[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Black Sabbath - 13.

I've listened to this a couple of times in full. The album features some great guitar work from Tony Iommi, some fine melodies and brutal riffing. Ozzy's voice is also the best i've heard since No Rest for the Wicked. God knows what he'll sound like live though. Rick Rubin's production job is first class as well.

The album borrows many ideas and signatures from past Sabbath masterpieces and still sounds relevant today...

.... but, Dear Father aside, where the hell are the songs?

There's not a chorus, tune, nothing, i can recall and the cd has only just finished.

Sabbath have always written songs that crowds go wild to - Paranoid, NIB, Children of the Grave, Never Say Die, Into the Void, Killing Yourself to Live etc, etc, etc. There's nothing like them here unfortunately. Maybe time will prove me wrong, i hope so.

After a week with this i still stand by every word.