Black Sabbath are arguably one of the greatest bands to ever write, and perform. They have had many hits (just check out all of the compilation albums!), and have also had many line-ups. But through it all, they have legions of fans who will swear by the band, whether it be just their favorite line-up, or their entire catalog. And through all of this, and though this pains me to admit, I know very little outside of the Dio led line-up. Today, I decided to change that, and play their albums in order, from start to finish. And while I'm not going to review the entire album, I am going to talk a bit about what I find to be my favorite song from each album.
Before I get into my album picks, I did have one rule: I'm not allowed to pick a song that I already know well. Now for the most part that will be easy. I know nothing about the later 70's Ozzy albums, nor do I know anything outside the Dio albums (outside of "13"... I love "13"!). Other than that simple rule, I simply chose the song that piqued my interest the most. The song that will help me come back to the album and get to know it better.
It's December, 19th of 2023, as I start out on this marathon. While listening to each album, I will keep track of which song I like the most, then dump each track into a playlist. Once I've played all of the albums, I will re-listen to my playlist, and talk about what it is that made me choose the track as a favorite. This should be fun. By the time you read this, I will have finished listening to all of the studio albums. This should be fun. I'll see you on the back-side!
Right off the bat, I break my own rule here. I do know the debut album pretty well, so when choosing my favorite song from this album, I got to pick from the full disc. As such, the self-titled song, the introduction to the band, is my favorite track on this disc. It's heavy, sluggish at times, and plods through some really cool moments, before the tempo picks up, and finishes with some killer guitar work, and a driving rhythm section that had only just begun to show the world what they could do. This was the perfect album opener to show where the band started, and where they were going to go.
Sometimes it really does seem like I latch on to the longer songs on albums, and at just over seven minutes, this song fits the bill. It starts off with some drums, bass, and vocals, before guitars join in. This is another one of those sluggish tunes at the quieter bits, but the heavier parts really propel this song into something special. The guitars just continue to prove how great Tony Iommi was/is. After a couple of minutes of intro, things really kick into high gear, and this song become a great bit of fun! If I have any gripe, it's that the bass could have been louder in the mix, but maybe they mixed it that way because it would have stole the show otherwise. I'm not sure why this song isn't more well known, as I find it to be the best song from the first few albums.
03-Lord of This World (Master of Reality)
Once again, with this track, it's obvious that Geezer is a damn beast on the bass guitar. For me, it's the bass and vocals that really shine on this track. Though the verse guitar riff is actually really cool. I love the vocal melody on this track. The instrumental sections are further proof that this band was delivering the goods, even in their earliest days. And that bass?! I can't say enough. So damned good! Thankfully, it's higher in the mix this time around! Musically, this tune is pretty heavy as well. They could really weave together some great ideas, and turn in one of a great song, that again, I can't believe hasn't been all over the radio. Great track!
04-Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener (Vol. 4)
It seems like this time around, Tony wanted to be the absolute star of the show. This song has a sort of bluesy, metal feel to it. And while I love the vocals here, they weren't absolutely necessary, as the music is pretty damned perfect on its own. The song goes through a few different feels, from that plodding, sluggish metal sound, through to the heavy blues. To be fair, the Ozzy delivers a fantastic vocal track that really elevates the tune. I'm only saying that I could see it as an instrumental. The second section of the tune, where the instrumental bit starts, has some amazing drum work. It may be among the best instrumental writing I've heard thus far in my Sabbath marathon. It's such a cool section of music. When the vocals kick in, it feels almost a bit to chaotic for a moment, but I guess that's part of the charm. There are some guitar ideas that I feel would have been cool to be expanded on, but other than that, I really like this one.
05-Spiral Architect (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
With this track, I had to play it three times in a row. Previously "Killing Yourself To Live" was going to be my favorite from this album, but once the acoustic intro of "Spiral Architect" kicked in, I knew I was going to love this track, and I was right! The music is melodic, and heavy, and pretty much everything I love about music. The guitars are just perfect, and the strings add a whole vibe that I just love! I may even say that this is my favorite Ozzy vocal performance ever. There's a depth here that I don't think I have heard up until this point. Every moment of this track is just epic! This one is a brilliant tune!
06-The Writ (Sabotage)
I don't know what the creepy damned laughing and crying that brings this track in is, but it is going to give me nightmares for years. Thank goodness for the bass guitar taking over, and it's such a cool riff. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, the band kicks in. Ozzy sounds fucking killer here, singing it such a high register over that bass line, some killer guitar, and amazing drum work from Bill Ward. The vocal melody here is Ozzy at his best. I can't say enough about that bass work in the quiet bits. It's got a great feel, and tone that pushes this song forward into some really great areas in the first section. The next section of the song brings a completely different feel, which is what I'm finding I love about the band. By the time we get five minutes in, there have been three completely different moods to this song. I know it's metal, but damn it feels like prog! This was the perfect end to an album that I think enjoyed the most so far.
07-Dirty Women (Technical Ecstasy)
This song is another one of those sluggish metal tunes that the band is so well known for. The band are working so well together here, forming one hell of a great tune. Once again, it's a longer song, which is clearly my thing. I love the guitar work under the vocals here. Tony really seems to know how to write guitar parts that steal the show, while still letting Ozzy deliver a great vocal performance. Once again, I feel like there are times the bass could have been turned up a bit, because I just love he's doing here. This song could have sat nicely on rock radio, as once again I find that I like it better than any of the Ozzy fronted songs that the radio has played to death over the years. There is an amazing instrumental section, that would have just melted the faces off of the typical listening audience. Whoever slept on this song should have been fired!
08-Junior's Eyes (Never Say Die!)
The intro to this song is very unlike much of the previous catalog. Just some bass, and drums jamming out, before the guitar comes in, very sparsely, with a really cool riff. The vocals come in over this almost jam section, before the song really kicks in, with a very melodic chorus section. At first I wasn't sure that this was going to be my favorite song from the album, and I had to take another listen. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and I love it. The bass guitar is stellar, as to be expected, as are the drums and guitars. However, I think it's the vocal performance (particularly on the chorus) that really steal the show for me on this track. Although that instrumental section may be among some of the greatest writing that this band has ever done. Again, how was this one not a huge hit?!
09-Heaven And Hell (Heaven And Hell)
I know the two DIO fronted albums very well, so I can add the more popular songs back into my choosing pool. As such, the title track from this album, though the very obvious choice, is my choice. Everything about this song is just perfection: the bass line is killer, the drums are played with precision, the guitars are crunchy, and the vocals... well, Dio was arguably one of the greatest vocalists of all time. There are peaks, and valleys here, the quieter, and more melodic moments are great, but the heavy sluggish vibe of the tune is just perfect. And let us not forget what may be among the greatest instrumental sections any band has ever written. Pure genius! This has always been my favorite (brief!) era of the band, and so far with my run-through of the discography, I stand by that decision. Dio led Sabbath was just magical.
10-The Sign of the Southern Cross (Mob Rules)
This tune kicks off really pretty. Bass, acoustic guitar, and the smooth sounds of Mr. Ronnie James Dio's vocals. When new drummer, Vinny Appice (an absolute beast of a drummer!) comes in, this song really kicks into high gear. It's still that sort of sluggish metal during the verses that Black Sabbath had become to be known for, but with Dio at the helm, for me, it's just better. Every song on these first two Dio albums are fantastic, so it was hard to pick a favorite from this album. There is a really cool vibe hiding beneath the vocals during the verses that I just love. Apart from the vocal melodies, which are just amazing on this tune, the band are playing so damned well, that it's hard to believe that this would be the last album with Dio for a while. And if I could also say, as far as instrumental breakdowns go, this is the best song in the entire Black Sabbath catalog, in my opinion. Absolutely classic!
11-Born Again (Born Again)
Okay, this album is completely unlike anything in the band's back catalog. It feels less like their brand of doom metal, and more like a thrash album. Even down to the vocals of Ian Gillan (Deep Purple). I like the music a lot, but it just doesn't feel like Sabbath. In fact, it was never meant to be a Sabbath album, but that didn't stop the label from forcing it on them. That being said, there are some great tunes here, but the title track is my favorite. It's less thrash, and more of a metal style ballad. The vocals are less harsh here (for the most part), and the guitars feel more like Tony Iommi than elsewhere on the album. The vocal melodies are great, and compliment the instrumentation beautifully here. Upon first listen, though the production is a bit difficult on the album, this was the first track that really jumped out at me (although "Digital Bitch" was pretty cool). Perhaps the entire album needs repeated listens. I'll get on that!
12-Heart Like A Wheel (Seventh Star)
"Seventh Star" is another album that wasn't meant to be a Black Sabbath album, but a solo album from guitarist Tony Iommi. Once again, the label had other ideas, and this Glenn Hughes fronted album become another oddity in the Black Sabbath catalog. There is some great music here, and "Heart Like A Wheel" is, in my opinion the best of the bunch. Here, Iommi married blues, and metal beautifully. With a wonderfully emotive guitar performance, and vocals from Hughes, this tune is one hell of a great song, and probably the best song from Black Sabbath since Ronnie James Dio was in the band. At least, that's my opinion. The rhythm section, though not as strong as a rhythm section with Geezer and Vinnie, does feature the great Eric Singer (Kiss) on drums. Overall, though it's not quite up to snuff with earlier albums, I found this to be the best of the bunch on a very good album.
13-Eternal Idol (Eternal Idol)
After the obvious effort to change their sound, listening to Black Sabbath's "Eternal Idol" album was a breath of fresh air. This is more my speed, as far as music is concerned. I couldn't pick out a bad song on the album. This is the first album with Tony Martin on vocals, and I just love it. The title track was the biggest stand out, with it's sort of quiet and sluggish music creating such a great vibe on the verses. The vocal melodies are just fantastic on this tune, and really bring back images of Dio. It is a bit odd that the title-track closed the album, but it's easy to see why. This was a great closing track, and may become one of my favorite Black Sabbath tracks!
14-Nightwing (Headless Cross)
"Headless Cross" is the second album with Tony Martin on vocals, and the second album I had trouble picking a favorite, from so much great material. In the end, I went with "Nightwing". This song is a hard-rock, and melodic masterpiece. The music is somehow both heavy, and really quite beautiful. There is some fantastic acoustic guitar work, some orchestration adds some extra depth, and the rhythm section delivers just an amazing performance. Vocally, this my be my favorite Tony Martin song so far. He sounds just phenomenal, delivering vocals that serve the music just beautifully. Again, this song may end up among my favorite of Black Sabbath tracks.
15-Feels Good To Me (Tyr)
I was reading up on the "Tyr" album on, and saw that the band don't exactly think this song should be on the album. However, I'm glad that it is. I'm a sucker for a ballad, or a power-ballad in this case, and this song is just fantastic. The music has a bit of crunch, but it's so emotive, that the melodically driven vocals just fit this tune so good. Every instrument is just in tune with the others, and the guitar solo is perfectly written, and goes so well with the tune. I'm really loving the Tony Martin era, and will need to listen to the albums further, but this tune is my favorite from the album upon first listen.
16-Too Late (Dehumanizer)
A reunion album for the "Mob Rules" line-up of the band, this album is considered to be the heaviest Black Sabbath album. Indeed, there are a lot of real "balls to the wall" tunes, but for me, though it is pretty heavy, it's the melodic metal of "Too Late" that comes out as my favorite song here. Yes, the music is still pretty metal, and Tony is doing some really cool shit with the guitar, it's the vocal melodies of the newly returned Ronnie James Dio that really makes this song special. Although the instrumentation is just as melodic. To me, this is probably a top ten favorite in the Black Sabbath catalog. There's a vibe created in the quieter parts that just pulls me in with every listen. Such a fantastical song.
17-Virtual Death (Cross Purposes)
With Dio and Appice gone once again, Tony Martin has returned to the fold as the vocalist on this album. And as I expected, I love every song on the disc. There were two tracks that really pulled me in: "Virtual Death", "Cardinal Sin" and "Dying For Love". But I have to pick one, and I went with "Cardinal Sin". There's a sort of "Kashmir" (Led Zeppelin) vibe here, but heavier. This a mid to fast paced tempo song, with some crunchy guitars, and heavy (and yet still very melodic) vocals, and some amazing drum work. The guitar solo may be some of the best work I've ever heard from Iommi. I may almost call this tune the best song since "Mob Rules". Great stuff! The fact that I had to pick from three different tunes as a favorite definitely means that I'll be coming back to this album again, very soon.
I don't know that I enjoyed this album as much as the previous Tony Martin albums. There were a few stand out track that I did really enjoy. The best of that bunch is a tune called "Kiss of Death". This song feels almost like a power-ballad, but it's that mid 90's hard rock tune that relies on a very melodically driven tone. The verses here build on a sort of creepy vibe, that I just really enjoy. I think it propels the vocals beautiful. At about the four minute mark, the song really picks up, and turns into something that just really rocks. The guitar riff is punch as hell, and works beautifully with the vocal melody. The drums are really doing something special here as well, making this song the stand-out on an album that I'm sure I'll need repeated listens to really appreciate.
Okay, so I know that this isn't exactly a Black Sabbath album. But, hear me out... it is. This is the "Mob Rules" line-up, back for one more platter of their brand of doom metal, badassery. The fact that the band name is different doesn't really matter. Look at some of the albums with only Iommi remaining. This disc is all Black Sabbath, as far as I'm concerned. With Ronnie James Dio back as the vocalist, this album is another hard one to pick a favorite album. Especially considering that it's second only to the "Heaven & Hell" album for me. The standout track here, for me, is "Follow the Tears". It's everything I love about a good song: It's chaotic (the guitars, working with the strings is just phenomenal), the tune has an amazing vocal melody (clearly that's a huge selling point for me), and it's a melodic-metal song. Add to that, I'm pretty sure this song has one of my favorite guitar solos in the band's entire catalog. On an album full of great music, this is the outstanding best of the bunch, for me.
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