Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! (78)

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1 Never Say Die
2 Johnny Blade
3 Junior's Eyes
4 Hard Road
5 Shock Wave
6 Air Dance
7 Over to You
8 Break Out
9 Swinging the Chain

After quitting briefly following the band's previous tour, singer Ozzy Osbourne returned to Black Sabbath for 1978's Never Say Die! — an album whose unfocused songs perfectly reflected the band's tense personnel problems and drug abuse.

The title track kicks things off with a promising bang, but repeated listens quickly reveal its barely disguised lack of enthusiasm (also terribly evident on "Shock Wave" and "Over to You").

The saxophone-led (?!) "Breakout" goes absolutely nowhere, and many songs on the record sound strangely disjointed, especially "Junior's Eyes" and the synthesizer-heavy "Johnny Blade."

A pleasant surprise arrives in the very original and experimental "Air Dance," featuring tasteful piano flourishes from leading session keyboardist Don Airey.

Still, only Sabbath completists will find any redeeming value in this recording.

Black Sabbath – Forbidden (95)

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1 The Illusion of Power
2 Get a Grip
3 Can't Get Close Enough
4 Shaking Off the Chains
5 I Won't Cry for You
6 Guilty as Hell
7 Sick and Tired
8 Rusty Angels
9 Forbidden
10 Kiss of Death


When the most influential heavy metal band ever to have roamed the earth teams up with Body Count's Ernie C to try and inject new life into their sound, it should have been the signal to give up the ghost.

But poor Black Sabbath named an album Never Say Die because they meant it, and this sad album is a reminder of how dim even the brightest lights can get.

Where their last album was an uneven but pleasant return to form, this is just the band going through the motions.

"Get a Grip" takes its riff from Iommi's own "Zero the Hero" and totally wrecks it; "Can't Get Close Enough" is an awful power metal ballad; and "Shaking Off the Chains" might be the worst Tony Martin-fronted Sabbath song.

And that is a bold claim considering how awful Tyr was. "Illusion of Power" is the weirdest song, with Martin dueting with Ice T on a song that sounds much more like Body Count than anything Sabbath-related.

"Sick and Tired" is the only standout track; with its bluesy tempo and decent vocals, it sounds like Helloween performing a Cream song.

But considering the vast legacy behind the band, it is truly a sad state of affairs when their best material sounds like a mid-level power metal band. It is hard to pinpoint the worst Sabbath album, but this could be it.

With boring songs, awful production (from Ernie C), and uninspired performances, this is easily avoidable for all but the most enthusiastic fan.

As a side note, the reception to this album was so poor that Iommi cleared out the lineup, gave in, and finally reconciled with Ozzy Osbourne for their spectacular reunion tour.

Ozzy Osbourne - Just Say Ozzy [Live] (89)

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1 Miracle Man

2 Bloodbath in Paradise
3 Shot in the Dark
4 Tattooed Dancer
5 Sweet Leaf
6 War Pigs

This six-song mini-album contains live performances from the supporting tour for No Rest for the Wicked, featuring three songs from that album plus "Shot in the Dark."

The performances aren't that special, but longtime fans will want to note that there are also two Black Sabbath songs included with none other than Geezer Butler on bass.