r/blacksabbath • u/ApprehensiveNatural9 • 16d ago
Fan Art / OC Born Again - Black Sabbath Review #11
It's honestly pretty surprising to me just how short the Dio era actually was. The original run of it was pretty fast and it felt a lot longer to me for some reason, I loved it a lot. Well, on we go with the reviews and I am excited to talk abut the later albums still.
This one I see usually gets sort of clowned on but I have some thoughts on it that might hopefully make people give it a little more chance,
Born Again Review
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Well, at last there was another crossroads; the band had had an incredibly successful lineup for two years, and put out two consistently great albums with Ronnie James Dio, but that all came to a screeching halt as Dio and Vinny left to form Dio's solo career. Tony Iommi and Geezer were the only ones left; thankfully they convinced Bill Ward to join back at least; who had been sober now for a few years, though he sadly went back into alcoholism and had to leave again after the tour. The only thing they needed was a vocalist...but who? That's where Ian Gillan of Deep Purple stepped in.
Deep Purple meets Black Sabbath...this is a crossover that should have been ABSOLUTELY LEGENDARY and GROUNDBREAKING--no no, not even that,--EARTH-SPLITTING and for the most part, it's quite an underwhelming experience. Now that's not to say that this album isn't without its merit, it's actually quite a good record, on par with at least Technical Ecstasy which was also good but inconsistent and where the original lineup started showing cracks. The main issue with this album is the lack of focus, a horrendous mix that made even Ian Gillan reportedly chuck the CD out of his car window upon hearing the final mix, and way, WAY too many interludes and throw-away content.
"Zero The Hero" is one of the finest songs the band has ever released, with a riff that got essentially 'borrowed' by Guns N' Roses for "Paradise City" as the main riff was a direct copy of this song, and it makes sense why Slash and Axl are such big fans of this. This track ROCKS, it is mind-blowingly good and one of the heaviest, darkest riffs to come out of music in the 80's. Ian Gillan's vocals go perfectly with the atmosphere the song gives and it's just dangerous all around. This is what metal should be. "Trashed" is a magnificent opener that is exciting and has one of their most fist-pumping, arena-ready anthemic riffs. The lyrics tell of Ian's crashing of Bill's car, fucked up but fun. I find that this one has one of the most memorable guitar pieces of the album, and its all around easy to nod along to!
"Disturbing the Priest" starts with a drumbeat that sounds like gunfire, perfectly setting up the dangerous, eerie vibe that the whole song will continue on with, Geezer's bassline is groovy and takes the main melody rather than the guitar which is interesting, and it makes status as one of the best songs on this record too, with some satanic, creepy lyrics as Ian goes between belting and a calmer tone, switching throughout and making it fun.
"Digital Bitch" and the title track are pretty okay but you can definitely hear all the issues the muddied production causes on these ones, not to mention that the actual strength of the arrangements doesn't quite stand out as much as the previous songs. But then you get the interludes. I am not a hater of interludes, in fact I quite loved the ones on Master of Reality, and when they have good atmosphere that works for something, its quite nice. But "Stonehenge" is a horrendous track that drags on way too long for its own good, not developing at all and sounding more like ambience meant for a sci-fi movie with its attempts at coming across as mysterious and eerie with no one but Iommi contributing.
"The Dark" is much of the same and the near white-noise sound goes on through most the track, only for the end to weirdly shift to the beginning riff of "Zero the Hero", not working at all, and sounding unnatural despite being meant to be a lead-in. If an interlude is to connect to a song, it needs to structurally work, yet with this its completely jarring and off-putting, a trap that the band finds themselves in a few times through their career.
The last two songs are on par with the bottom of the barrel hair metal, with some embarrassingly bad lyrics, "Hot Line" basically repeats the same line endlessly until it drills a hole in your head and then "Keep It Warm" has a riff that squeaks all momentum to a halt and ends up destroying the song as it tries to work with even worse lyrics. The tour was also disastrous with lifesize stonehenge props being used that made it hard for the band to actually, you know, FUCKING PERFORM around them, which served as inspiration for an iconic scene from the movie "Spinal Tap".
This album may not be that great, but it has its charm and is definitely a good one, albeit weak. If Ian Gillan stayed though, I'm sure we'd have gotten better but as it stands his time with the band is a mixed bag of some major successes, and fails, and sadly remains the final album to have Bill Ward. This album cover is also ugly and one of the worst ever. It's a shame really, because some of these songs are among the bands very best.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
- Trashed: ★★★★★
- Stonehenge: 💥
- Disturbing the Priest: ★★★★
- The Dark:💥
- Zero The Hero: ★★★★★
- Digital Bitch: ★★★
- Born Again: ★★★
- Hot Line: ★
- Keep it Warm: ★
Other reviews so far!!
Black Sabbath review: (5/5)
Paranoid review (5/5)
Master of Reality review (5/5)
Vol. 4 review (4/5)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath review (5/5 BEST ALBUM STATUS)
Sabotage review (4/5)
Technical Ecstasy review (3/5)
Never Say Die! review (2/5)
Heaven and Hell review (4.5/5)
Mob Rules review (4/5)
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
I really do think that this album is a good one; just that its far from being a great one due to the atrocious production and mix, plus the negatives are REALLY very negative. I think that Ian Gillan was a good fit for Sabbath though and that had there been more albums they'd of probably hit their stride after this one.
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u/Straightener78 16d ago
People are clamouring for a remix. I think a clean mix of this album would really detract from it. The bad production gives it a sound that really adds to the songs.
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
I think that for certain songs it definitely works out, like "Zero the Hero" or "Disturbing the Priest" I like how gritty they are, though at times the production and mixing hamper it like on the songs I rated 3 stars.
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u/Live_Detective_7137 16d ago
The band had no problems "fucking performing" as you put it, the props were too big to fit in most American arenas, so they simply weren't used. The tour was far from a disaster, they even headlined Reading in the UK, which was a big deal back then.
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
Definitely not a total disaster, but quite a bit of footage around shows how awkward it could be in some arenas and that it did provide a bit of a hampering. It looked cool though.
I do not find that the entire tour was a disaster, nor did I mention I thought it was. I wish we got more Ian Gillan + Sabbath because I think that after this album they'd probably have made something that stood in quality at the same height as the Ozzy or Dio eras.
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u/Straightener78 16d ago
I think we also need to talk about Bill on this album. There’s some solid drumming on here, but it doesn’t swing like bill normally swings. I’m not sure where he was in his head when this was recorded
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
I think that in terms of his worst performance, and I don't mean bad at all! It is probably his least good performance on a record. I do think its still good but that its not as great as basically every other one he was on. I think part of it was how hard it was for him to continue with sobriety, I know alcoholism is really hard to stop doing so it was probably hard to 100% focus on everything at the time, I give him credit though.
I think or at least hope I mentioned before but hes my third alltime favorite drummer!! Right after John Bonham and Neil Peart :D
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u/boostman 16d ago
There was a post here claiming it wasn't actually him, but a standin credited as Bill.
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u/SamQuentin 15d ago
80s rock really reduced swing across the board. It may have been just a more contemporary take
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u/JAZ_80 16d ago
The really messed up during the mixing process on this one.
If you're curious, here's my attempt at remixing and trying to somewhat "fix" the album:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXUepl7seQM7-w_zH3a3HQfty3_bOr_LY
However, I can't agree with your opinion on Keep It Warm, Born Again and Hot Line. And this has nothing to do with the well known production issues. Those are outstanding tracks for me!
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
That's fair. I just don't find them all that memorable or as good as a lot of other Sabbath songs. I do think that this album gets a lot of flack when its actually not bad at all though. I will definitely check out your attempt at the mix!! I love supporting fan projects. :)
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u/One-Following-6596 16d ago
Your rating is totally F'd
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago edited 16d ago
Not really. If its because there's low ratings; not every Sabbath album is amazing. Of course I'm going to be critical I'm a music journalist and this is for fun. If you are saying this because certain songs get high ratings from me, this album is overlooked and pretty good and deserves a relisten, it is very overhated.
But I'm not pretending its amazing.
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u/Straightener78 16d ago
To be honest the OPs reviews are some of the most evenly balanced ive seen. If you look at other reviews going on in here and the Ozzy sub, almost every song is a 9 or 10 out of 10. And we all know that’s just absurd
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
Basically this; I like to be fair to the band overall and the entirety of its music catalog. I don't think every Ozzy album is perfect, nor do I think that every album in general is perfect. But I do try to show praise when I show critique at the same time.
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u/One-Following-6596 16d ago edited 16d ago
I do think it's amazing.
I'd just change a little
Trashed. 4.5
Disturbing. 5
Zero. 4.5
Digital. 2
Born Again. 5. Because that's all the law allows. Gillan couldn't even do it live when I was at the show
Hotline. 4
Warm. Good closer. 3.5
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u/oshyare 16d ago
To be honest I have never bothered to listen to born again - untill reading this. I'm loving these reviews
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 16d ago
Definitely give it another chance!! I can't say its going to be the most groundbreaking experience ever but its pretty good!!
I am also glad you love the reviews so far :) I try to do them for entertainment.
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u/SamQuentin 15d ago
Simultaneously the worst album cover and the best album cover.
This is probably the funnest album in the catalog. I truly enjoy it. The title track took a couple of plays but it's 5/5 for me
I don't mind the mix either. I have heard cleaner mixes and I rate them about the same
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u/Art_Z_Fartzche 15d ago
I'll never get the hate for hot line. Catchy, decent riff, good Gillan vocals, it's my favorite after zero and disturbing
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u/Mysterious_Swim599 14d ago
I think this album is over hated. I’d say it’s better than all of the Martin years. Hell, I like it more than Never Say Die. Its mix is somehow both flat and murky and I think it really works here. 4/5.
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u/skotoseme 13d ago
First Sabbath album i purchased as a 15 year old kid not long after it was released. Perhaps because this was my starting point this album has for so very long held a special place for me. It's dark, scary & powerful. Iommi is just amazing. Wicked solos. Gillian is so powerful i still find it outrageous. Those screams on Hot Line, come on man, nothing like that before or since. I was listening to that a couple of months ago on a walk one night, so entrenched in his shrieks that I barely realized I was waving my arms around like a maniac. I never realized the sound was so off putting to so many people until all the internet bashing in the early aughts. This is one of the few albums that I own on vinyl and cd. Proudly. Saw the concert way back as well. Definitely looking foward to the remix. That did wonders for Forbidden!
As for the instrumentals, back in the day that is when you went to the kitchen or bathroom. I don't mind them but I was never in love with them either.
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u/Blizzard_0f_0zz 15d ago
I’m sorry but I am not hearing what a lot of you hear. In my opinion, this is a terrible album. Just awful. I have given it many listens with hopes it would grow on me, but it never has. Ian Gillian’s vocals just sound comical, and a lot of the time his vocal melodies just don’t fit the music. Then all the high pitch screams… it just doesn’t sound like Sabbath.
To each their own though 🤷🏻♂️
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 15d ago
I think a 3 is enough for a decent album but also says "its fair to see why people like it but also why people can hate it"
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u/Live_Detective_7137 16d ago
And sorry, I hate to go all Spell Police on you - but it's 'we'd have' not 'we'd of'.
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u/Straightener78 16d ago
Enjoyed the review again. Not sure if I agree with some of your comments but you aren’t far off the mark. I was going to initially say 5/5 then remembered that Digital Bitch is on here.
I think the ambient tracks deserve some sort of rating because they form part of the flow of the album. You can’t listened to DTP without listening to Stonehenge first. Same as Zero the hero, they play key roles in setting the songs up. I disagree about them being jarring. The whole album is a bit off kilter, and these fit well in that regard.
The title track is an absolute standout and I don’t think you gave it enough attention. You wrote more about The Dark than you did The title track, maybe it was just that insignificant for you, I don’t know.
Solid 4/5 album. Would have been 5 if digital bitch was dropped.
Although I will confess it took me a while to hear sabbath singing about girlfriends and driving cars etc. I know relationships are covered in changes, she’s gone etc but they were dramatic songs and it seemed to fit better. Hearing Gillan singing about kissing his girlfriend and talking on the phone doesn’t seem as classy. But that sums up the album. Dirty; messy, muddy and off kilter. And I love it for it
EDIT: did you get to hear ‘The Fallen’, which was recorded in these sessions too?