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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".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Computer God (06:15)
Waiting for the revolution
New clear vision - genocide
Computerize god - it's the new religion
Program the brain - not the heartbeat
Onward all you crystal soldiers
Touch tomorrow - energize
Digital dreams
And you're the next correction
Man's a mistake so we'll fix it, yeah
Take a look at your own reflection
Right before your eyes
It turns to steel
There's another side of heaven
This way - to technical paradise
Find it on the other side
When the walls fall down
Love is automatic pleasure
Virtual reality
Terminal hate - it's a calculation
Send in the child for connection
Take a look at the toys around you
Right before your eyes
The toys are real
There's another side of heaven
This way - to technical paradise
Find it on the other side
When the walls fall down
Midnight confessions
Never heal the soul
What you believe is fantasy
Your past is your future
Left behind
Lost in time
Will you surrender
Waiting for the revolution
Program the brain
Not the heartbeat
Deliver us to evil
Deny us of our faith
Robotic hearts bleed poison
On the world we populate
Virtual existence
With a superhuman mind
The ultimate creation
Destroyer of mankind
Termination of our youth
For we do not compute
No !
04 Letters From Earth (04:17)
Well it's a cold world
And I'm in the middle
Caught in the in-between
I don't belong here
So I'm writing to you
It's wrong here
Where I'm sending you some
Letters from earth, yeah
Well it's a new world
And now I'm a stranger
Stranger than you know
I don't belong here
And I'm writing to you
With blood on my hands
What if I send you madness
What if I send you pain
And letters from earth, ooh
All right
Come on it's another game
But you gotta play on
Cause they say it's just pretend
Ask them why they say you'll never, never die
Come on - the game is called the end
Well it's a cold world
And I'm in the middle
Caught in the in-between
I don't belong here
So I'm writing to you
Hey let me explain
What if I send you confusion
What is the time and the pain worth
Oh no no
I'm only sending
Letters from the earth
Letters from earth
05 Master of Insanity (05:55)
Look all around
Can't you open your eyes
Voices are calling
Killing rain falling down from the sky
Crying with nightmare tears
Out on the street
You'll see blood on the ground
Cities are burning
Feeling the pain cutting right to your soul
Goodbye now
You're caught in his spell
Your freedom is gone
He's taken everything
You ever had
But if you're strong you'll survive
You've got to hold on
Open your eyes
Behind the lies you will see
The master of insanity
Under the mask there will be
The master of insanity
Innocent minds
They're the victims of shame
Staring in sorrow
Promises lying there
Broken and crushed
Confusion-just disappear
What can you give
To be left all alone
When there's nothing at all
Your freedom is gone
He's taken everything
You ever had
But if you're strong you'll survive
You've got to hold on
Open your eyes
Behind the lies you will see
The master of insanity
Under the mask there will be
The master of insanity
Behind the lies you will find
He's trying to get inside you
Just open your eyes and you will see
The master of insanity
Behind the lies you will see
The master of insanity
Under the mask there will be
The master of insanity
Between the lies you will find
that he's trying to get inside you
Out of the night into your mind
He's always right beside you
Yeah, between the lies you will see
The master of insanity
Open your eyes or you will be
The master of insanity
10 Buried Alive (04:50)
Once upon a nightmare
Once upon a time
You're running from temptation
You got lost
And found that you don't
Belong to anybody
You're all the same
Just another number
Cross it out
Whenever you don't behave
Someone got the doctor
He knows what to do
Throw some bones and mumble
The devil's inside of you
It might be contagious
It might change the plan
Get back in your tiny boxes
Even if you can't
We say you can
Join the congregation
Everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
When you thought you were free
You didn't need a reason
No reason to survive
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the nail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
Once upon a nightmare
Once upon a time
You're running from tomorrow
You got lost
And found that another
Day has turned to ashes
Taken by the wind
Frozen seeds of sorrow
Never to begin
Join the celebration
And everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
When you thought you were free
You did not need a reason
No reason to survive
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the mail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
One more nightmare
Just one more time
Join the congregation
Everybody get in line
Celebration
The choir sings a lie
As you call
The hammer falls
And no one hears you cry
I'm buried alive
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Other reviews
By ez
"Dehumanizer is paradoxically more solid, heavy, and sinister than many era’s metal releases by major names like Maiden or Metallica."
"Ronnie J. Dio is the great novelty of this album, delivering lyrics projecting everyday life and an uncertain future with haunting vocal theatricality."
