20131 keeper
keeper avg .125
After a career with a surprising amount of variety and experimentation the impulse to "bring it on home" with a return to basics isn't that surprising. A little repetition wouldn't be such a bad thing is there were better songs or at least riffs that demand attention, but there is little of the caliber of "Snowblind" or "Children Of The Grave." Musically at least, opening track "End of the Beginning" is little more than a slight re-write of the eponymous opening track from the debut album, while "Loner" is just "N.I.B." recycled. Indeed a lot of the album gives me the feeling I've heard a better song much like it before. Given these limitations there are some good bits: The almost 9-minute "God Is Dead" at least starts on a good note, and its drone-y arpeggiated riff played with some subtlety, and "Zeitgeist," a re-write of "Planet Caravan", is also played with polish and skill. And the second half of the album generally seems to stand on its own better; Iomi's galloping main riff of "Live Forever" is heavy but energetic, and pulling back the distortion gives his guitar a pleasing growl on the bluesy "Damaged Soul." Interestingly, "Dear Father,"**** the closing track, is the one track that holds together well as a song, the melodic but forbidding chorus being one of the best moments on the album. As if to highlight the album's connection to Sabbath's earlier work "Dear Father" also bookends the band's entire discography by ending the same as it began 43 year prior, with the sounds of church bells and rain.
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