Black Sabbath
Born Again

THE REVIEW

1982: a pivotal year for Black Sabbath. Ronnie James Dio, who had infused his mystical poetry into two masterpieces like "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules," leaves the band slamming the door due to disagreements with Tony Iommi regarding the recording of "Live Evil" (a live not particularly thrilling, especially for the Divine’s performance on pre-1980 tracks) to start a solo career, followed by trusty drummer Vinnie Appice.

Tony Iommi is therefore forced for the second time to reorganize the band, and naturally, the main issue was finding a new frontman worthy of the Black Sabbath. After wooing David Coverdale, who declines the Sabbathian sirens to focus on his Whitesnake, the choice falls none other than on the legendary Ian Gillan, former singer of Deep Purple mk II and struggling with a rather unsatisfying solo career. The contract signing occurs under somewhat picturesque circumstances; to this day, old Ian does not recall ever agreeing to become the frontman of BS, and legend has it that Iommi got him drunk to secure the much-coveted consent. The lineup is completed by the return of old drummer Bill Ward (who was still grappling with his alcohol dependency, to the point that in the failed tour post "Born Again" he would be replaced by Bev Bevan) and obviously by the trusty Geoff Nichols on keyboards.

The album marks a clear departure from the hard rock sounds with epic-Rainbow influences of its two predecessors to settle into a hard, vehement, and passionate mood, making it a unique record in the entire Black Sabbath discography. The added value is indeed Sir Ian Gillan, who fills every song with dizzying high notes and ecstatic screams, showcasing all his monstrous abilities, thus rendering "Born Again" a dazzling forge of emotions.

The opener "Trashed" is one of the most devastating pieces in the entire Sabbathian repertoire. Iommi engages in sharp and distorted riffs, and Ian Gillan adds his touch by narrating in an almost epic and heroic manner a reckless tequila-fueled night (a true event) where he crashed poor Bill Ward’s car. Four minutes of earth-shattering hard rock at maximum power. Then everything calms down with the brief instrumental "Stonehenge" where Geoff Nichols' keyboard crafts fascinating and ecstatic harmonies, accompanied by the beating of a heart. And it is only the calm before the storm....

Here comes one of the songs I consider fundamental for truly understanding Black Sabbath, namely the five minutes of total madness "Disturbing The Priest". Iommi delivers razor-sharp guitar chops and, above all, Gillan outdoes himself, producing hallucinatory screams and piercing high notes in industrial quantities, reaching an impressive range of styles and registers: from the triumphant tone of the chorus to the dark and hallucinatory one of the verses. Extreme metal is born with this song. From one masterpiece to another: "Zero The Hero, launched by the brief instrumental "The Dark" is characterized by an intense and obsessive riff that repeats throughout the song, enriched by Nichols’ keyboard effects. The song features sarcastic lyrics and a perfect stadium chant-worthy chorus, complete with an echo. Dizzying and deafening, Iommi's solo.

"Digital Bitch" is a notch below the previous three masterpieces: a nice, fast-paced, and catchy hard rock piece, great attack riff, and the usual great Gillan. The lyrics speak about a woman (Sharon Arden, some say) whose identity is not certain. What is certain, however, is that the Sabs did not have much sympathy for her "She's the richest bitch in town". Then the atmosphere becomes more tortured and dreamlike, and the beautiful title track starts, one of the most poetic tracks from the Birmingham foursome, speaking of a man who has lost the will to live "The tapestries all faded, their vague and distant glory, concealed in the gloom" reminiscing about bygone times hoping for a rebirth. Gillan's high note in the chorus is nothing short of stunning, almost otherworldly. "Hot Line" is in theory the "worst" song on the album: an excellent hard/blues very passionate and fervent, which introduces us to "Keep It Warm", a kind of semi-ballad that tells the story of a man leaving his woman to live an adventurous life, but promising his return, like a modern Ulysses. Beautiful and bright chorus, fading out at the end, closing this one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

But it is known, Ian Gillan's experience with Black Sabbath was not so happy: the contrasts with Iommi and the lukewarm reception from fans, who did not understand "Born Again," along with Sir Ian’s rather poor performance on pre-Born Again songs, especially those from the Dio period, led to the inevitable break-up, from which Iommi, also abandoned by trusty Geezer Butler, would manage to recover only 3 years later, but that's another story...

Horrible and disturbing cover at the same time.