Tired

Tyr - Black Sabbath

A Sabbath album from the eighties, long past the time of Ozzy Osbourne. Two Toni's head things up, the ever present Iommi on guitar and Martin on lead vocals. With Neil Murray on bass and Cozy Powell behind the drums, this was a line-up with much experience in the heavy rock scene and it offers a bit more than some of the varying Sabbath line-ups that marked the albums following Ronnie James Dio's exit at the start of the eighties.

The tracks are all solid affairs, all showing off Iommi's great skills as a player of hard riffs. There are some classic lines on this album that match his output from the height of the original Sabbath. The rhythm section is competent and Tony Martin comes through as one of the most able of the singers the group employed.

The music itself is good, with a hard edge that will be welcome to those who prefer Master of Reality and Mob Rules to Technical Ecstasy. Sometimes the tracks seem to lack a little energy and enthusiasm, but I think that this was a symptom of eighties rock in general. The latter half of the album does pick up in pace though.

Overall, a good mix of classic Iommi guitar work with eighties style heavy rock. In my mind the pick of Sabbath albums from that era, and a good one in the overall canon although the occasional lack of energy prevents it from being a true classic.

Recommended to:

Sabbath/Iommi fans
Eighties heavy rock lovers
Those looking for a little edge to their music, but retaining intelligibility

Not recommended to:

High octane bouncy slam pitters
Those who despise rock giants (or dinosaurs as they like to say)
Ozzy purists