Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great musically, not-so-great lyrically, December 2, 2005
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.
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the album that came too late, November 6, 2003
"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.
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
almost perfect, September 8, 2003
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!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Black Sabbath
~ Black Sabbath
~ Black Sabbath
~ Black Sabbath
~ Black Sabbath
album Headless Cross 
