Black Sabbath - 13
- Thread starter Tanis
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There is a new album? Damn, I didn't know...well, they still lived at all. I haven't been keeping up with music news in a while. Or, like, never. I'll have to check the album out when I can, considering they are one of my favourite bands. I'm one of those guys who likes Dio more than Ozzie (though they are both good) so it's a bit of a shame he's not in there. On the other hand, I just checked and...well, Ozzie is taking his place. That would be interesting, I haven't heard him sing recently.Tanis said:
EDIT: I'm currently listening to God Is Dead? on YouTube
I'm about 2 minutes in. Sounds awesome - it's distinctly Black Sabbath, for one, the style that most appeals to me, and Ozzie doesn't sound decrepit and ancient or anything - sounds just like Ozzie. OK, I'm at just about past 5 minutes when I finish writing this and my conclusion is - that album should be worth it. I would now need to acquire it.
Pretty good. My only qualm is with Rick Rubin's production. The compressions not as bad as Death Magnetic, but damn.
In the metal circles I frequent, it's been a strictly 0's and 10's so to speak, so given that I have not heard anything aside from "God Is Dead?", I have taken that to mean it's a love it/hate it sort of thing.
Though from hearing GiD? I could put up the opinion that "The Devil You Know" was the last great Sabbath album.
Though from hearing GiD? I could put up the opinion that "The Devil You Know" was the last great Sabbath album.
I haven't listened to the whole thing, but from the 2 or 3 songs I have heard, it sounds rather average. Iommi's riffing is still there, as always, and Geezer seems to have a pretty solid presence, but beyond that it seems to be pure mediocrity. Ozzy was never a good vocalist, but back in the 70's, when backed by Sabbath, his raw, un-professional vocals really worked. Now, he is pretty damn terrible (see some live videos!) and it is only due to studio wizardly that he is even somewhat tolerable. The production isn't very good either, but that's easily blamed on Rubin. From my experience, his productions are always horrid, epic beard or no.
Drumming seems like a non-issue because who ever the cheap replacement guy is (from some shitty band I can't remember) is so standard and generic, that there's nothing good or bad about it.
But as said, that's from the 3 songs I've heard, so maybe the rest of the album is much better. But I dunno, I don't think even the mighty riffs of Iommi is going to save it.
Drumming seems like a non-issue because who ever the cheap replacement guy is (from some shitty band I can't remember) is so standard and generic, that there's nothing good or bad about it.
But as said, that's from the 3 songs I've heard, so maybe the rest of the album is much better. But I dunno, I don't think even the mighty riffs of Iommi is going to save it.
That would be Brad Wilk from Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave.BathorysGraveland2 said:
The weird thing is, he's actually a really solid musician, and a great talent on his instrument. When he was choosen as Wards replacement I was pretty happy with the announcement, considering Ward was now an impossibility.
Which is why it baffles me so much listening to God Is Dead? and hearing Wilk bringing almost nothing to the collective entity. I don't know, maybe he got scared and went into safe mode, maybe Ozzy and the gang/Rubin asked for an extremely simple style, I don't know.
But I do know that playing "simple" is what bad Sabbath cover drummers do, because they don't understand what Ward did.
Granted, there were parts on some songs where he would lay back and let Geezer walk up and down Iommi's riffs when it was required, but he also used a lot of frenetic jazz-kind of fills that had been run through the Sabbath filter.
Crazy funky stuff that had no business in the dark mire that Sabbath created, but he made it work wonderfully.
They were a jam band at heart, and Ward was that beating, pulsating nerve center. The man was far from "just" simple.
..sorry! I got off on a rant.
But yeah, Wilk's performance confounded me.
I thought it was pretty good. Nice solid doomy riffs, beautiful guitar and bass work as per usual, Ozzy's vocals are still very well done and Brad Wilks puts in an admirable show. My only issues are that too many songs feel too long, even those that don't quite scrape the 5 minute mark, there doesn't seem to be quite the energy I'd hoped for behind the music and the overall sound is marred thanks to Rick Rubin's dreadful production.
Still, it's a good album and I enjoyed it. Well worth the £13 for the special edition.
Still, it's a good album and I enjoyed it. Well worth the £13 for the special edition.
I first heard about this from watching an episode of CSI of all things, then completely forgot about it until now. From the song embedded above it seems like it could be ok if a little long-winded, but I'll have to listen to the rest before I judge the entire album. I have a strange relationship with Sabbath that some of their albums have songs I absolutely love then others I can't stand.
And of course it's a shame that there is no Dio
And of course it's a shame that there is no Dio
I've been a Sabbath fan for as long as I remember and was really excited about a new album. I wasn't sure what to expect but I have to say it is a pretty good album after I've listened to it a few times. The unique Iommi/Geezer & Ozzy sound is definitely present but it didn't seem as inspiring as it should have been. Seemed rather generic in the lyrics/drums/riffs - production? I agree there is definitely more diversity than expected here (eg. Zeitgeist, Damaged Soul) and the guitar solos were pretty good too. Is it just me or could they have included less filler and recycled material?
Loner, Damaged Soul, Peace of Mind and Pariah stand out for me and there are parts of other songs that are really good (eg. part of End of the Beginning that was shown on CSI, chorus from Live Forever, some riffs from Age of Reason..etc). It's a pretty good album though, and definitely recommend if you're a fan.
Loner, Damaged Soul, Peace of Mind and Pariah stand out for me and there are parts of other songs that are really good (eg. part of End of the Beginning that was shown on CSI, chorus from Live Forever, some riffs from Age of Reason..etc). It's a pretty good album though, and definitely recommend if you're a fan.
Rick Rubin is essentially a commercial producer. I haven't heard the new record, although I liked the Heaven and Hell record, Sabbath for me lies in the slightly ramshackle production of their earlier records. Even Master of Reality, Vol 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage used dated production techniques that render the records products of their era, probably folly to recreate.Dangit2019 said:
Just ordered the Deluxe Edition the other day. 'God Is Dead?' being the only song I've heard thus far, I'm really looking forward to it. My Bloody Valentine also made a long awaited comeback this year and like with mbv; I think this a release that you really have to adjust your expectations for. I knew before hearing anything that they weren't going to reinvent the wheel and would essentially try to recreate that early 70's sound, so I'm thinking I'll get what I paid for and I'm anticipating a damned good Doom album. At the very least they can't possibly end on a worse note than Forgiven. In the mean time, I've been marathon-ing the good albums in their catalogue.
'Damaged Soul' is the only real highlight from all the members for me, to be honest. I quite like Geezer's bass work throughout the album, it's got a nice earthquake quality; but from everyone else it's distinctly average. That said, I quite liked Brad Wilk's drumming in some parts.
I guess it's a better farewell album from Black Sabbath than 'Forbidden' so in that respect, I'm happy.
Edit: The music video for 'Is God Dead?' was hilariously bad, I thought, though.
I guess it's a better farewell album from Black Sabbath than 'Forbidden' so in that respect, I'm happy.
Edit: The music video for 'Is God Dead?' was hilariously bad, I thought, though.
Ahh, well. Putting the term 'shitty band' next to Rage Against the Machine is still very valid, in my mind at least. His performance on the new Sabbath record is really in-consequential though. I'm rather surprised they just didn't get Vinny Appice to play. I mean, sure Vinny never really went anywhere that Dio wasn't, but Vinny still played that one Sabbath show with Rob Halford, so it's not like he has never played Sabbath without Dio. Picking up some dude from some seemingly random band just seems... strange, especially since he doesn't seem to bring anything to the table whatsoever.piinyouri said:
I haven't stopped listening to it since I got it on Tuesday, and I think it's awesome.
Loner is my personal favorite off of the whole thing, and Damaged Soul is a close second with Pariah.
The bass work is really damn good, and so is the guitar work, so I'm totally happy with that. I don't really mind the drumming since it's doing what I think what would work for the group, so I don't have strong feelings either way about it.
The song lengths don't bother me since they don't feel like they're longer than they should be. I will agree that 'God Is Dead?' is the weakest track off of the album, but I still enjoy it.
Loner is my personal favorite off of the whole thing, and Damaged Soul is a close second with Pariah.
The bass work is really damn good, and so is the guitar work, so I'm totally happy with that. I don't really mind the drumming since it's doing what I think what would work for the group, so I don't have strong feelings either way about it.
The song lengths don't bother me since they don't feel like they're longer than they should be. I will agree that 'God Is Dead?' is the weakest track off of the album, but I still enjoy it.