•
Rating:
THE REVIEW
I got to know Black Sabbath through Paranoid, Master Of Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and my first impression wasn't entirely positive: certainly, I appreciated the value of songs like War Pigs, Children Of The Grave, or Spiral Architect, but that doom and slow style, and especially the monotonous screeching (or meowing, depending on the occasion) of the singer, I never quite liked. Then this 1990 album came into my hands, and my love for Black Sabbath skyrocketed. Tony Martin has a wonderful voice (personally, I consider him a notch above even the legendary Ronnie James Dio), writes wonderful lyrics, and is, alas, not a very media-friendly character. He focuses on singing and composing rather than acting foolish on eMpTy tV. (in practice, he is everything Ozzy is not).
With this prologue out of the way, let's move on to the review: the album opens with the marvelous Anno Mundi, marked by a superb performance from all four Sabs, with a truly extraordinary Tony Martin who gives this song an epic and grandeur that even the most renowned Dio, Gillan, and Hughes could not have achieved. The Law Maker is perhaps the least inspired track on the album. Bad? Absolutely not, on the contrary, it's a great fast track that is always a pleasure to listen to. Jerusalem would have been a perfect first single, as it is fast, direct, and at the same time epic and grandiose, especially due to the choir in the chorus. It is also worth highlighting the skill of songwriter Tony Martin, who uses the imagery of the Crusades to write lyrics about achieving one's goals in life. The Sabbath Stones is another masterpiece, slow, rhythmic, and doomy with Tony Martin creating a state of rarefied tension that preludes to the atmospheres of Cross Purposes. Then begins the wonderful Nordic trilogy: first The Battle Of Tyr, a one-minute fragment where keyboardist Geoff Nichols recreates solemn and Wagnerian atmospheres, then Odin's Court, where Iommi's melancholic acoustic guitar and Martin's wonderful voice are enough to create a splendid and atmospheric song, followed by Valhalla, where everything speeds up and the rebellious Viking paradise sung by Manowar in Gods Of War reappears. The album closes with the melancholy and intense ballad Feels Good To Me and the fast and dark Heaven In Black, with an excellent stadium chorus. Wonderful album, one of the pinnacle expressions of Black Sabbath
Anno Mundi
Can you wonder
Truth of thunder
Life or Blame... simply poetry
Loading comments slowly
Summary by Bot
The review praises Black Sabbath's 1990 album Tyr, highlighting Tony Martin's superior vocal performance and songwriting. It describes key tracks like Anno Mundi, Jerusalem, and the Nordic trilogy with high admiration. The album is seen as a pinnacle in Black Sabbath's discography and a notable contrast to earlier vocal styles.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Black Sabbath
English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1968, widely credited as pioneers of heavy metal and led musically by guitarist Tony Iommi.91 Reviews
Other reviews
By stargazer
An album unjustly left in the shadows just because it wasn’t played by the most representative line-ups of this band with a long and glorious career.
"Anno Mundi" opens with a sweet arpeggio and a Latin choir, featuring a beautiful chorus where Martin exclaims: As the wind in the night blows cold, your eyes are burning.
By Rainbow Rising
"Anno Mundi (The Vision) is one of the best pieces ever written by Black Sabbath."
Tony Martin, here the singer of icy lands and battles with a mythical flavor, remains a great mystery in rock: how such a singer is not counted among the best is inexplicable.
