Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There aren't many bands that get back together after several decades and succeed in recapturing in new songs the elements that made them successful in the first place - in fact, I can't think of any band that's done this (Led Zeppelin's 2007 reunion did, but with old songs). So, one of the first things Rick Rubin did when he got Black Sabbath together was to play them their first album, presumably in the hope that they could recapture the vibe that basically invented heavy metal. The good news for Sabbath fans is that they've come pretty close on what may be their last album. On a mix tape/playlist, the songs on 13 would sit pretty comfortably alongside the first four Sabbath albums - especially Black Sabbath and Paranoid. Songs on 13 are mostly medium-slow tempo and, with one exception, very heavy and unmistakably Black Sabbath. Rick Rubin should be congratulated for bringing out the best of these metal legends. Tony Iommi overcame his cancer treatment to prove he's still the riff-master, and I think his solos throughout the album are especially tasteful - no notes are wasted. Geezer Butler is still a monster on bass, as anyone who's seen him live recently would attest (Ozzy Osbourne gives him the highest compliment in the liner notes). Ozzy himself doesn't reproduce any of the high-pitched screams of the early days; rather he sticks to a lower register that would make it possible to reproduce these songs live during the current tour. Finally, while I'm sad to see Bill Ward didn't make it this far, Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) fits in perfectly - 'surprisingly well' according to Geezer in a Guitar World interview - and he doesn't try to be too fancy or too heavy. Here's my subjective song-by-song breakdown of 13. I don't claim it's right or that everyone will agree with me, but it's how I feel about the songs after a handful of listens. End of the Beginning: I didn't warm to this song instantly, though it's the second `single' from the album and they've played it live already. The simple opening riff reminds me of the opening to their self-titled classic - like a tolling bell and the fast section of the song - from the 2:20 mark is awesome. 7/10 God is Dead: this conveys a sense of menace from the get-go and I love the lyrics too. In fact I love everything about this song - Geezer's bass work near the end is fantastic. And it's not anti-God, so stay cool in the bible belt. 9/10 Loner: a bit more uptempo and more good lyrics. Teenage angst written by musos in their mid-60s - it shouldn't work. 8/10 Zeitgeist: This track starts with some manic laughter from Ozzy (is there any other kind?) and quickly settles into a spaced-out vocal accompanied by faint guitar and soft drums ..... Yes, this is Planet Caravan part 2, complete with another trans-galactic space travel lyric. This is another classic for laying back with the lights out with a drink or smoke of choice. I'm glad they included this softer track, just like those early classic albums. 9/10 Age of Reason: A killer track. Just a hint of an old song in one of the riffs (is it Hole in the Sky?) but just a hint - and it's a good thing. And the lyrics sum up all the troubles of the world in three verses - 'sustainable extinction, a fractured human race'. More teenage angst. Fantastic! 9/10 Live Forever: This starts out with a great riff but I feel a bit let down by the chorus - whatever-forever, die-lie. At least it doesn't go on too long. 6/10 Damaged Soul: Maybe this track succeeds best at time-travelling back to the late 60s. It's based on a simple, bluesey riff that reminds me a bit of latter Hendrix (the Blues album). Again, this is a good thing. 9/10 Dear Father: the closing song seems to be about the day of deliverance for child-molesting priests - a War Pigs for the church (Prayer Pigs?) 'Preacher of theocracy hiding your hypocricy under a false sanctity, holy phony empathy'' . This song ends with the thunder, rain and tolling bells that announced the opening of the first song they wrote (Black Sabbath), suggesting that those bad priests are going down, down, down (to borrow from Tom Waits) rather than to the pearly gates. 9/10 I recommend getting the bonus disc version if you can because those three tracks are well worthwhile. Methademic is (appropriately) the fastest song here, with Geezer's fingers and Brad Wilk's drumsticks working overtime - great lyrics and chorus too. Peace of Mind is just as good. Pariah isn't quite as good to my ears but that might be because I find the rhyming of pariah-messiah in the chorus irritating. As much as I like the first two songs, I can see why they kept them off the main album: their fast style is out of keeping with the album's medium-slow tempo (imagine sticking a 'Turn Up the Night' or 'Mob Rules' onto Master of Reality). So, overall this is a great, heavy Sabbath album that, surprisingly, stands up really well to their early work. Please note -I do not claim it is as good as those albums - rather that it's way way closer to them than we have any right to expect from a bunch of 65 year olds. And if it's their last they can be very proud of it. And fans can be grateful that they made it. I love it.