Friday 7 June 2013

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK SABBATH - 13


'13’ heralds a very welcome return of the old-school signature sound reminiscent of 'vintage' Black Sabbath. The synths and theatrics have been stripped away to reveal just the right amount of light and pure darkness. That earthy essence is revealed on album opener ‘The End Of The Beginning’ with clean, sharp and youthful vocals from the great Oz but with a mature, deeper, confident twist. ‘God Is Dead' has a relentlessly melodic, Zen-like dark quality coupled with a somewhat amusing, quirky use of rhyming. 'Loner' is very infectious, the more you listen the more you want to. Echoes of ‘Planet Caravan’ can be heard within ‘Zeitgeist,’ proving that the old Black Magic is still very much alive. Sabbath are back to basics in no uncertain terms…  Like a good whisky age, depth, knowledge and experience will always produce 'true' class!

Amanda Gentle