Black Sabbath: 13

Ozzy and Sharon had nothing to do with Ward not bring involved in Heaven & Hell. Pretty sure Ozzy and Bill have always gotten along.

Also, heart attacks aside, there was another serious issue during the Reunion era in 97. Ward was to play drums on both new tracks. He laid down "Psychoman" but:

"Selling My Soul uses a drum machine. Bill’s laid down track was deemed “too out-of-time”, so they used a drum machine instead." - Black-Sabbath.com

Looking at Ward's credits in Allmusic, it seems the last full album he was credited for playing drums on was Born Again.

Looks like 13 is their first #1 album in the U.S. ever: http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=191498. And last week QOTSA was #1, crazy!

http://www.black-sabbath.com/images/13_mo_frontpage.png

I think this is really exciting. Talk about Doom finally getting its due!

this is a really good record. I like the heaven and hell album but I prefer this; certainly think it's the best 'sabbath' album since mob rules, and on par with never say die and technical ecstasy, if not better. pretty amazing because there was every reason to believe it would be dogshit.

whaaaaaat

better than heaven & hell? dude.

better than the Heaven & Hell band album, not the Black Sabbath Heaven & Hell album.

lol I was gonna say

it's arguably better than the H&H BS album though. I'm not a massively huge Dio fan. I like those records but I conceptually consider them a totally different thing.

Also: you have to hear the bonus tracks (the best buy 4), they are as good or even better than much of the record. No reason they weren't integrated into the rest of the album.

I'd say it's more approachable than The Devil You Know, but certainly not as heavy or free of baggage. I love both in different ways, and would agree that they both represent the best Sabbath since at least Born Again. Dehumanizer has some great cuts, but not a solid album front to back.

No reason they weren't integrated into the rest of the album.

Nah, I think they were left off for pretty decent reason. Not that I dislike them, quite the opposite, some of them are my favorite of the whole 13 package, but I don't think they fit the obvious nod they wanted to make to their first handful of records. The faster material didn't quite fit into the vibe. I do think they could've been integrated in a way that really made a possibly "better" album, but I like them as a separate piece too.

heard a few of these on the radio today, not that bad!

a hell of a lot better than that van halen "return to form" album from last year (which i tried hard to like, but dd shit all over).

enjoy 13, but it's a bit antiseptic, right? which may be to say that i miss bill :(

Yeah, Wilk is way, way too precise and robotic in his drumming, I'll concede that as a pretty significant flaw to the album. But I think Iommi just kicks so much ass all over this record that it makes up for it.

ok i'm gonna get through this album this time!

zeitgeist trying to some planet caravan action, which i didn't expect

these songs. why soooooo long?

I agree about Wilk, but at the same time, isn't that the job he was hired to do? If he was off the rails like Ward or pushing a creative agenda, he would have been fired. It's a catch 22, and not a good one. At least he does a good job of keeping out of the spotlight.

That's a fair point, but I still would've liked to hear him loosed up a little. As I mentioned in either this thread or the metal thread, I thought Tommy Clufetos filled in really well at Lollapalooza last summer, not flashy enough to distract but brought some heft.

I think it's probably hard to play loose when you're sitting in a room with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Rick Rubin.

But we definitely agree. That would have made it a better record. But we are speculating. In the real world, I think he did EXACTLY what he was hired to do, which was to be a drum machine that swings.

There are perfect tom rolls that are missing the sound of sticks clicking together or hitting the rim or having any dynamics at all. Sure would have been nice, but it doesn't ruin the album for me. And I'm a drummer.

At the risk of taking over this whole thread, here's my final word on the subject.

http://www.cvltnation.com/the-end-of-the-end-black-sabbath-13-review/

great read, thanks nate

convinced me, at least, to check out the heaven & hell album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfUimq2KeI&feature=player_embedded

what i don't get is, why is nietzsche eating that spaghetti

Both Heaven & Hell recordings are fantastic. One mediocre song per set, and otherwise all killer.

good write-up Nate.

Have to say, I was uber-pumped to hear new Sabbath blasting on the speakers at the credits for This is the End. This didn't turn out to be the middling release as an excuse to tour that I feared it would be.

It took me three listens to begin appreciating it as more than a curiosity, but there it was!

Yeah. It's no Sabotage, but it does rock. And I'll find the songs stuck in my head hours later.

man you guys are making me want to give this another chance

Dude, it's a fucking Black Sabbath album. You were gonna listen to it once and walk away? I don't even know why your parents acknowledge you.

Very good write up, Nate. Definitely convinced me to buy the record.

Dude, it's a fucking Black Sabbath album. You were gonna listen to it once and walk away? I don't even know why your parents acknowledge you.

― 誤訳侮辱, Sunday, June 30, 2013 6:04 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i wonder the same thing all the time

(and this is sounding better on a second run)

Never did make it through ended up listening to sabbath bloody sabbath

I think it's probably hard to play loose when you're sitting in a room with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Rick Rubin.

Do we even know if he was in the same room?

there were some "making of" videos of them recording prior to the release that showed them set-up in the same room, unless that was staged

They might have rehearsed together in the same room (with cameras rolling), but there is no fucking way they made this album with everyone in the same room jamming together, not with everything that's at stake from a label perspective.

Even if they weren't in the room, they were certainly sitting on his shoulder. And I'm sure cameras were rolling the whole time, too.

('don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up ....")

I'm surprised Rubin didn't ask Chad Smith.

From the looks of those "making of" videos, Rick Rubin was just doing what Corey Taylor from Slipknot was complaining about. Lying down with a microphone so he didn't have to get up.

Chad Smith was actually quoted as being PISSED that he didn't get this gig.

I would say this thing is "ok" but it doesn't hold a candle to the classic ozzy -era stuff. Never Say Die blows it away. This is almost a parody of early (70-71) Sabbath

gosh we've missed u

how's it been going

Pretty well! Sorry I missed hockey season. You guys wouldn't have enjoyed me on there anyway! Great playoffs though no matter who won.

BILL!!! you came back!!!

<3

How are you alive

should we be looking for pieces of Hungry4Ass on Peachtree?

Honestly i think Hungry4Ass is probably alive and well too. Cooler heads prevailed (at least mine did) and i went to the gym instead.

hi bill

i generally agree w/your take on this album

Hey there.

There seems to be a lack of inspiration. I'm gonna spin it a few more times to make sure, but the last one they made with Dio hooked me from the get-go. It's tough not to compare the two.

seeing them Monday. Clufetos is drumming apparently.

seen the setlist. For someone who's seen Sab w/ Ozzy before (ie, the prior reunions), absolutely zero surprises in the setlist (other than the new material being performed). For someone like me who hasn't....holeeeeeeey fuck.

When I saw that little video clip trailer of Sabbath in the studio recording, all in the dark with candles and low lights I thought "cool, they're trying to get a vibe going, awesome"

But then they would switch to clips of Rubin, listening to the takes in another room, with the windows open, fully sun lit, wearing shorts with no shoes on some sort of chaise lounge chair, sitting around like teenage girl on the phone talking about periods and boys... I thought there is no fucking way Rubin can produce the evil needed that is Black Fucking Sabbath. How does he have the gall to expect anyone to listen to him if he ain't at least acting like he's on the same page. It really bothered me. I'm pretty done with Rubin and his attempts to grab on to the glory of heroes and royalty still going for it.

Rubin is not the hero on this album. Iommi is. I still think everyone is comparing 13 to a preconceived notion of what they imagined it could be. Just like the Watchmen movie.

The reality is that this is WAY better than it could have been or ought to have been considering what any of these guys have done as solo artists in the last 25 years.

I'm more than satisfied, even if it's not perfect. All the songs are heavy, the leads are fantastic, and Ozzy is staying within his range. Will be tough to find another album this year with better songwriting, IMO.