Disco de Black Sabbath: “Headless Cross”

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.