Back catalogue: Metal

Review: Caputing the band in live action during the early 80s, Black Sabbath's Born In Hell is culled from the short tenure of former Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan as lead vocalist, after the departiure of Ozzy Osbourne's replacemennt Ronnie James Dio. Therefore, among the run through the Brum band's overwhelmingly legendary back catalogue there nestles a very Sabbath take on 'Smoke On The Water'. Of course, the biggest selling-point here is simply Sabbath doing Sabbath, very loudly, although not quite as loud as the crowd's reaction at various points of the show. Not least Tony Iommi's insane solo as 'War Pigs' refuels in preparation for its monumental climax, worth the price of admission alone.

Review: From rehearsing in dungeons to renting out estates in Bel Air, Black Sabbath did everything they could to muster up the creative spark for their now iconic fifth full-length Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Exhausted from a ludicrously demanding touring schedule whilst battling sever cocaine addiction following the album cycle for Vol. 4, the band would regroup at Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire where guitarist Tony Iommi would conceive the now timeless and pioneering riff to the opening title-track, which many to this day still cite as one of the first true pieces of psych/doom metal. Balancing their macabre early material with the more leftfield experimental cuts like the synth-laden 'Who Are You?' and the fan-favourite closer 'Spiral Architect', five decades on, the dust has settled enough for most fans to agree that this was the last truly great LP from the Ozzy run.

Review: While the critical reception wasn't initially kind to the final Black Sabbath album of the Tony Martin era, time's healing powers have offered the eighteenth full-length a slight reprieve, with many now learning to appreciate the ambition Tony Iommi imbued into the project. Many might have scoffed at Ernie C of Body Count handling production duties, even enlisting bandmate Ice-T for the spoken word section of opener, 'The Illusion Of Time', but with the subsequent reunion of Iommi and Ozzy not long after, there's no denying the sheer individuality this album offered, toying with everything from blues to power metal motifs. Martin would go on to refer to the effort as a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion", but with the near-two decade wait for, '13', some still gave Forbidden, the spins and attention it deserved. Reissued for forgiving ears and those willing to revisit.

Review: Capturing the era of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio on vocals following Ozzy Osborne's departure, Live Evil was the first officially sanctioned live album from Birmingham's foremost heavy metal pioneers. The album came together in 1982, drawing on shows from Seattle, San Antonio and Dallas on the Mob Rules tour, and now it has been given the deluxe reissue treatment. As well as the original mix of the album, there's an entirely new mix of the album from the original analogue master tapes by long time band associate Wyn Daivs, complete with a 40-page hardback book featuring new liner notes and replicas of the original concert book and poster form the Mob Rules tour.

Review: The year 1970 truly served as the dawn of Black Sabbath with not only the release of their iconic self-titled debut LP but also their even more legendary sophomore follow-up Paranoid also arriving the other end of the calendar. Embarking on a mammoth 121 date tour across Europe and the United States, kicking off in Swansea, Wales in September all the way through to April 1971, the middle point just before Christmas saw the metal pioneers land at L'Olympia, Paris on 20th December 1970 for a grandiose performance made up of some their greatest works and legitimately the most vital metal tracks of all time. From the opening riffage of the quintessential title-track to the resurgent 'Iron Man', the proto-doom stylings of 'N.I.B' and 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' to the ultimate anti-war anthem 'War Pigs', this setlist reads almost exactly like the first disc of one the band's many greatest hits collections, as it just so happens that this early in their tenure, they'd already penned such a bevvy of classics. Pulled directly from the soundboard, this is Ozzy and co in their absolute prime before ego and mass quantities of narcotics would join as a permanent fifth member.

Review: 1995 saw the semi-controversial release of the final Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath album Forbidden, marking their 18th full-length overall. Reuniting the 1990 Tyr-era lineup with the re-enlisting of Neil Murray on bass and Cozy Powell on drums, the project was maligned upon release on both the critic and fan sides of reception, likely stemming from the unusual choice to have Ernie C of Body Count man the desk for production duties with bandmate Ice-T even providing the spoken word segment on the opening track 'The Illusion Of Time'. While in later years, Martin would consider the project a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion", based off the fact that guitarist Tony Iommi would reconcile with original frontman Ozzy Osborne not long after, that still doesn't alter the fact that the original lineup reunion effort 13 wouldn't arrive for practically another two full decades. Whatever your deeply held personal beliefs, they are those out there who still fly the flag for this peculiar era from the metal pioneers, so much so that the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set release earlier in 2024 collates all of the Martin-era albums into one definitive collection while being freshly remastered by Tony Iommi himself in perhaps an internalised effort to undo the production choices many have highlighted as a major point of contention. This limited ultra clear pressing marks the first time since the release of said box set that Iommi's remaster of Forbidden has been made available for individual purchase.

Review: A chance to catch the 1989 iteration of Black Sabbath in action in Japan on their Headless Cross, in support of their 14th fourteenth studio album (of the same name), the second with Tony Martin on vocals. This nine track selection from the show is fairly evenly spread across their already almost two decade long career, with that album's title track nestling alongside older triumphs such as 'Iron Man', 'Paranoid' and 'Black Sabbath' and Ronnie James Dio-period faves like 'Mob Rules' and 'Heaven & Hell'. The recent addition of the legendary Cozy Powell on drums just makes it an even tastier prospect.

Review: Long before the 13 record was even considered, it took many a false start to get Ozzy back with Black Sabbath for a proper reunion tour, which began somewhat in earnest with their two hometown shows on 4th and 5th December 1997. These performances were captured for the now iconic, aptly titled live album Reunion. Marking the first official release with the original line up since 1978's Never Say Die! and garnering the band their first ever Grammy Award in 2000 for the live rendition of 'Iron Man' taken from this collection, the work is a flawless compilation of greatest hits and fan favourite deep cuts, performed with a veteran's vigor.

Review: The Black Sabbath Hand Of Doom box set provides the ultimate collection for fans who opt to live in a world where the group never had any other vocalist apart from Ozzy Osbourne. Providing picture disc represses of all eight LPs released during the original frontman's tenure from 1970 to 1978 (2013's reunion album 13 is not included), the collection boasts the self-titled 1970 debut, the same-year follow up Paranoid, as well as the iconic slew of Master Of Reality (1971), Vol 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978). Limited to 3000 copies (which isn't a large amount when considering how vital Sabbath's early material still is to this day) and complete with a large coloured poster, fan service rarely gets as ideal or essential as Hand Of Doom.

Review: Following on from 1987's The Eternal Idol and 1989's Headless Cross, the very next year of 1990 would see the third full-length from Birmingham metal gods Black Sabbath to feature vocalist Tony Martin. Instructed to tone down the direct, in-your-face nature of the previous project's satanic lyrics, Martin looked toward Norse mythology for lyrical inspiration; a decision initially bewildering to guitarist and primary songwriter Tony Iommi. With the title Tyr, named after the son of Odin and the god of single combat and heroic glory, the band sought to seek out a new sonic identity to compliment the lyrical narratives, leading to what many fans consider to be the heaviest Sabbath album to date, while some bemoan that Cosy Powell's mammoth drumming utterly eclipses all other instruments. With the release of the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set earlier this year which collates all albums from the Tony Martin-fronted era, this marks the first time any of these LPs have ever been reissued, and now with all albums being made separately available, the newly remastered Tyr does its utmost to restrain Powell's power and amp up everything else from the grooving riffage to the quintessential keyboard sections provided by perennial fifth member Geoff Nicholls. This would also be the last time this lineup would record together until 1995's Forbidden.

Review: Originally released in 1989, Headless Cross would serve as the second Tony Martin-era album from Birmingham metal pioneers Black Sabbath, following on from The Eternal Idol. Notably increasing the occult and satanic aspects to higher degrees than ever before, many heralded the work as a true return to form following the hard rock-centric turn of their latter material with Ozzy or throughout the majority of their Ronnie James Dio fronted run. With hefty, macabre riffage cloaked (and daggered) in shrouds of sonic gloom, the project would be the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell, while being their only full-length with session bassist Laurence Cottle. Marking the dawn of their deal with I.R.S. upon becoming disillusioned with the big major record labels, this criminally overlooked era of the band finally received its flowers in early 2024 with the release of the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set which collates all the Tony Martin albums onto one fully remastered box set for many of the titles' first time ever made available on wax. This pressing offers the same updated, newly revitalised version, now being individually distributed.

Review: From any one of their landmark genre-defining metal albums to the scores of live documents, there are many ways to approach the monumental legacy of Black Sabbath, but this box set is the perfect distillation of the best of the band honed into a two-disc collection. Focused on those breakthrough years with Ozzy Osborne, there are just too many classic tracks to count on here, whether it's the harmonica baiting sludge of 'The Wizard' or the motorik drive of 'Paranoid' you're after. A perfect primer for newcomers, or a handy capsule of all the best bits - it's Black Sabbath, need we say more?

Review: This album collects together some of the very earliest pre-Black Sabbath recordings by the group then called Earth (until the permanent name change in 1970), as well as including some pre-Judas Priest Glen Tipton tunes from Flying Hat - these tunes were from a 1973 demo that was recorded a year or two before. There is also a special bonus cut 'Blue Suede Shoes' that was performed as Black Sabbath and mighty one of their earliest ever sessions to make it onto tape and now vinyl for the first time.