I do not understand why I check Metalsucks on a semi-daily basis. The writers are generally not very funny or inventive in their approach to writing about music, and unlike Pitchfork, which I check for hipster drama and new music (I put little to no stock in their overwrought opinions, of course), Metalsucks doesn't actually cover a lot of music that I give a shit about. Maybe I read it for the little bit of good music that it does bring to my attention, and maybe it's a hate-read.
But the fact remains that I do visit the site, and this is why I am aware that today they (correctly) named Black Sabbath as the greatest metal band of all time. In the writeup, Grim Kim -- the only writer for the site that consistently covers awesome, new bands -- re-affirmed the popular notion that while their later stuff "had its moments", Sabbath peaked with their first four records. Though I'd add records #s 5 and 6 to that assertion, I agree in spirit.
After those first six records, this is the Sabbath record that I return to most frequently -- no, not Heaven and Hell. It marks Dio's temporary return to the fold, and its sound can be likened to a polished synthesis of all of the best eras of the band. Of course, it's not as amazing as that might sound, but it's pretty fucking great, you know?
[Edit: Check out the undeniable similarities between the above record cover and that of Arckanum's Fran Marder, which I posted yesterday. This was not intentional.]
Track listing:
1. Computer God
2. After All (The Dead)
3. TV Crimes
4. Letters from Earth
5. Master of Insanity
6. Time Machine
7. Sins of the Father
8. Too Late
9. I
10. Buried Alive
Are we all haunted by
The ghost - imagination
It just can't be
I've seen them there
Howling at the moon
Happy belated birthday. The last later Sabbath album I listen to is Born Again, i guess I need to visit this.
ReplyDeletei've always felt the thing that kept this album from being placed higher on the collective radar is the terrible cover art. It's rendered in that cartoon-y zone of all those second and third tier U.S. thrash bands of the 80s and 90s. Unfortunate, because the music's strong.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good theory. The cover's definitely pretty corny -- kinda makes it look like they're gonna hit you with some crappy keyboards or something.
DeleteHow do you feel about "Eternal Idol" ?
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Tony Martin era Sabbath as well [of course it goes to reason that it's pretty much a different band as it's a different era of the band, but the title track personally echoes the sentiment carried both by dio vocal attack and classic iommi writing for me. Both versions with Ray Gillen and Tony Martin of this record are spectacular in my opinion, in the very least vocally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWIGVvwNvjg
although at this point Iommi was already rehashing a lot of the old https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP-i-fNhxmk
"Eternal Idol" is killer. I've only heard one version, though, and I'm actually not sure which one.
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