.
It’s a great album, pure Sabbath, i don’t know what’s mediocre about it if you actually like Black Sabbath.
I’ve not heard the entire album yet, but what I have listened to I liked.
I don’t really get the “Ozzy was off pitch, he missed a note, he’s flat” comments either. Uhhhhh, it’s Ozzy we’re talking about here, right? He’s not Josh Groban, for crying out loud. He has a weird and stylishly unique voice (and, yeah, he’s a living dinosaur too). You either like it or you don’t.
Yeah, agreed on Ozzy’s… erm…distinctive voice, definitely. I think he sounds great on the album but on some of the live footage i saw he was way way off, hahaha, it was terrible. Anyway, i really enjoyed the album, i thought it sounded pretty much like classic Sabbath, and while i can see why people don’t like certain elements (“it’s too bluesy”, “why is there so much groove and swing”, “it’s too sparse”, “there should be more instruments”) i think those people totally misunderstand what Black Sabbath was all about and don’t see that this is pretty much what they were doing on the first few albums.
That’s just my opinion though; as a long-term fan whose first influence on guitar was Tony Iommi, i think this is as close to prime Sabbath as you’re going to hear, outside the first few albums. And as far as production’s concerned, it sounds good to me, i think Rick Rubin’s done a great job.
[reply]It’s a great album, pure Sabbath, i don’t know what’s mediocre about it if you actually like Black Sabbath.
I’ve not heard the entire album yet, but what I have listened to I liked.
I don’t really get the “Ozzy was off pitch, he missed a note, he’s flat” comments either. Uhhhhh, it’s Ozzy we’re talking about here, right? He’s not Josh Groban, for crying out loud. He has a weird and stylishly unique voice (and, yeah, he’s a living dinosaur too). You either like it or you don’t.[/reply]
For me it’s just more of a novelty. I seldom hear people flat. Like I said, I’m tone deaf, so for me to recognize it on a professional record is a bit of a novelty for me. I, for the most part, like ozzy’s vocals.
Late,
grmpysmrf
At least the classic Sabbath material had memorable hooks. Think about it: Sweet Leaf, Paranoid, Changes, Symptom Of The Universe, Black Sabbath, N.I.B….
All of them instantly recognisable and remembered. Iconic doom of an age gone but not forgotten.
This new album is the McDonalds of the Sabbath catalogue. It says “I know what you like and I won’t offend you by offering you something new. You’ll eat me not because I taste particularly great but you’ll come back for more only because you are so used to me and I know for a fact you are too lazy to go elsewhere.” It treads too carefully between the cracks and doesn’t give us anything to really savour.
Honestly I prefer the 80’s forgotten Sabbath albums like Eternal Idol and Seventh Star.
Also the drumming is utter crap. Utterly pedestrian. Ditto the lame, safe sounding production.