Cross Purposes [Import]

Wow! Cross purposes is awesome, the power metal blends perfectly with classic Sabbath sound thanks largely to Geezer Butler who remained with the band after Dehumanizer.

All of the tracks on here are great and some of them contain some of Iommi's all time great riffs making this album unmissable.

The album beggins on a fast drumbeat courtest of Bobby Rondinelli and continues into one the best songs on the album, a great opener!

Cross of thorns begins with and acoustic intro with Martin almost whispering, not unlike Annon Mundi from TYR. The songs progresses into a great chorus, though with some ever so slightly cheeses lyrics.

If I wrote reviews of all teny songs on here I'd run out of space so to round off:

Butler is back which is ALWAYS a good thing on any Sabbath album as there is some powerfull chemistry between them which has wound up producing some of the finest riffs in history. Tony Martin is on good form and you can tell he always gives his all and to finish the riffs on this album are awesome, see 'Back To Eden', 'Evil Eye", 'I Witness', 'Psychophobia' and 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle'.

Cross purposes rocks and is easily worth the money, it's a crime that none of th IRS albums have been reissued and that now that Ozzy is back it's likely none of these songs will see a live performence ever again! Probably the best album of the Martin era and a great buy for a fan of any era of Sabbath (it was my first non Ozzy album).

Buy it now!

25 years or thereabouts into Sabbath's career, along came Cross Purposes, released in early 1994.

Another project allegedly not Sabbath - according to Geezer, this was a stopgap album for a reunion with Ozzy that didn't happen.

Perhaps the most prophetically titled Sabbath album since Paranoid, as the band once again fragmented under the weight of Sabbath's legacy, and Geezer left in yet another acrimonious split - only to return for the Ozzy reunion a few years later.

Tony Martin returned to the band since he was dumped for Ronnie James Dio in '91 - and once more he delivers a sterling performance. Joining him was journeyman drummer Bobby Rondinelli who records some of the best drums ever performed on a Sabbath album.

The result - an album that wasn't as heavy as it's predecessor Dehumanizer, but one which recaptured a lot of the pioneering spirit the band had during the early to mid 70's. It was also a very topical album which kept up very much with the times it was in - something which hadn't been done arguably since Paranoid or Master of Reality.

The songs:

I Witness - Personally I have never been a fan of this song - another case of a faster lead off song which didn't work - lyrically it's about the Amish.

Cross of Thorns - a beautiful ballad about the frustrations of people in Northern Ireland, this is one of the best 90's songs Sabbath ever mustered. Terrific vocals and lyrics from Martin here.

Psychophobia - written during the Dehumanizer sessions, but ultimately with new lyrics, this is a powerful blues jam with Martin singing from the point of view of a religious cult leader - based on the cult in Waco, Texas.

Virtual Death - Ice cold, bleak and bloody brilliant - this was a track you just knew was Sabbath. Could have used a bit more of a punch production wise, but a wonderful song - Martin's layered vocals are eerily suited to the material. Iommi and Butler absolutely crushes here.

Immaculate Deception - An experimental track, with different tempo shifts in the fine Sabbath tradition - but one which doesn't work for me. Great work on it from Bobby and Geezer though.

Dying For Love - Score! Another brilliantly constructed ballad, with Martin at the height of his powers. Wonderful semi acoustic work from Tony Iommi, Geezer's bass is superb, and Nicholls adds some great synth sheen without drowning it out. Rondinelli's drums are great too. Trouble is, this song was about 5 years too late to be a single - would have been a hit if it had been out, say around '89 or so.

Back to Eden - Potboiler rocker, utterly filler and not necessary.

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle - A jaunty little rocker, with a dark semi-acoustic opening - it's a song about a mass murderer who killed babies in the UK - and though performed well, is another song that doesn't quite hit the mark - possibly because the main riff is a little too perky for the subject matter.

Cardinal Sin - Another track which is hit and miss, about a Catholic Priest who had a love child in Ireland. The lyrics could be better, but the song isn't terrible admittedly - just missing something.

Evil Eye - After the album was in danger of falling apart, Evil Eye saves it. A fantastic rocker with a scything riff from Iommi - allegedly co-written in a jam with Eddie Van Halen - and amazing vocals from Martin - the man goes into Ian Gillan mode here - this could have been a lost track off Born Again really - Rondinelli keeps a solid groove here too.

The Japanese pressing - if you can find it, has a bonus song called What's The Use?

It's a fast little rocker with some good introspective lyrics about the state of the world and politicians - but the speed of the song kills it for me - I just don't like Sabbath playing uptempo songs but for a few cases it seems...

All in all though, Cross Purposes - though nowhere near the heaviest album Black Sabbath has recorded - is a solid album but for a few duff tracks near the end. A grower for sure.

Not only one of my favourite Sabbath albums, but one of my favourite albums of all time, I really do think it's that good. It was one of those albums that I bought just to complete my collection many years ago, listened to it once and put it away (initially it didn't really grab me), only to come back to it recently and my jaw dropped! With more listens it grew on me and now I'm hooked.

Unfortunately this album will always remain underrated and largely forgotten due to the fact that Ozzy isn't on it. Tony Martin has never sang better or even as good as this in my opinion. If you're a die-hard Ozzy or Dio era Sabbath fan, and this just simply isn't Black Sabbath to you, just forget that the band is called Black Sabbath. It's a fantastic album in it's own right, no matter what the band is called! And I agree with another reviewer on here, Iommi is Sabbath anyway, and this album is full of classic Iommi riffs and Butler bass-lines. The drummer isn't bad either.

If you don't have this album in your collection, there's definitely something missing and you need to fill that space now! Trust me, you won't be disappointed, whether you're into metal, rock or just great, catchy, well-crafted songs. Buy it!