Customer Reviews

Headless Cross

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Muscially speaking, this album is the strongest recording Black Sabbath released after the Ozzy/Dio eras (and better than some of those albums, too). Tony Iommi is the master of those dark, pummeling, sludgey guitar riffs. Headless Cross is, musically, arguably the best example of that guitar sound that is a trademark of the Sabbath sound. The keyboards are more prominent here than on other Black Sabbath discs but that's not a bad thing - in this case, I thought the keyboards really enhanced the music on this.

It begins with the haunting keyboards that is a prelude to the heavy, slow-paced title track. Devil and Daughter is another GREAT, upbeat riff that is perfectly complimented with the keyboard work of Geoff Nicholls (why was that musician rarely tabbed as an official member of Sabbath?). When Death Calls starts off slowly with the emphasis on atmosphereic keyboards and a simple guitar melody and BOOM! - another heavy riff and operatic Martin vocals - finishes out as another upbeat track though not quite the way Devil and Daughter does. Most of the other tracks have good riffs and that dark, heavy guitar sound that are some of Iommi's best musical efforts.

Tony Martin is a great singer. Black Sabbath does not begin and end with Ozzy or Dio on vocals. Iommi is the heart and soul of Black Sabbath. Laurence Cottle's bass work is excellent on Headless Cross, and he sounds very similar in style to Geezer Butler. Cozy Powell is one of the greatest drummers of all time, and his contributions here in terms of production and drumming really helped Black Sabbath regain some status they had lost as the band had really become a Tony Iommi solo project with the guitarist as the sole original member.

My high rating for this album of for the music ONLY. Occultish lyrics have been another Sabbath trademark, and I would personally prefer to have had the band record this fine piece of music without Satan and his cronies getting a namecheck on almost every song. But musically, the instrumentation on this is great.

This album is great - it's one of my favorites from Sabbath.Tony Iommi and Tony Martin hit their peak with this release, and the songs are heavy, dark, melodic - and brilliant! There's great songwriting throughout the album - "Devil and Daughter," "Kill in the Spirit World," "Black Moon" - these songs are metal gems - and Martin sings them with a power and conviction few singers can match.If you're a Sabbath fan - or just a fan of metal with an EVIL tone, then pick up, and CRANK UP this album. You'll hear Iommi's tasty guitar, Cozy Powell's solid drumming, and Martin's awesome vocals... and you'll thank me later.

"born again" was a very controversial album and cost Sabbath a lot of fans but this was unfair, as the album
was true to the band's style (heavy, cynical, mischievous and satanic) but the coming of Glenn hughes for the "seventh star" was a bullet in the head of the band, dubbed
a hair metal outfit. dont get me wrong, Glenn hughes is a wonderful singer but he's not for sabbath! Tony martin had A LOT to do in order to restore sabbath's credibility. by the time "eternal idol" was out, fans were already disillusioned by the band and "headless cross" went totally unnoticed by then whereas if it would have been released after "mob rules" the results would've been totally different. it would have been hailed as Sabbath's crowning achievement. This album is the most satanic ever done by the band. look for the lyrics and see. it also has the music to imperially back the topic up. it has the biggest collection of juicy riffs since "Sabbath bloody Sabbath" and frequent tempo changes make every song distinct, entertaining and still enjoyable after many ,many listens. i listened to this album hundreds of times and found out i love every song on it. the title track. "call of the wild" and "nightwing" are just a bit more special to me than the rest. tony martin's "dio-esque" voice is emotional, unpretentious and gives the songs the majesty and seriousness they need. he's the most underrated singer for black sabbath, he just was the right guy at the wrong time and place. i personally have already made my choice: this is the best sabbath album, followed by Sabbath bloody sabbath and Heaven and hell.

This is getting almost impossible to find. The BEST Black Sabbath recording EVER! Buy 2 so when you wear the first one out you will still have a primo one left. This IS for serious metal fans and headbangers.

For many the only two eras of Black Sabbath that count are the years with either Ozzy or Dio at the helm. Personally I also liked a lot of the material that was produced with Tony Martin leading the band as well. "Headless Cross" was the second album to feature Martin on vocals with the only remaining original member being Tony Iommi. Drummer extraordinaire Cozy Powell is also along for the ride on this one. The music on this album is for the most part quite strong, with Martin's Dio like vocals and Iommi's patented guitar technique leading the way. Powell and bass player Lawrence Cottle emote a dark and foreboding rhythm section, and long time Sabbath keyboard collaborator Geoff Nicholls is up front more than usual on this one This lyrics get pretty dark here with Lucifer / the Devil / Satan being mentioned in just about every song. It almost comes across as if they were writing some of this stuff for shock values sake in order to possibly garner some controversy. Some of these lyrics could be a definite turn off for more religious oriented people. The title track managed to get some radio / MTV airplay (I remember seeing the video a couple of times on head bangers ball back in the day) and served as a bit of a comeback for the band following the lackluster sales of the previous two albums. Along with the title track highlights for me include "Devil and Daughter", "Kill In the Spirit World" and the album closer "Nightwing". I don't think that this is the best Tony Martin era release, but it is a solid album.

After missing all Sabbath recordings between "Born Again" and "Eternal Idol", I returned to the fold with this CD: The best description for it is thunderous, remorseless and wrenching. Among its many strengths, three are particularly notable: 1. A rhythm section that Sabbath never had before and never acquired again, compliments of Mr. Cozy Powell (surprisingly, he was not able to repeat his "Headless Cross" accomplishment in "Tyr", a consderably weaker record), 2. Poignant and unabashedly occult/supernatural/christian mythos lyrics that are only matched in quality (if not in subject matter, regardless of appearances to the contrary) in "Paranoid", "Born Again" and "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath". 3. Two of the most memorable guitar solos in the band's repertoire: the haunting acoustic in "Nightwing" and the same song's harrowing (desperate?) finale; it's as if the entity described in the song is about to smash into the players!!

My only doubt regarding this album is not knowing on which song Queen's Brian May played the solo. But that has nothing to do with the main point: Don't waste a minute and buy "Headless Cross".

this cd is completely awesome
the songs are well crafted, lots of melody
brian may of queen plys a guitar solo as a guest
on the track "when death calls"
and tony martin has to be the best sab vocals
possibly only second to ray gillen
in fact this cd is better than anything they did with ozzy
and 1994's cross purposes cd is better than this one!

I didnt discover Martin-era Sabbath until the era was over unfortunately. I bought this one, Tyr, and Cross Purposes, the great Eternal Idol, and Id rather forget Forbidden. This Headless Cross is every bit as good as Tyr. Martin is a powerful singer and sounds barely contained in most of the songs on this disc. The low end is very there, and Iommi is in all his glory as always. Standout tracks are: When Death Calls (a haunting, chilling heavy tune that will keep you up at night), Kill in the Spirit World (when one spirit murders another - yeah its deep), Bad Moon Rising, Call of the Wild, Devil and Daughter, Nightwing. Did I mention that Tony Martin kicks ass on this disc? I love Dio, RIP, but Martin proves hes worthy of carrying the greatest metal band in the world.....ever.

Musically, this is one of the best and solid albums I've ever heard - a masterpiece from Tony & friends. And that, to me, renders everything else barely relevant. It comes really close to make it into my personal list of timeless masterpieces of rock, such as:

"Rainbow Rising" and
"Long Live Rock'n'Roll" from Rainbow,
"Wish You Were Here" from Pink Floyd,
"Hair of The Dog" by Nazareth,
"Defenders of The Faith" by Judas Priest,
"Holy Diver" by Dio,
"Brave New World" from Iron Maiden,
"Promised Land" from Queensryche,
and, of course,
"Heaven & Hell" and
"Mob Rules" by Sabbath with Great Dio (R.I.P.)

Otherwise, one can say that lyrics are corny, but... Fellows! These are the "Theme" lyrics! Just close your eyes and then listen. Don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of abandoned cemetery in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, and somewhere in the depths of Time! Do you see that silver moon casting, through the mist, an eery silver light on the somber monuments of stone, otherwise, cloaked in the dark shadows? Can you see, feel, and smell a PURITY of it? I would rather be there than in the middle of some filthy noisy downtown. Of course, not everyone was dished out imagination by Creator, and some love downtown, but for those like me - a perfect world to get lost for a while and feel good again. Isn't it what Metal is all about - to heal our wounds? Reality sucks anyway. Definitely 5 stars from me.

I picked this album up around the time that I got TYR and at first I wasn't fond the album. It had two tracks I liked... Headless Cross and Devil and Daughter. I listened to it on occasion but recently found myself listening to the entire album and loving every track years later. Top to bottom this album is great.

And nowadays the lyrics to some songs might seem "corny" or "over the top" but this is an Occult style album which is much different that some of the other previous Sabbath releases. A much more darker, version of Sabbath. Which is why I love the Martin era of Sabbath so much. To me, at some point Sabbath got away from being what the name represented and what the music was supposed to be about.

This album along with various tracks from TYR to me saw Sabbath going back to "the basics" so to speak. Going back to the lyrics, I can see how people would think the "satan" references would be silly, but compare it to the rest of the music that was out at the time. They pretty much started a movement for the music we hear of this type now. This was revolutionary stuff and while Rock and Roll was always considered "evil" by purists and such, and while people always looked for Occult messages in music, Sabbath laid the cards out on the table and effectively said "here's your evil Occult music! Swallow this bitter pill!"