Few albums in the heavy music realm in recent years have carried as much hype, expectation and ultimately a fair share of scepticism than the long-awaited new album from Black Sabbath. The British forefathers of heavy metal releasing their first studio album since 1995’s Forbidden is a pretty damn big deal. Bigger yet is that the band’s 19th album, titled 13, is their first album to feature legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne in tow since 1978’s Never Say Die!
Unfortunately the reunited trio of Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and guitar legend Tony Iommi has been tempered by a bitter dispute with original drummer Bill Ward who remains the only missing piece in the original line-up. By all reports Ward appeared to get the raw end of the deal in a contract and payment issue and subsequently has been shunted from the drummer’s stool on this anticipated comeback album. It’s a damn shame because although Ward doesn’t carry the profile of his band-mates, he was and remains a crucial component to the band’s success.
Highly regarded drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) lends his considerable skills as a session drummer. Wilk is a fine drummer in his own right and he does an admirable job holding down a powerful rhythmic foundation and solid groove with Butler, yet under the circumstances of how he landed in this position, the drummer sounds like he’s playing within himself a bit. It doesn’t undermine the album in any big way, but it does occasionally sound like a more conservative or tentative performance from Wilk. Still his presence adds a contemporary twist to the band and his playing is nothing less than solid.
13 is an album not without its flaws, yet with the potential for this belated comeback being a spectacular misfire, the resulting album is a surprising success. With the health problems of both Iommi and the shuffling, chemically polluted figure of Ozzy Osbourne casting doubtful shadows, and the simple fact that the band are past their prime didn’t bode well for the album. However, what is clear throughout this musical statement is that Black Sabbath are a resilient band that can still hammer out A-grade doses of heavy-as-fuck doom metal. 13 soars, thunders and occasionally plods and stumbles. Consistency is not the album’s strength, however, 13 features its fair share of strong material, standout moments and accomplished song-writing.
The album opens with a couple of eight minute-plus epics in the shape of ‘End of the Beginning’ and first single ‘God is Dead?’ Opening a long-awaited comeback album in this fashion is a bold move but not necessarily a great one. Both songs have moments where the music meanders and they each feel like they were stretched a minute or two too long. Nevertheless, the slow build apocalyptic vibe of ‘End of the Beginning’ really hits its stride a couple of minutes in as the band unleash the first full blooded doomy groove of the album. Iommi’s guitar work really shines as the song progresses and Ozzy delivers some pleasing vocal melodies. ‘God is Dead?’ was the first pre-release taste of the album and it’s a grower. The subdued opening has an ominous strain as Butler’s bassline rumbles with menacing intent. The song takes a bit too long to hit its peak, but when it does, the hooks and surging grooves sink their teeth in. Ozzy’s vocals fluctuate between the tired and the inspired and he mostly puts in a strong performance throughout the album, although his emotional connection to the songs seems to wane on occasions.
The straight-forward bluesy swagger of ‘Loner’ takes a more upbeat route, swelling around a catchy main riff. The hypnotic balladry of ‘Zeitgeist’ immediately draws comparisons with the classic ‘Planet Caravan’, coming across as a long gestating sequel. Of course it can’t hold a candle to that particular tune, yet it still largely works on its own merits. The song’s enticing melodies and rich instrumentation works a treat and breaks up the pace of the album. Yet the real meat of 13 is revealed during its thunderous second half. Iommi’ supplies one of the heaviest riffs of the album on the superb ‘Age of Reason’, and the song’s robust weight brings tremendous power and killer hooks to boot.
‘Live Forever’ has some great moments, although Butler’s lyrics are a trifle lazy and clichéd, while Ozzy’s vocals sound a bit tired and emotionally detached on the track. The dark and bluesy ‘Damaged Soul’ gets 13 back on track and is one of the best songs on the album. Ozzy sounds in his element, adding some nice harmonica work to the mix, while the rest of the band are in top form, particularly the lead work and leaden riffage of Iommi. The rugged stoner metal grooves and melancholic strain of closer ‘Dear Father’ concludes the album with some throwback samples from their classic debut, perhaps hinting at 13 being a belated swansong from the band. On a side note, shelling out a couple of extra bucks for the deluxe version of 13 is a worthwhile investment. The three bonus tracks range from the solid to the very good.
Black Sabbath are back with a better than average comeback album that might just alternately bludgeon and soothe the souls of even the most jaded fan. Certainly not a masterpiece to rival their early classics, 13 makes a strong statement regardless and feels like a modernised stylistic continuation of their earlier days. On the whole, 13 marks a very respectable addition to Black Sabbath’s legendary body of work, finding the band rejuvenated in all their imperfect, aged glory.
Vertigo
8/10
Reviewer: Luke Saunders