Black Sabbath
Dehumanizer

THE REVIEW

Aside from the horrendous artwork, this is the first true heavy metal album by the Sabbath. They may have invented the genre, but until '92 they always stopped at rock, regardless of the qualifying adjective for the subgenre at the time (hard, prog, stoner, doom, etc.). "Dehumanizer" was presented as the reunion album. In reality, it was a return to the most recent past, that is, the Sabbath from the first lineup reshuffle (with Ronnie Dio on vocals and Vinny Appice on drums). During the years of his long divorce from Iommi, Ozzy couldn't refrain (when did he ever?) from making sarcastic comments about this lineup when interviewed by journalists: the Black Sabbath? Who? Butler and those other three Italians? Indeed, those who consider the madman indispensable for the band's successful works can easily skip listening to "Dehumanizer".

As in the early eighties (which, however, remain unmatched), this album turns out to be too dark, light-years away from the freak undertone that could be savored in the previous decade. Furthermore, there are no indications on the record regarding the lyrics, but they were clearly born from the mind of Ronnie Dio alone. Although less tied to his beloved themes, verses like: let's computerize the gods, the new religion/we program the minds, but not the heartbeats, are certainly his own. And indeed, "Computer God" opens the dance: raw sounds of hammers and anvils echo in the first few seconds of the track, almost recalling the cadence and heaviness of "Headless Cross" (1989). Great track.

The same cannot be said for the following "After All", where the band stretches things out a bit too much. The single "Tv Crimes" is not bad, but I recommend forgetting the video, a compendium of approximation and stupidity. We return to the hard 'n' heavy school with the splendid solo in "I". Ronnie roars instead on "Buried Alive" and "Master Of Insanity". The latter is definitely a notch above the others. Every now and then, Terry "Geezer" Butler (one of the most elegant bass players in rock history, I say it without fear of being lynched) provides exquisite embellishments on the io-mmian granite riffs. Indeed, I have already gone on too much about him: the masters are listened to, not commented upon.

"Dehumanizer" is a necessary listen for all true metalheads. For the old Sabbath fans, a valid listening proposal. And for others? Better to start with "Heaven and Hell" or "Vol. 4".