Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Black Sabbath
Label: Vertigo Records
Release: 1987
Runtime: 42:42
Rating: 4/5
»The Eternal Idol« belongs among the most overlooked Black Sabbath albums, which is true of most of their work with the brilliant singer Tony Martin, who bailed out guitar legend Tony Iommi and company more than once when they found themselves in the middle of a creative and existential crisis, first in the mid-eighties and again in the early nineties. After the ill-fated »Seventh Star« (1986) tour, which was brought on by the sorry exit of famed singer Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze, Deep Purple), Iommi planned to build the new Black Sabbath around American singer Ray Gillen, bassist Dave Spitz, drummer Eric Singer and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls. Gillen, with whom they recorded a few demos for the new studio project »The Eternal Idol«, and Spitz didn’t last long in the band.
They were replaced by Tony Martin, whose vocal approach, slightly reminiscent of the band’s former frontman, the legendary Ronnie James Dio, proved to be an excellent choice, and by ‘old hand’ Bob Daisley (ex-Widowmaker, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Uriah Heep, Gary Moore), who also helped Iommi write some of the new songs. Even so, Iommi pulled an unforgivable move when he credited Spitz, who had long since stopped being a member of the band, with the bass lines in the album booklet. That’s surely the main reason Daisley, officially because of his commitments to Gary Moore, didn’t want to be part of the new Black Sabbath when it came time for the »The Eternal Idol« tour. Eric Singer also ‘bolted’ before the album even came out, so some of the drum parts were recorded with an old acquaintance, Bev Bevan (ELO), who became the touring drummer once again.
Even though the band was falling apart on Iommi during the recording of the album, »The Eternal Idol« ended up much better than you’d expect under those circumstances, especially with the Gillen material having to be re-recorded from scratch. Tony Martin, with his vocal charisma and authority blending perfectly with the mystical and enigmatic lyrics, brought a top-notch singing pathos and commitment that had been missing since the end of the Dio era, and he deserves most of the credit for putting Black Sabbath back on the right track with »The Eternal Idol«. Martin brought the refreshing energy the new Black Sabbath desperately needed, and he was heart and soul in it.
Keyboardist Nicholls deserves special praise too: his synths come even more to the fore than on »Seventh Star« and give individual songs an even bigger dose of mystique and epic grandeur. You can hear it right away on the opening energy catalyst »The Shining«, for which Black Sabbath shot a promo video, and which was partly inspired by the chilling novel of the same name by the famous writer Stephen King, as well as by the film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson. The mysterious intro, where the combination of Iommi’s unmistakable guitar phrases and mystical keyboard veils is thrilling, is followed by a shift into a punchy section of uncompromising passages and a peak in the epic chorus. The latter deepens the mysterious, dark and at the same time mighty atmosphere that marked most of the best Martin-era Black Sabbath songs.
»Ancient Warrior« is another excellent, overlooked song with a slight oriental flavor thanks to pentatonic scales, where the keyboard veils make a great backdrop for the traditionally scorching guitar phrases and Martin’s passionate vocal authority. »Hard Life to Love«, a track that can still appeal to all the Rainbow and Whitesnake fans out there, has a somewhat dirtier, hard rock approach that comes off surprisingly youthful for Black Sabbath, while Singer’s galloping drums give Martin’s vocal passion some lovely support. One of the most vivid moments on »The Eternal Idol« is undoubtedly the explosive »Glory Ride«, one of the highlights of the Martin-era Black Sabbath, where Iommi and company, pouring in the maximum of their instrumental and vocal skills, managed to create an epic, rousing chorus that classic heavy metal fans still lick their lips over. There’s also one of Iommi’s best solos on »The Eternal Idol«, which, as usual, are a chapter in themselves.
»Born to Lose« goes for a faster tempo, which Martin’s somewhat more irritated vocal fits, while Iommi’s guitar variations carry this solid but unexciting hard rock song off in a completely different direction. Nicholls’ intro to »Nightmare« sounds like the opening of some horror flick, after which it turns into a classic hard rocker at a slower pace that suits Martin’s heartfelt singing extremely well. The short, mystical-troubadour instrumental »Scarlet Pimpernel« is built on Iommi’s acoustic guitar and synth veils, and it’s slightly reminiscent of similar instrumental ventures from the ‘golden era’ (the first half of the seventies).
The energy bomb »Lost Forever« is driven by an accelerated rhythm and is one of those »The Eternal Idol« songs that were key to ‘rejuvenating’ the Black Sabbath sound. The title track, which also closes the album, sounds the most like classic ‘doom & gloom’ Black Sabbath of anything on the record, steeped in a fatalistic, gloomy mood and rolling rhythms, while Martin moves with remarkable feel between a subtle and a fired-up vocal performance to deliver an apocalyptic lyric. Not exactly a cheerful ending to the album, but you wouldn’t expect anything else from Black Sabbath.
»The Eternal Idol« was yet another major sonic rebirth for Black Sabbath, kicking off the next evolutionary phase with both Tonys in the lead roles. It also marked the start of the often overlooked trilogy of Black Sabbath albums (»The Eternal Idol«, »Headless Cross and »Tyr«) from the late eighties and early nineties, where each new record was an upgrade on the one before it. On the following Black Sabbath records, Martin also began to establish himself as a songwriter and lyricist, even though his status in the band was constantly under threat, since over the next few years Iommi increasingly yearned to lure Dio back into the band, which he (temporarily) did in 1991. Then Martin had to step back into the thankless role of a sort of ‘Dio’s stand-in’ on the scene, and given his modest nature, he didn’t lose much sleep over it.
Line-up
Tony Martin – vocals
Tony Iommi – guitar
Bob Daisley – bass guitar
Eric Singer – drums
Geoff Nicholls – keyboards
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Bev Bevan – percussion
Production
Jeff Glixman, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and Chris Tsangarides
Track list
1 The Shining (6:00)
2. Ancient Warrior (5:28)
3. Hard Life to Love (5:00)
4. Glory Ride (4:49)
5. Born to Lose (3:43)
6. “Nightmare (5:19)
7. Scarlet Pimpernel (Instrumental) (2:05)
8. Lost Forever (4:03)
9. Eternal Idol (6:33)
