Review by: Goth Brooks
Label: Divine/Priority Records
Track Listing:
Laughing Man In The Devil Mask – featuring
Henry Rollins
Meat – featuring Skin
Goodbye Lament – featuring Dave Grohl
Time Is Mine – featuring Philip Anselmo
Patterns – featuring Serj Tankian
Black Oblivion – featuring Billy Corgan
Flame On – featuring Ian Astbury
Just Say No To Love – featuring Peter Steele
Who’s Fooling Who – featuring Ozzy
Into The Night – featuring Billy Idol
Tony Iommi has been playing guitar for over
thirty years now, with the majority of that time being in Black Sabbath.
He had a short-lived stint in Jethro Tull, and also with Earth, which eventually
evolved into Black Sabbath. While playing guitar for that many years,
especially for a band like Black Sabbath, it was probably impossible for
Tony not to develop a signature sound. In the time that Black Sabbath
was without Ozzy, Tony was the main guy in Black Sabbath keeping the name
alive with different line-ups throughout the years that included members
as stellar as Glenn Hughes, Ronnie James Dio, and the late great Cozy Powell.
Tony never left what he helped to create with Sabbath for a spot as a guitarist
in another band. He has always been fiercely loyal to his Sabbath
roots. He has never done any guest appearances on other artists albums,
he has never formed another band outside the realm of Black Sabbath, and
until now has never recorded a solo album.
On his first solo outing the guitarist
has teamed up with a cast of vocalist that bring out some surprising new
elements in Iommi’s guitar playing, and teach this old dog some new tricks
in the process. Vocalists on this recording include the likes of
Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Dave Grohl, and Type O Negative’s Peter Steele.
And let’s not forget to mention Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne himself.
The solid power chords and electrifying leads are unmistakably Iommi’s
throughout this disc. It’s the vocalists who are the standouts on
this disc though. They take Iommi into new and undiscovered territory
from song to song here. Starting with Henry Rollins fiendish vocal
delivery on “Laughing Man (In The Devil Mask)” this CD just keeps setting
you up for one killer song after the other. “Goodbye Lament” with
Dave Grohl on vocals is probably the CD’s most radio friendly track although
it remains in content with the rest of the songs on the album and is something
that you’d expect from Iommi’s end of the spectrum, meaning the song is
still sufficiently dark, brooding, and ultra-heavy.
The Phil Anselmo guest track “Time is Mine”
is the most corrosively brain rotting and verbally abrasive track on this
disc, and is fueled by all the hate, rage, and anger we’ve come to expect
from Anselmo. Billy Corgan’s track “Sweet Oblivion” is a journey
into something along the lines of the heaviest material off of “Melancholy
and the Infinite Sadness” being sung by Billy trying his best to imitate
Ozzy. The weirdest thing about this though is that somehow it works.
This pairing up of Corgan and Iommi surprisingly produced what is the best
track on this disc in my opinion. Ozzy’s song “Who’s Fooling Who”
sounds exactly what one would imagine it to sound like. It’s a memorable
song, but it’s not like you can’t guess in advance what Ozzy and Iommi
are gonna sound like together. All the tracks are excellent, but
one of them just seems out of place compared to the rest. That track
being “Into The Night” with Billy Idol on vocals. “Into The Night”
is my least favorite here, and “Sweet Oblivion” gets my vote for the best
song on this disc. A killer effort from The Riffmaster God of Metal
guitar. A must buy for all you Black Sabbath, and Tony Iommi fans
out there.
Posted by slash:
when the hell did he play with Jethro tull, haha thats sweet.
Posted by Dreamy Rover:
So now here's an amazing album
by an amazing guitarist, who's among
the kings of heavy metal and other
things which are godlike.
A marvellous album, though a few
songs could have sounded better.
But this is a compilation of some
mind-blowing stuff, more radical than
the typical hip hop/rap/nu metal stuff
that's come up. Rappers, Pop stars (strippers
more likely) and other wastes of oxygen and their
pre-teen and teen audience, who don't know
the difference between Britney Spears, Jay Z and the hum
of a microwave, can shove it where the sun don't shine.
An artist's age or his appearance is NOT the key to
great music. It's his talent and mastery over a
musical art. You expect us to believe some
nincompoop like Snoopy Dogg is talented, who
can't even speak English properly. Tie the hands
of those idiotic rappers and DARE to listen
to the prodigy that is Black Sabbath, and Iommi, who's one
of the most talented guitarists of the world, a proper musician,
who's a proper musician. Grow up! You tonedeaf rap/hip hop/pop listening
morons!! This album is a heavy metal slap on the faces of such dunderheads.
Posted by Ji:
Limp Bizkit: Euphemism for boy band that plays a GM hybrid of 'music' that bastardises rock and rap. And what's with white rappers? Why can't they rap about something (anything) other than slapping their bitches (gay or otherwise?
Posted by I luv
KROKUS!: I never knew Iommi was in Jethro Tull
and i usually make it my business to know everything.
Posted by
ACE FRIJOLES: Odelay cavrone! who farted?
Posted by
The Flaturous Nomad Returns!: PFFFFFFTTT!!! CHARMING HANDJOB! REALLY
F*CKING CHARMING! YOU KISS YOUR MOTHER WITH THAT MOUTH?
Posted by
handjob: butt wipes and dingleberries and puss
fag slut homo butt gender type things
Posted by Crazy
Dave: what do i think? I think the song,"Pattens",
with Serj Tankian KICKS ASS. I love that song. The song with skin is pretty
damn good too. the one with Dave Grohl and the one with Henry Rolins are
a step below Patterns. the one with Billy Corgan kicks ass. the one with
Ozzy kinda sucked at first but grew on me, the whole f*cking cd rocks
Posted bySpeedy: I've worshipped at the altar of Black
Sabbath for years but just the fact that Tony Iommi would play with some
of these people makes it so I can't bring myself to buy this disc.
Posted byRapBlowsme: Buy a Black Sabbath album and learn to
type, yo
RapBcool
Yo who b Toni ioomi? Man he b like old
and shiit. Get wit the times and jam the hard shiit wit Limp Bizkit Yo.
SOD
You know it's funny but Corgan and Grohls
bands suck so much ass but when they team up with Tony they kick some ass.
Should tell them to stop writin music with their pussy's and get some balls
eh?
antiGUY
good comparison Dr Fever. I usually don't
care for Bily Corgan but he flat out rocked on that song. I think now that
the pumpkins are dead he might have found his real calling singing the
heavier stuff! The Dave Grohl song really grew on me, I didn't like it
the first few times I heard it and you're right the Phil Anselmo track
is killer. The other two tracks I really like are the Billy Idol one and
the Ian Astbury hell the whole damn thing rocks! And it wasn't what I expected
at all. This CD is worth a listen.
Dr Fever
I remember getting my hands on this thing
about a month before it hit the streets (working in radio definatly has
it's perks). I remember thinking then, and still think this, that this
album is the Metal equivalent of Santanas "supernatural". Except it won't
sell 13million plus. Anyway, this CD flat out rocks. My perosonal favs
are the Corgan track, the dave grohl track, and the track with God, oops,
I mean Phil Anselmo.
the max
This CD just blew me away. The song with
Serj Tankian deserves alot of praise as well...A great album.
Beavis
this is a pretty good disc but it didn't
have enough of the classic Sabbath sound in Tony's playing. Plus the Ozzy
track was a bit disappointing. My favs were with Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan,
Henry Rollins and Ian Astbury. I give it a 8 1/2
Nikki
I loved the billy Corgan song!
...end
