Customer Reviews

Headless Cross

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When you ask someone to name off the best Sabbath albums, they usually respond with Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Vol. 4, or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Every once in a while some one will mention Heaven and Hell from the Dio era but very, I mean very rarely does anyone mention an album from the Post-ozzy era. This is a shame as Sabbath recorded a lot of good material after Ozzy but for some reason they all seem to be erased from people's memory.

One of these seemingly forgotten albums is Headless Cross. I don't only consider Headless Cross just to be one of the best post-Ozzy Sabbath albums, but one of the best Sabbath albums altogether.

One reason die-hard Sabbath fans tend to forget this era of Sabbath albums as they don't sound exactly like Sabbath of old. For one reason, as with Headless Cross, it has a very 80's ring to it. I personally found this sound to much of my liking. Though it may not sound exactly like the material present on, oh let's say Paranoid, it is still very Sabbathy.

The vocalist on this album is Tony Martin, and this is his is his second album with the band. Tony Martin has to be one of the most underrated vocalists in the metal genre. I mean this guy has a set of pipes on him that just blows the vocal talents of Ozzy away. I might be going too far to say that Martin might even be a better singer than Dio (!?!). His vocals are dang near perfect and they fit the music like a glove. Tony Iommi is also amazing on this release like usual.

The album opens up with a moody intro entitled The Gates of Hell that goes right into the first song Headless Cross. This is a pretty epic song for Sabbath and it features really interesting lyrics penned by Martin. That's another thing about this album that is great as the lyrics are really interesting. Like Sabbath vocalist's of the past, the man on vox usually pens most of the lyrics and Martin is a genius when it comes to dark, interesting words to accompany Iommi's monster riffs and solo's.

Devil & Daughter is up next and again it is one of the highlights of the album. Faster paced than the first song and every bit as good. There are a lot of keyboards present in this song but Sabbath uses the keyboards perfectly, as with the rest of the album. The keyboards are not overbearing and they are subtle enough not to corrupt the music.

The next song When Death Calls is what I would consider the albums weakest track but really the only one I would put next to "filler". It's just not up to par with the other great songs on the release. Thankfully the song after called A Death in the Spirit World brings the album back up. This is just a terrific song with great rhythm and a sing along chorus. Call of the Wild is up next. It's not as "bad" as When Death Calls but it doesn't rank along with the albums best tracks. Decent, but the song after is one of the best. Black Moon would serve as the albums one and only single and it was a good choice. The lyrics are a little more silly than the rest of the tracks, but its a great song none-the-less. It's fast paced and has a sing-along- chorus. "I see a black moon rising, and its calling out my name!" The album finally finishes on a nice note with Nightwing.

Overall I found this to be a terrific album. We got a great vocalist, interesting lyrics, top guitar riffs and solo's, a dark/brooding atmosphere, and a cool 80's sound that only Sabbath could produce. If you are a non-fickle Sabbath fan that is willing to listen to material in the Post-Ozzy era, then pick up Headless Cross as it is one of the band's best. If you find it to your liking, then I also recommend the band's next release TYR.

A majority of Sabbath fans over the years never adjusted too well to the changing frontman situation after Ozzy's departure in 1978.We've seen Iommi take down and re-assemble this band a number of times since 1980 and fans are divided on the issue of whether or not his 80's efforts are indeed "Black Sabbath" or are they merely "Tony Iommi and his backing band" hmmmm..the debate rages on.Who could not take a stand on Ozzy.Yes..in a way Ozzy was "Sabbath" in the classic legendary sense,however,Iommi should've gotton more credit than received for his post-Ozzy works as well.Bringing in Dio was brilliant move,but then Gillian:ehhhh! Glenn Hughes:No comment! If Tony wanted to bring credibility back to Sabbath,he needed a dynamic frontman that could turn some heads.He found him in Tony Martin back in 1987 during sessions for "The Eternal Idol" as Ray Gillen backed out midway through the recording..Martin re-recorded the vocal parts and it turned out to be a new era in the Sabbath legacy.Due to the commercial flops of "Born Again" and "Seventh Star",long time label Warner Bros. and Iommi said 'adios' along with Iommi dismissing the "Idol" band as well with one exception.Retaining Martin as his frontman,and on "Headless Cross" it is easy to see why. Securing a new deal on IRS Records and showcasing talent such as long time keyboard whiz-Geoff Nichols and veteran drummer Cozy Powell (Deep Purple,Whitesnake) Iommi and co. unleash "Cross" in the spring of 1989.This effort wasn't Iommi and his "backing band".Musically,it had the same depth and aura as the self-titled debut back in 1970.The eerie opening of "The Gates Of Hell" sets the tone to a powerful collection of mythological and spiritual anthems in Sabbath tradition.Tony Martin's performance here is the best of his years with the band.His aggressive,dynamic,three-dimensional lead vocals give the material the character it so deserves (most notably on "When Death Calls" and the title track).The solid rythym section led by Powell's fluid performance brought life to upbeat cuts like "Kill In The Spirit World" and "Call Of The Wild".All around,Iommi lays down his trademark rythym laced with leads that howl on every passage.Criticized by some for being "over-produced" and "generic",the verdict is that these tracks needed this kind of heavyweight sound of fat,bold drums and multi-layered vocals to showcase it's complexity.If you want Sabbath re-defined in the 80's,this is the one!

Headless Cross heralded the start of their contract with IRS,and what a brilliant album it is.

It is my all-time favouriteSabbath album (and beating classics like Volume 4, Master of Reality and Heaven and Hell is no mean feat!)

It's atmosphere is incredible, starting with the wails and sighs of Geoff Nicholls' keyboards, and melding into the anthemic Headless Cross itself.

Devil and Daughter is a good hard rock track, When Death Calls, with it's Gothic tone at the start leading into a crushing battery of riffs and drums, is classic Sabbath. Kill in the Spirit World and Call of the Wild are ok with Tony Martin really shining on vocals, and Geoff playing some interesting keyboard swirls. Black Moon is a good, but flawed attempt at a blues-edged track, and then comes the masterpiece of the album - Nightwing.

Nightwing is simply magnificent - with a wonderful acoustic guitar solo, and it's haunting, seductive melody easily show what Sabbath were best at, and Cozy Powell drums up a storm as it fades out. Laurence Cottle, bassist for this album is fantastic, and the bass solo on nightwing at the start is better than a lot of the stuff that Geezer Butler did (though Geezer is still my fave Sabbath bassist).

All in all, a great metal album - but not really for Ozzy fans. Still, highly recommended.

In the decade of the 1980s Black Sabbath was pretty much in ruins. Original members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward were all gone, leaving Tony Iommi to run the band on his own. The band had gone through an endless number of personal changes which included Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, and Ray Gillen. Iommi finally decided to stay with Tony Martin for 1987's Eternal Idol. Headless Cross was the first album that Martin totally made with the band(considering that most of the songs on Eternal Idol were credited to Ray Gillen). The band consisted of Martin, Iommi, Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray, and Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell. Headless Cross was by far the best Martin-era Sabbath album. Some of the highlights of the album are the goth-like "When Death Calls" which contains one of my favorite Sabbath lines: "Don't laugh in the face of death, or your tongue will blister." It also contains such hard rock gems like "Devil and Daughter" and "Nightwing" that show that Sabbath had no intentions of retiring early. However, like I stated in my review for Heaven and Hell, the highlight of this album is the title track. It starts out with a killer drum beat and contains one of the most powerful choruses I've ever heard. Oh yeah, and the guitar solo is pretty damn good too. Unfortunetly, the Martin-era Sabbath could never duplicate the power of Headless Cross with follow-up albums such as Cross Purposes and Forbidden. But this release will always be one of my favorites Sabbath albums.

I dunno what some other reviewer is on about when they say Sabbath is usually "Old fasioned and boring", as Sabbath were always interesting innovators and way ahead of their time! (Perhaps they've been listening to another band called Black Sabbath). But nonetheless, this is an excellent album, with Iommi's usual awesome riffs, fine vocals from Tony Martin and Cozy Powell is great behind the kit. I'd recommend this to anybody who's interested in hearing some post-Ozzy Sabbath.

Tony Martin really breathed a breath of fresh air into Sabbath in the late 80's.Starting with rerecording the vocal tracks over a now departed Ray Gillian (R.I.P) for the Eternal Idol album (another criminally overlooked Black Sabbath effort),stability was returning to Black Sabbath after almost 5 years of unstable lineups in what was essentialy the Tony Iommi show.Headless Cross was an exellent album IMO, Iommi recruited one of the stongest lineup Sabbath ever had with drum legend Cozy Powell(R.I.P) and bass wizard Lorence Cottle(but ex-Whitesnake bassist Neil Murry played the four-sting on this albums tour), as well as the voice of Tony the cat Martin.All of the Ozzy fanatics need not apply here, this is for real Sabbath fans, Tony Martin is simpley the best singer Black Sabbath ever had. I don't care how famous that drunken british wifebeater is, or was is this case now, fact is Black Sabbath became a better band when his @$$ was booted. Overall Headless Cross is a really dark album, most of the songs here are about "Evil&Satan" but it is done so well that i realy don't mind some of the cheesie lyrics. You really can't go wrong with this one, i think Iommi really evolved his songwritting/guitar playing on this and the album after this, just listen to NIGHTWING to hear his mastery.

This is the deal. If you are a Black Sabbath purist and lean toward the Ozzy sound of the 70's or maybe even the Dio sound of the early 80's then this album is probably not for you. If you don't know much about Black Sabbath, and you have no preconceptions about what this album is, then buy this album. This came out in 1989. It does have some haunting lyrics and music that is chilling. The music is good and it is heavy. The dark references pile up as the album moves onward -- satan, Lucifer, prince of darkness, etc. I think the lyrics were a gimmick but you can't fault the music and the overrall production and feel of the album. This is one of the best Sabbath albums of the Tony Martin era, in my opinion. Their next effort, Tyr, is like a movie sequal and you really don't need to own one without the other because they flow together so well. After Tyr, the band brought Dio back for Dehumanizer which killed the momentum of the Tony Martin movement. Dehumanizer was heavier and was a geat album in its own right. Tony Martin came back after that for Cross Purposes and Forbidden.

After the miscarriage of "Seventh Star" and the utter confusion on "Eternal Idol", Tony Iommi decided to go back to what people wanted to hear from his band: purely evil Heavy F'n Metal!
The music is dark and powerful, and the lyrics are equally demonic, though occasionaly border on self-parody with the "Satan" overkill. But who cares? At least it's Tony Iommi composing in his most preferred style.
A big kick in the pants to these songs is the drumming of new Sabbath recruit (but hard rock drum legend) Cozy Powell, who was probably the best drummer ever for Sabbath with his powerful cannon volleys yet tasteful style.
Also on deck is Queen guitarist and close friend of Tony Iommi Brian May, who performs the guitar solo on "When Death Calls", not "Nightwing" as an ignorant reviewer suggests.
Vocalist Tony Martin, though able to carry a tune, is not quite the optimal singer for songs of this nature. His voice is too clean for lyrics like these, sapping them of any creepiness they could have had. Without the maniacal edge of Ozzy's early voice, or the gruff edge of Dio's voice, the songs suffer from campiness when sung by a guy who'd be better off singing pop songs.
Produced by Tony Iommi and Cozy Powell, the sonic effect of the album is adequate, with its huge guitars and drums, but is a little washed out with reverb it seems. Yet that's a minor complaint when compared to how good it is to have them back playing some decent music which can definitely, finally, be classified as HEAVY METAL.

Since getting this cd, it has spent a lot of time in my cd player. It cooks from start to finish, not a weak track in the bunch...and that's impressive. Tony Martin is truly a gifted frontman even if he does slide into Dio territory at times, that's fine...he has the chops to get away with it. The band delivers in spades with lots of energy. Check out the late Cozy Powell on drums, rock solid. Sound quality is typical Sabbath- loud and angry but quite clean. Clocking in at 40.37, the only thing I could have wanted is a few more tracks. Headless Cross is the one to own, TYR and Forbidden just don't come close in terms of raw power.

I really think that this album was the bridge that brought the old Sabbath and new Sabbath together. Dark, evil lyrics entwined around slow, crushing guitar riffs and solos. Say what you will about post-ozzy sabbath, but after hearing Headless Cross, you cannot say that Tony Iommi has lost any of his power. Tony Martin is at his peak here, wailing and hitting all of the notes. Stand-out tracks are "Call of the Wild", "When Death Calls" (with an excellent solo by former queen guitarist Brian May) and "NightWing". This song is far and away the best thing on the album, and I don't care what anyone says, it is one of the better Sabbath songs of ANY period. I recommend.