The mix is definitely part of the reason. It sounded bad then, and sounds even worse in retrospect. I don't think there are a lot of good songs on it, but then I haven't listened to the full album in years. Zero the Hero and Trashed are the standouts to me.
@@AndrewRooneyDrums When you have time mate please do a segment featuring Johnny Blade off Black Sabbath's Never Say Die album, that particular song has Bill driving the song , Tony's guitar howling & moaning riffing & pure awesome solo & of course Geezer's in your face Bass, for a band that was imploding the song imo shows they still had energy & intent, you will not be disappointed.
Production be damned, this album is a beast. Remember the anticipation of Ian joining the ranks of Black Sabbath and it did not disappoint, And as far as the production goes, it never mattered as the cassette was always getting cranked through car speakers at high volume.
Hello Hello from New England..Man Bill Ward is such a legend..A lot of drummers would've seriously over played on this tune but Bill is just sitting back in that pocket holding it down🤘🧐✌️
Song BANGS 💯 Saw them on this tour and am still recovering. Huge Sabbath and Purple fan and Bev Bevan on drums (for the tour) was a great addition. Bev did something during the intro to War Pigs that I've never seen anyone else do. He added more to the hats, than the straight beats and flare.... and it worked wonderfully. Sweet touch! This is one of my favorite Sabbath albums. 🤘🧙♂️🤘 Rich the Ancient Metal Beast
The woeful and bewilderingly popular Guns'n'Roses pinched the riff for their insipid track, Paradise City. Zero The Hero has always been a personal fave.
Apparently something went wrong during the mastering of the album. There's a bootleg unfinished mix of the album out there that sounds muich cleaner. Last i heard the tapes were thought to be lost but were recently recovered. It absolutely could use a remix.
Wow! Been so long since Ive listened to this track. First concert i saw. Unfortunatly Bill Ward wasnt touring on drums. Bev Bevan from ELO did the tour.
Despite how it was received at the time, Born Again is a solid Sabbath album. Zero the Hero is as sinister as anything they've done. I wonder if bands like Soundgarden heard this? You can hear the influence on their early stuff like BadMotorFinger...
You should try "Disturbing the Priest" from this album. Bill Ward uses some Polyrhythms and was using 20 different pieces of percussion by the end. To get the full impact of the drums, though, check out the unmixed demo version.
2:15 another mindblower... live they had Bev Bevan from E.L.O on drums to replace Bill. Into the tour Bev bacame more and more acuainted witht he bandmembers and Toni Iommi in an interview said he hoped Bev would stay ijn the bnd.
Best Sabbath album. The production is perfect for the music...really gives that evil vibe that sits perfectly with the album cover and band photos. Born Again, the song, is arguably the best song Sabbath ever wrote in my opinion.
@@richardhincemon just quoting Gillian “I didn’t break it; I threw it out of the window of my car [laughs]. Look, I was disappointed, I didn’t have the mentality of all the guys in Black Sabbath.
@@paulhudson563So Ian Gillan is responsible for losing the master tapes of the Born Again album after all lol 😆 . Black Sabbath were on tour when the album was released in August 83 and Robin Black was left in charge of the final mixing of the tapes ! I bought the album when it was released and it sounded awesome on my Kenwood 100 watt receiver, Thorens turntable and Infiniti speakers back then. The live show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta was phenomenal too . Nobody was complaining about the production of the album it's the music that matters and Born Again is a heavy metal masterpiece. Cheers 🍻
Iommi was at the peak of his improv-adjacent guitar lyricism around this time. Also see the very underrated Seventh Star and in particular the tune “Heart Like a Wheel.”
In my opinion, this was the only song on the album where it clicked. It wasn't until listening to it in this video that it struck me how much this song would be right at home on a Soundgarden album. This came out around the same time those guys were playing their first shows for 3 people, and this is precisely the type of music they were trying to bring out of the underground in the late 80s.
Great request, Costas! (The title is Zero the Hero.) Ian GILL-ann. Yes, Andrew, all Black Sabbath riffs and music is basically Tony Iommi, my music hero. This mix (along with tons more radio play) is one of the big reasons Ward doesn't get the credit that Bonham got. As for the mix and sound, I think Iommi became distracted by trying to replicate the "drugged out" sound and vibe of Volume 4. Iommi is the greatest song writer for riffs ever. He never ran out of ideas, and this is yet another great example. Between Deep Purple and Rainbow (Ritchie Blackmore's "new Deep Purple"), Black Sabbath had Dio, Gillan, and Cozy Powell.
Robin Black who mixed the Sabotage studio album was left in charge of the Born Again tapes while Sabbath went on tour before the release of the album in September 83 . Bill Ward has stated that he loves the production of Born Again.
I saw this tour with Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath even performed "Smoke on the Water" as an encore, which actually wasn't that bad! Quiet Riot was the opening act! This album is very underrated , it has many great songs, including "Digital Bitch", which I think was a video at the time!
Love this song and the steady groove! However if I had to go with a song that really showcases Bill’s chops it would have been “The Fallen” or “Trashed”
I love Bill's grace note work on the snare in this tune - I just wish it was a little clearer. This is actually one of my favorite Sabbath records outside of V4, SBS, & Sabotage. FYI - the master tapes for this album were lost for decades. They've been found and Tony wants to remaster this - he's been saying that since the day it was released. I hope it happens!
Always loved bills drums. On this song which is my fave on the album ive learned to sync into to just them. I love when that dun nun du du nun nun du nun nun comes in from Tonys solo.
I'm going to throw out the suggestion of adding Anno Mundi from the album Tyr. Cozy Powell was drumming at this time and I think decided to just go a bit nuts on this album.
I had this album on tape many years ago. It was on my constant driving set for years until it got stolen from my car along with a whole box of other tapes in the mid '90's. Got the bonus t-shirt with it when I bought it. Wore the t-shirt until it fell apart!
Showing up to this show, expecting to see Bill Ward for the first time (no internet back then) was hugely disappointed that he wasn't on that tour. But I was very relieved to see they got the drummer from ELO to cover. Out of the dozen different drummer I've seen play War Pigs, Bev Bevan is second only to Bill. If you can find a live version with him, I'd recommend a listen.
Zero the hero is one of my favorite and most haunting songs from Sabbath. I was really looking forward to what was next with them and Ian. But, alas, Deep Purple decided to get back together, so sadly, No more music from the Ian Sabbath team.
It's funny to see one of the instruments Tony plays on this is the flute. I know he has played it on other albums but a flute seems like the last thing to expect when listening to this song.
When this released the first thing which struck me was the writing style difference between side one and side two. One is Black Sabbath all the way while side two felt like Sabbath playing Deep Purple songs. What a great pick up captured for 'eternity'.
So glad you finally got to this album.. I've mentioned it in the comments many times... This was a killer concert... Ian actually did Ozzy songs really good...
Unfortunately, it is impossible to hear Ward perform this song live - he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself and would get drunk and did not go on tour, Bev Bevan played instead. This, of course, did not help Bill and he still started drinking. As for the mix, the master tapes, which were considered lost, have been found and Iommi has promised to do a remastering. I hope this happens before I end up in a nursing home. And I'm 53.
Dude.. I love The Clay People... No one even knows who they are... Your the first person I've ever seen comment about them... They deserve a lot more recognition than they get...
Andrew,if you're interested in such things the master tapes for this album were lost for years but recently found so it is on Tony's bucket list to remix
Hi, Andrew. Great commentary. Beyond that I can't write much about that particular song or the entire album, for that matter. It's just a reminder to me that the era of Sabbath is over.😢🖤💀
I’ll have to throw this song into my DAW with Ozone 11 and use the rebalance feature to bring up the drums. Their song structure does simplify in the later albums such that they are regular songs as opposed to seemingly being medleys of ideas masterfully put together. Like in Iron Man I lost track after noticing 12 distinctly different sections.
There are some classics (like this one) on Born Again, even if it's a patchy album overall. You'll also appreciate the Tony Martin era stuff if you get that far, with Cozy Powell on the skins.
One of Tony’s darkest, meanest, sludgiest riffs ever. My favourite post Ozzy riff by him. As you say though Andrew, Bill’s drums should be much louder. Apparently, none of the band were happy with the mix. Fun fact: Guns & Roses nicked this riff for Paradise City. Incredible groove.
Saw them on this tour, it was my first concert. Unfortunately Bill only played a few gigs before leaving the band again. Bev Bevans from ELO finished the tour.
Bill lost his sobriety on the last day at The Manor Studios. He declined to tour because of this and dud not play a live note. Iommi recruited friend Bev Bevan who played all the dates on the tour.
According to Ian Gillan, this album+tour were 'a one year long party' - but he obviously wasn’t comfortable playing Ozzy and Dio songs live. The album he remembered as being great but, quote, 'when I saw the cover i puked, and whenI heard the final mix i puked again'... The sound is unreasonably muddy, and it was always said themaster tapes were lost Bill sadly left again and didn’t play the tour - he had anxiety about going out again and might have relapsed at that time, i'm not sure...
I always thought Sab were heavily influenced by their vocalist. With Ian Gillan, they sounded somewhat like Purple. With Dio, they sounded like Dio. With Glenn Hughes, it wasn't Sabbath at all. With Tony Martin, it was sort of Eighties Middle of the Road Metal. With Ozzy, it was always Black Sabbath. Don't get me wrong, I like all of their incarnations. But they were sort of a chameleon in this regard.
TBH, you can hear Bill Ward's drums better on the unmixed "Manor Studio" demos for this album. Still not the greatest sound quality, but the unmixed versions are far better overall than the finished product, IMHO. The band were horrified when they heard the final product (allegedly) as they were originally very happy with the recordings.
Lol thats what she said, alright! Ya, this whole album is dirrrrty sounding, but the mix was a bit off, and many think thats why it didnt sell very well. Im curious to hear what you think of that QOTSA song, now :) one of absolute faves of theirs, and also a very dirty sounding song, with drums that are a bit buried. Drums are pretty basic on that track, but its a great song!
ANDREW- If you liked the song, you will LOVE the video!! PLEASE tell me you got to see it, the CREEPIEST/AMAZING rock video ever!!! A LOT of heavy hidden meaning in the video!
My have this on LP and CD. Not the best recording, but very cool. Only non-Ozzy iteration I like. My favorite song is the title track. Ian's voice kills!!
this album was savaged by critics. also it had tour plagued with issues. They had a Stonehenge prop that was too large for the stage (which the movie Spinal Tap epically mocked by having a Stonehenge so small that they had midgets dancing around it and they were larger than the Stonehenge model). and its cover was voted one of the worst ever. but it has really grown as a classic sabbath album. zero the hero has one of the darkest riffs they ever did. the production is muddy as hell.and Gillan may not have been the perfect fit as Deep Purple isn't really metal. But they came up with some truly heavy songs. I just wish it was produced a bit better. And yes, the drums are buried in the mix. But critics were totally wrong on this one.I actually prefer this to most of the Dio era Sabbath (sacrilege, I know)
Andrew - the mixing of this album has always been a bug bear the original tapes were "lost" for a long time only recently turned up Tony has talked about fixing the mix now he has the tapes
This mix is horrid. Ian Gillian tossed the cassette out of his car when he heard it. If you want to react to anything off this album, please use the "demos" version you can find on TH-cam. Much better. Even Gillan likes those better.
No, the band left the studios pleased as punch with the results and left it to get mixed. Bill went right into rehab. They where all horrified with the mix that went out on the record and cassettes as 'final product'. Luckily the lost master tapes have recently been found! We all await this remaster!!!
The mix on that album is garbage. Tony says they left to go on tour (with Bev Bevans from ELO on drums) and the album's rough mix sounded better than any album they'd ever done. They got back and the album was already going to print and the whole mix was ruined and overly compressed, etc, but too late for them to fix. Tony has the masters and is currently working on a remix for release in the next couple years.
The mix is notoriously bad on this album. As someone else stated, the mix probably sunk the album. This has always been the most underrated sabbath album to me. Tony says the remix is coming. He just got done remixing the Dio years.
The mix isn't good indeed. In fact when the band heard the final product, they were horrified at the muffled mix In his autobiography Iommi said that Gillan inadvertently blew a couple of tweeters in the studio speakers by playing the backing tracks too loud and nobody noticed. "We just thought it was a bit of a funny sound, but it went very wrong somewhere between the mix and the mastering and the pressing of that album...the sound was really dull and muffly. I didn't know about it, because we were already out on tour in Europe. By the time we heard the album, it was out and in the charts, but the sound was awful." And it's a coincidence but in 2021, Tony Iommi claimed that the original master tapes, long thought lost, had been found and that he was considering remixing them for an eventual release. It was the last album Bill Ward ever recorded with Sabbath except for the bonus tracks he recorded for the live album Reunion, He also didn't tour for the album because he had entered a rehab facility in order to treat his alcoholism. He was replaced by Bev Bevan of ELO
Check the Black Sabbath / Bill Ward playlist for reactions and drum covers! 🥁👌 th-cam.com/play/PLqspKksRqaUVnFs7USmPnqAbJ0Ct1LW8Q.html
Such an underrated album. The mix has been sighted as being the reason. Tony promises a remix is coming.
The mix is definitely part of the reason. It sounded bad then, and sounds even worse in retrospect. I don't think there are a lot of good songs on it, but then I haven't listened to the full album in years. Zero the Hero and Trashed are the standouts to me.
@@WhatHaveIMade I mostly like Trashed, Zero the hero, and Born Again. Haven't listened to the rest to really remember any of it.
The unreleased track The Fallen is also terrific.
My favorite track on the album is "Disturbing the Priest"
@@mikegoin6023 Ian's maniacal laughing on that song is fantastic. I can listen to it all day! And the guitar riff is out of this world.
Only lommi can invent a riff that can make u feel like the whole damn universe is coming to an end & come crashing down over your head.
🤘
@@AndrewRooneyDrums When you have time mate please do a segment featuring Johnny Blade off Black Sabbath's Never Say Die album, that particular song has Bill driving the song , Tony's guitar howling & moaning riffing & pure awesome solo & of course Geezer's in your face Bass, for a band that was imploding the song imo shows they still had energy & intent, you will not be disappointed.
...And make you wanna dance
The main riff from this song is so good Guns'n'Roses took the whole thing for Paradise City.
What a killer groove. Ian’s vocal flow is SO catchy and infectious…I love how he locks in with the rest of the band like he’s just another instrument.
What a vocalist!
So much swag
Production be damned, this album is a beast. Remember the anticipation of Ian joining the ranks of Black Sabbath and it did not disappoint, And as far as the production goes, it never mattered as the cassette was always getting cranked through car speakers at high volume.
I agree. It blows away the over operatic Dio stuff for me, and brings them back to their nastier, grittier roots.
Iommi is the greatest guitar player of all time. His riffs, licks. Solos are just simple incredible. He is the riff lord..
I personally think this album is a one of a kind treasure... The line up was magic
GREAT lineup
in many ways its there best album
The irony is the last album of Gillan's band from 1982 was named "Magic" 😂😂
'Disturbing The Priest' is THE song to be listening to from this album. Absolutely killer track, and Ian Gillan just blows the roof off on that one.
so true
A great great song, drums are much more interesting on this one
I have listened to this album many, many times over the years. I am never prepared for that screaming laughter. It catches me by surprise every time.
One of the best Sabbath tracks
I stated in other discussion already: Ian is like voice actor going for an evil mad demon impersonation there.
Hello Hello from New England..Man Bill Ward is such a legend..A lot of drummers would've seriously over played on this tune but Bill is just sitting back in that pocket holding it down🤘🧐✌️
Hey, New England here as well (CT to be specific).
@@keefriff99 CT strong as well ✌️
Song BANGS 💯
Saw them on this tour and am still recovering. Huge Sabbath and Purple fan and Bev Bevan on drums (for the tour) was a great addition.
Bev did something during the intro to War Pigs that I've never seen anyone else do. He added more to the hats, than the straight beats and flare.... and it worked wonderfully. Sweet touch!
This is one of my favorite Sabbath albums.
🤘🧙♂️🤘
Rich the Ancient Metal Beast
Greatest riff ever laid down on vinyl.
Absolute dynamite 🧨
The woeful and bewilderingly popular Guns'n'Roses pinched the riff for their insipid track, Paradise City. Zero The Hero has always been a personal fave.
Oh wow
Slash has admitted that GnR's Paradise City is directly influenced by Zero the Hero. Cool tidbit.
WHAT!?!??
Apparently something went wrong during the mastering of the album. There's a bootleg unfinished mix of the album out there that sounds muich cleaner. Last i heard the tapes were thought to be lost but were recently recovered. It absolutely could use a remix.
one of sabbaths best albums..so intense and heavy
Love this album. The guitar riff is so damned heavy.
I was 16 when that album came out, I absolutely loved it!
Wow! Been so long since Ive listened to this track. First concert i saw. Unfortunatly Bill Ward wasnt touring on drums. Bev Bevan from ELO did the tour.
had forgotten about the groove of this tune & now it will be groovin in the head for days to come : )
Despite how it was received at the time, Born Again is a solid Sabbath album. Zero the Hero is as sinister as anything they've done. I wonder if bands like Soundgarden heard this? You can hear the influence on their early stuff like BadMotorFinger...
The solo is out of this world
You should try "Disturbing the Priest" from this album. Bill Ward uses some Polyrhythms and was using 20 different pieces of percussion by the end. To get the full impact of the drums, though, check out the unmixed demo version.
Can't wait till we get to Disturbing the Priest, possibly the heaviest track ever.
You have to listen to "Disturbing the Priest", imo THE best Black Sabbath song. The whole album is great! 🍻
2:15 another mindblower... live they had Bev Bevan from E.L.O on drums to replace Bill. Into the tour Bev bacame more and more acuainted witht he bandmembers and Toni Iommi in an interview said he hoped Bev would stay ijn the bnd.
Best Sabbath album. The production is perfect for the music...really gives that evil vibe that sits perfectly with the album cover and band photos. Born Again, the song, is arguably the best song Sabbath ever wrote in my opinion.
When Gillan heard the mix, he said the threw the tape out of the car window.
I wish he'd done that before it was pressed! And then fired the engineer and remixed.
Joe Elliott of Def Leppard threw the tape out of his car window not Ian Gillan.
@@richardhincemon just quoting Gillian
“I didn’t break it; I threw it out of the window of my car [laughs]. Look, I was disappointed, I didn’t have the mentality of all the guys in Black Sabbath.
@@paulhudson563So Ian Gillan is responsible for losing the master tapes of the Born Again album after all lol 😆 . Black Sabbath were on tour when the album was released in August 83 and Robin Black was left in charge of the final mixing of the tapes ! I bought the album when it was released and it sounded awesome on my Kenwood 100 watt receiver, Thorens turntable and Infiniti speakers back then. The live show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta was phenomenal too . Nobody was complaining about the production of the album it's the music that matters and Born Again is a heavy metal masterpiece. Cheers 🍻
@@richardhincemon 🤣🤣. No he said he had a cassette of the album. Jesus, i'm only repeating what he said 🤷
For me the title track is streets ahead of anything else on the album. We are hopeful of an Iommi remaster of this strange album in the near future.
Iommi was at the peak of his improv-adjacent guitar lyricism around this time. Also see the very underrated Seventh Star and in particular the tune “Heart Like a Wheel.”
The mighty Bill Ward 🤘❤
In my opinion, this was the only song on the album where it clicked. It wasn't until listening to it in this video that it struck me how much this song would be right at home on a Soundgarden album. This came out around the same time those guys were playing their first shows for 3 people, and this is precisely the type of music they were trying to bring out of the underground in the late 80s.
definitely need to check out the full album. Bill Ward's entrance in Hot Line is pretty solid. I absolutely love the guitar solo in Keep It Warm.
So cool to be able to enjoy music and musicians with all these great people. Great work Andrew. Great video as always.
Oh yeah, saw this last night. Glad I hit the notification
According to an interview I read with Cozy Powell,
Tony Iommi has grocery bags full of cassette tapes that are full of Iommi riffs. \m/\m/
WTF!?
Trashed is definitely my favorite track off the album.
Saw Sabbath live on this tour. It was impressiv😮😊
Great request, Costas! (The title is Zero the Hero.) Ian GILL-ann. Yes, Andrew, all Black Sabbath riffs and music is basically Tony Iommi, my music hero. This mix (along with tons more radio play) is one of the big reasons Ward doesn't get the credit that Bonham got. As for the mix and sound, I think Iommi became distracted by trying to replicate the "drugged out" sound and vibe of Volume 4. Iommi is the greatest song writer for riffs ever. He never ran out of ideas, and this is yet another great example. Between Deep Purple and Rainbow (Ritchie Blackmore's "new Deep Purple"), Black Sabbath had Dio, Gillan, and Cozy Powell.
Robin Black who mixed the Sabotage studio album was left in charge of the Born Again tapes while Sabbath went on tour before the release of the album in September 83 . Bill Ward has stated that he loves the production of Born Again.
I saw this tour with Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath even performed "Smoke on the Water" as an encore, which actually wasn't that bad! Quiet Riot was the opening act! This album is very underrated , it has many great songs, including "Digital Bitch", which I think was a video at the time!
Smoke on the water is a GREAT song!
My first concert was this tour
DISTURBING THE PRIEST . É UMA DAS MELHORES DESSE ÁLBUM.
The rumour say`s that after the mixing of the album, Gillan, who went to a vacation, was fury by the the sound when he heard it.
Love this song and the steady groove! However if I had to go with a song that really showcases Bill’s chops it would have been “The Fallen” or “Trashed”
The first time I heard Paradise City, by G&R, the guitar/bass groove reminded me of this tune. It still does, every time... ☺
It's the same riff. And Paradise City came out only 4 years after this.
Sooo heavy… sooo badass… Bill Ward is the GOAT!
You nailed it my friend.
GREAT pick
I love Bill's grace note work on the snare in this tune - I just wish it was a little clearer. This is actually one of my favorite Sabbath records outside of V4, SBS, & Sabotage.
FYI - the master tapes for this album were lost for decades. They've been found and Tony wants to remaster this - he's been saying that since the day it was released. I hope it happens!
Thanks for picking up on some of the incredible snare work buried in the mix!
Yup I struggled to hear that TBH.
Crying shame
That tour featured a full size Stonehenge set on stage. Which inspired the Stonehenge gag in the Spinal tap movie.
Always loved bills drums. On this song which is my fave on the album ive learned to sync into to just them. I love when that dun nun du du nun nun du nun nun comes in from Tonys solo.
Iommi is remixing tbe album. No one especially Ian Gillian liked the mix.
Add me to that list.
Bill Ward stated that he loved the production of Born Again album .
This song just better every time I play it. I play it every day.
I'm going to throw out the suggestion of adding Anno Mundi from the album Tyr. Cozy Powell was drumming at this time and I think decided to just go a bit nuts on this album.
I had this album on tape many years ago. It was on my constant driving set for years until it got stolen from my car along with a whole box of other tapes in the mid '90's.
Got the bonus t-shirt with it when I bought it. Wore the t-shirt until it fell apart!
Showing up to this show, expecting to see Bill Ward for the first time (no internet back then) was hugely disappointed that he wasn't on that tour. But I was very relieved to see they got the drummer from ELO to cover.
Out of the dozen different drummer I've seen play War Pigs, Bev Bevan is second only to Bill. If you can find a live version with him, I'd recommend a listen.
Zero the hero is one of my favorite and most haunting songs from Sabbath. I was really looking forward to what was next with them and Ian. But, alas, Deep Purple decided to get back together, so sadly, No more music from the Ian Sabbath team.
Slash is on video somewhere in the wilds of TH-cam saying he copped the riff for "Paradise City" in part from this song, just changed the tempo.
I've always said this but didn't know Slash had admitted to it. Good for him being transparent.
What a dude. Slash is one of the good ones!
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but Cannibal Corpse did a great cover of this song.
Their version is already a classic.
It's funny to see one of the instruments Tony plays on this is the flute. I know he has played it on other albums but a flute seems like the last thing to expect when listening to this song.
When this released the first thing which struck me was the writing style difference between side one and side two. One is Black Sabbath all the way while side two felt like Sabbath playing Deep Purple songs. What a great pick up captured for 'eternity'.
Such a heavy riff. "Murky" and eeevil!
So glad you finally got to this album.. I've mentioned it in the comments many times... This was a killer concert... Ian actually did Ozzy songs really good...
Sabbath, Rainbow and Purple had interchangeable pieces.
Best metal album cover ever.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to hear Ward perform this song live - he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself and would get drunk and did not go on tour, Bev Bevan played instead. This, of course, did not help Bill and he still started drinking. As for the mix, the master tapes, which were considered lost, have been found and Iommi has promised to do a remastering. I hope this happens before I end up in a nursing home. And I'm 53.
This is a straight banger. We need a proper mix
The band Clay People does a very interesting cover of this on the Eternal Masters tribute to Black Sabbath album.
🤘🧙♂️🤘
Dude.. I love The Clay People... No one even knows who they are... Your the first person I've ever seen comment about them... They deserve a lot more recognition than they get...
Andrew,if you're interested in such things the master tapes for this album were lost for years but recently found so it is on Tony's bucket list to remix
GOTTA DO IT!
Hi, Andrew. Great commentary. Beyond that I can't write much about that particular song or the entire album, for that matter. It's just a reminder to me that the era of Sabbath is over.😢🖤💀
I’ll have to throw this song into my DAW with Ozone 11 and use the rebalance feature to bring up the drums.
Their song structure does simplify in the later albums such that they are regular songs as opposed to seemingly being medleys of ideas masterfully put together. Like in Iron Man I lost track after noticing 12 distinctly different sections.
This riff reminds me of Paradise city. I knoe Danzig plays this without hiding it. 🎸
There are some classics (like this one) on Born Again, even if it's a patchy album overall. You'll also appreciate the Tony Martin era stuff if you get that far, with Cozy Powell on the skins.
One of the favourites after the Ozzy era, even if Dehuminazer is the best, this still influenced me to start my own band Wísolk.
Q: How many riffs have you created?
Tony Iommi: Yes
One of Tony’s darkest, meanest, sludgiest riffs ever. My favourite post Ozzy riff by him. As you say though Andrew, Bill’s drums should be much louder.
Apparently, none of the band were happy with the mix.
Fun fact: Guns & Roses nicked this riff for Paradise City.
Incredible groove.
This song is MEAN AS FUCK.
The riff is in your face
Saw them on this tour, it was my first concert. Unfortunately Bill only played a few gigs before leaving the band again. Bev Bevans from ELO finished the tour.
Bill lost his sobriety on the last day at The Manor Studios. He declined to tour because of this and dud not play a live note. Iommi recruited friend Bev Bevan who played all the dates on the tour.
According to Ian Gillan, this album+tour were 'a one year long party' - but he obviously wasn’t comfortable playing Ozzy and Dio songs live.
The album he remembered as being great but, quote, 'when I saw the cover i puked, and whenI heard the final mix i puked again'...
The sound is unreasonably muddy, and it was always said themaster tapes were lost
Bill sadly left again and didn’t play the tour - he had anxiety about going out again and might have relapsed at that time, i'm not sure...
Yes, Bill relapsed on the last day at Manor Studios & took himself out of any touring commitments.
I always thought Sab were heavily influenced by their vocalist. With Ian Gillan, they sounded somewhat like Purple. With Dio, they sounded like Dio. With Glenn Hughes, it wasn't Sabbath at all. With Tony Martin, it was sort of Eighties Middle of the Road Metal. With Ozzy, it was always Black Sabbath. Don't get me wrong, I like all of their incarnations. But they were sort of a chameleon in this regard.
Saw this tour.
Check out born again and disturbing the priest off this album.
Reminds me of her black wings by danzig
Oh, good little kitty. Sample kittys snoring/purring, then loop it, for blast beat backing track...how many beats per minute?😸
TBH, you can hear Bill Ward's drums better on the unmixed "Manor Studio" demos for this album. Still not the greatest sound quality, but the unmixed versions are far better overall than the finished product, IMHO. The band were horrified when they heard the final product (allegedly) as they were originally very happy with the recordings.
Lol thats what she said, alright! Ya, this whole album is dirrrrty sounding, but the mix was a bit off, and many think thats why it didnt sell very well. Im curious to hear what you think of that QOTSA song, now :) one of absolute faves of theirs, and also a very dirty sounding song, with drums that are a bit buried. Drums are pretty basic on that track, but its a great song!
ANDREW- If you liked the song, you will LOVE the video!! PLEASE tell me you got to see it, the CREEPIEST/AMAZING rock video ever!!! A LOT of heavy hidden meaning in the video!
My have this on LP and CD. Not the best recording, but very cool. Only non-Ozzy iteration I like. My favorite song is the title track. Ian's voice kills!!
5:17 Speed the riff up a little and you have Paradise City ;)
...but there was NO! Tequila!!
would have been great if Ian wasn't in a drunken state at this point in his career. A Living Legend.
To me this is just not as good as other Sabbath stuff. Not bad. Compare to War Pigs for instance? No.
Cannibal Corpse did a cover of this
Was that bill ward or tommy Aldridge
Bill
this album was savaged by critics. also it had tour plagued with issues. They had a Stonehenge prop that was too large for the stage (which the movie Spinal Tap epically mocked by having a Stonehenge so small that they had midgets dancing around it and they were larger than the Stonehenge model). and its cover was voted one of the worst ever. but it has really grown as a classic sabbath album. zero the hero has one of the darkest riffs they ever did. the production is muddy as hell.and Gillan may not have been the perfect fit as Deep Purple isn't really metal. But they came up with some truly heavy songs. I just wish it was produced a bit better. And yes, the drums are buried in the mix.
But critics were totally wrong on this one.I actually prefer this to most of the Dio era Sabbath (sacrilege, I know)
Andrew - the mixing of this album has always been a bug bear the original tapes were "lost" for a long time only recently turned up Tony has talked about fixing the mix now he has the tapes
This mix is horrid. Ian Gillian tossed the cassette out of his car when he heard it. If you want to react to anything off this album, please use the "demos" version you can find on TH-cam. Much better. Even Gillan likes those better.
They hated the mixing as well as the "artwork"!
And if I read on the album right that time, Ward had something to do with the mixing works.(?!?)
No, the band left the studios pleased as punch with the results and left it to get mixed. Bill went right into rehab. They where all horrified with the mix that went out on the record and cassettes as 'final product'. Luckily the lost master tapes have recently been found! We all await this remaster!!!
The mix on that album is garbage. Tony says they left to go on tour (with Bev Bevans from ELO on drums) and the album's rough mix sounded better than any album they'd ever done. They got back and the album was already going to print and the whole mix was ruined and overly compressed, etc, but too late for them to fix.
Tony has the masters and is currently working on a remix for release in the next couple years.
Massive letdown when i first heard this LP when it came out. Sounded like they'd strapped pillows over all the studio mics before they recorded it.
The mix is notoriously bad on this album. As someone else stated, the mix probably sunk the album. This has always been the most underrated sabbath album to me. Tony says the remix is coming. He just got done remixing the Dio years.
Antonio GU STEVE HARRIS TH-cam
The mix isn't good indeed.
In fact when the band heard the final product, they were horrified at the muffled mix
In his autobiography Iommi said that Gillan inadvertently blew a couple of tweeters in the studio speakers by playing the backing tracks too loud and nobody noticed. "We just thought it was a bit of a funny sound, but it went very wrong somewhere between the mix and the mastering and the pressing of that album...the sound was really dull and muffly. I didn't know about it, because we were already out on tour in Europe. By the time we heard the album, it was out and in the charts, but the sound was awful."
And it's a coincidence but in 2021, Tony Iommi claimed that the original master tapes, long thought lost, had been found and that he was considering remixing them for an eventual release.
It was the last album Bill Ward ever recorded with Sabbath except for the bonus tracks he recorded for the live album Reunion, He also didn't tour for the album because he had entered a rehab facility in order to treat his alcoholism.
He was replaced by Bev Bevan of ELO