Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Black Sabbath
Label: EMI Records
Release: 2013
Duration: 53:18
Rating: 4.5/5
The legendary patriarchs of heavy metal Black Sabbath, in an (almost) classic lineup, have risen from the dead with a new studio album, fittingly for their gloomy reputation titled »13«, even though it looked like they’d lie in a premature grave forever, where they were nearly sent by the countless whims of their notorious (original) singer Ozzy Osbourne, who spent the last decade devoting himself to an increasingly obsessive solo career and to a reality show about the most dysfunctional heavy metal family around, one that’s insulting to brain cells everywhere. Of course, Ozzy wasn’t the only one to blame for the delay: the rest of the band also ran into plenty of trouble over the past decade, which is hardly a surprise for a group that most people still believe is haunted by some almost sinister curse.
The pioneers of heavy metal started sketching out the first seeds of »13« – incidentally their first studio album with Ozzy since »Never Say Die!« (1978), their first with bassist Geezer Butler in the lineup since »Cross Purposes« (1994), and their first studio Black Sabbath effort since »Forbidden« (1995) – soon after the live album »Reunion« (1998), which was recorded in the original lineup with drummer Bill Ward. Ward, long known for being unpredictable, recently decided over absurd bureaucratic wrangling about signing a contract that he wouldn’t take part in the classic lineup’s reunion, so American Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) stepped in as guest drummer, which, as expected, irritated plenty of old-school fans who’d been hoping for a full studio return of the classic lineup.
The other three patriarchs of heavy metal, led by guitar god Tony Iommi, the only member who played in every incarnation of the band, have spent the last few years busily polishing new studio material, with the legendary producer Rick Rubin (Metallica, AC/DC, The Mars Volta and a whole bunch of others) handling production. Rubin made sure Iommi’s distorted guitar tone is front and center in the mix, which makes it somewhat akin to the approach of the ‘golden’ seventies, since »13« is a stylistic return to the standards of classic Ozzy-era Black Sabbath, with the ‘flaw’, of course, that Ward is missing from the drum stool. Wilk did a decent job on »13«, but plenty of people will still miss the aforementioned drumming legend and his distinctive style. That shortcoming is the main reason »13« doesn’t quite reach the creative summit, but it’s still a very good album, one that can be ranked among Sabbath’s best work and is certainly the best thing they’ve done with Ozzy since »Technical Ecstasy« (1976). That fact alone is reason enough to call »13« one of the bigger studio surprises of 2013 and one of the most exciting ‘comeback’ albums of the year, right alongside »The Next Day« from David Bowie. Rubin’s production may be a touch too ‘polished’ for the classic seventies Sabbath sound, but that will only bug the most hardcore sonic purists.
Old cat Butler, with a little help from Ozzy, made sure the lyrics on »13« are pretty typical, ‘Sabbath-style’ stuff, meaning they’re more or less tinged with post-apocalyptic themes, in the spirit of our times (the zeitgeist), while in their ‘mature years’ they’ve preferred to drop the occultism, probably because after all these decades all three members are thoroughly sick of the countless unfounded links to assorted satanic societies. Only two lyrics on »13« are even slightly ‘blasphemous’: »God Is Dead?«, and even that one is full of questions stemming from Nietzsche’s famous philosophizing, and »Damaged Soul«, which mentions the prince of darkness. Most of the other lyrics, such as »Dear Father«, a critique of church hypocrisy, are packed with sharp social barbs aimed at organized religion, the terror of science, and other bringers of death.
The opener »End of the Beginning«, the album’s second single and a veritable leap into a time machine, has all the sonic ingredients that made Black Sabbath famous in the early seventies: Iommi’s punchy, mighty guitar phrasing, slow, rolling rhythms that help build the distinctly gloomy atmosphere, and Ozzy’s mischievously creepy vocal approach. That vocal is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the whole album, because there’s no trace of the motor-atrophied zombie who spent the last decade as little more than a puppet of his witch of a wife and made his last few solo albums in a corporate, MTV-blessed way, as faceless, plastic, assembly-line products. Ozzy once again sounds like that slightly naive, confused young man from the early seventies who stumbled by chance into a dark, post-apocalyptic world he can’t find a way out of.
»God Is Dead?«, which also came out as the album’s first single, is soaked in a dark post-apocalyptic, almost morbid atmosphere, the kind that prevails through most of the album. The mood is set by Iommi’s brutal and utterly distinctive guitar phrase, which runs from start to finish, so the whole thing is wrapped in total blackness. Ozzy’s vocal, as it should be, sounds paranoid and wicked, especially in the »God Is Dead« chorus. After a fairly repetitive but atmospherically powerful central motif, it moves on into a sarcastic-tinged section where you can also hear some guitar and bass improvisation.
»Loner«, too, where for the first time on the album you can hear a few subtler moments amid the hellish guitar phrasing and Ozzy’s fury, could easily slot onto any of their first seven studio albums. The lyrics, just for kicks, even include Ozzy’s traditional »All right now«, while maestro Iommi occasionally wows with a short but tasty solo. The somewhat psychedelic and lyrically totally post-apocalyptic »Zeitgeist«, with its dreamy, ‘spacey’ atmosphere in the style of Bowie’s evergreen »Space Oddity« and subtle acoustic guitar chords, instantly recalls the »Paranoid« classic »Planet Caravan«, which will surely delight all the eternal romantics. »Age of Reason«, where Mr. Iommi again shines with scorching yet witty guitar phrases, delights in all its brutal grandeur, and with its sudden, subtle guitar arrangements in the background it recalls a bit of a »Sabotage«-style effort. The sudden tempo change in the middle section sounds especially interesting, with Wilk also proving himself through massive drum transitions.
»Live Forever«, dominated by slow, rolling rhythms, is sonically reminiscent of the unforgettable »Master of Reality« staple »Children of the Grave«. Ozzy’s black-shrouded fatalism, which carries the eternal question of the afterlife, fits the gloomy, dramatic mood perfectly. »Damaged Soul« is one of the most fun experiments on »13«, and thanks to its many bluesy improvisations on guitar and harmonica it recalls their beginnings, or some forgotten piece from the self-titled Black Sabbath debut. The lyrics couldn’t be more Sabbath-style, with the protagonist torn between God and the devil. Even though, like most of the album’s tracks, it runs close to eight minutes, it doesn’t sound boring or drawn out for a second. The closing track on the regular, standard edition of the album, »Dear Father«, is a sharp reckoning with the Catholic Church’s pedophile hypocrisy, and amid crunchy guitar phrases and melodic bass lines it packs in a whole series of subtle arrangements, while Ozzy’s vocal hasn’t sounded this shattering and sincere in the role of the ‘victim’ in a very long time. The track ends exactly where it all began in 1970 – with a thunderstorm and the tolling of a church bell heralding the intro to Black Sabbath – so the circle is closed. You simply couldn’t have picked a better ending for the regular part of the album.
The special edition of »13« with the bonus disc is full of goodies, since all three bonus tracks are completely on par in quality with the regular material. »Methademic« opens with a subtle acoustic intro before quickly morphing into one of the heaviest and, surprisingly, fastest-paced Black Sabbath creations with Ozzy. Black Sabbath rarely sounded this ‘sped up’ in the seventies, which makes it especially interesting, while the lyrics touch on a topic Ozzy knows very well: the abuse of all sorts of intoxicating substances. No less interesting is the furious and gloomy »Peace Of Mind«, which takes a surprising, melodic turn in the middle section, while »Pariah« is the incarnation of all the best Sabbath sonic elements and would surely rank among the best tracks on the regular edition of the album.
On »13«, Black Sabbath sound like they just climbed out of the grave, invented a time machine, and zipped back to the seventies, when their final resting place was still freshly dug. Anyone who wrote off the ‘metal granddads’ long ago will now have to admit they haven’t sounded this good in a very long time, which is a truly magnificent achievement for guys who, at their age, could be playing chess in the park at a retirement home and have long since accomplished everything they could in their musical careers. After more than three decades, they’ve made an album that in many ways marks a return of the classic ‘doom & gloom’ sound, yet is at the same time completely different from all the Ozzy albums of the seventies. At the same time, one of the rare bands that can be credited with inventing a whole new musical genre has also given a good lesson to plenty of self-proclaimed successors, modern bands that have little serious connection, musically speaking, to the genuine, heartfelt heavy metal of a far more romantic era. Even if this turns out to be their last studio album, which, given that Tony Iommi has been seriously ill for some time, is sadly fairly likely, they’ve bowed out in the best possible way – in the style of true rock legends – and so closed the unfinished circle.
Lineup
Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica
Tony Iommi – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Geezer Butler – bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Brad Wilk – drums, percussion
Production
Rick Rubin
Track List
1. End of the Beginning
2. God Is Dead?
3. Loner
4. Zeitgeist
5. Age of Reason
6. Live Forever
7. Damaged Soul
8. Dear Father
