Tunes of Thunder - A Review of Black Sabbath's Headless Cross

The eighties have been a chaotic decade for doom and heavy metal legends Black Sabbath with multiple line-up changes and significant ups and downs in terms of consistency, legacy and quality. The decade has however ended on a most positive note with Headless Cross, the quartet's strongest output since Heaven and Hell at the very beginning of the same decade. This output convinces with catchy, heavy and memorable guitar riffs by Toni Iommi, dynamic, gloomy and rhythmic bass guitar sounds by underrated session musician Laurence Cottle, energetic, liberating and precise drum play by legendary Cozy Powell, atmospheric, playful and variable keyboard sounds by veteran Geoff Nicholls and diversified, enthusiastic and melodic vocals by Tony Martin who delivers the greatest performance so far in his stunning career.

The shining highlight of this excellent output is its worthy title track ''Headless Cross'' that is among the five greatest songs ever recorded by Black Sabbath in my humble opinion. This track opens with rhythmic drum patterns before gloomy bass guitar and electric guitar tones set in. The guitar riffs are atmospheric, memorable and powerful and thus sound flawless and timeless alike. The vocals are sinister yet melodic in the simple but efficient verses before becoming captivating and emotional in the tense pre-chorus and highly memorable chorus itself. The song further increases in quality in its excellent middle section with haunting keyboard sounds that seem to come straight from a horror movie soundtrack. This outstanding song is six and a half minutes long and not one single second is wasted here. If anyone asked me to present the perfect doom metal song, this is the track I would come around with. If you aren't familiar with this song yet or last listened to it decades ago, make yourself a present and enjoy this masterpiece in its remastered version at full volume.

The remaining tracks can't quite compete with this masterpiece or else this album would be considered not only record of the year but record of the decade. However, several other great songs deserve to be mentioned. "Devil and Daughter'' for instance comes around with memorable lyrics, catchy chorus and gripping sing-along passages that would work splendidly in concert.

"When Death Calls" is a truly sinister doom metal epic carried by a strong vocal performance and an excellent guitar solo by Queen's very own Brian May as this legendary song combines the greatest metal band and the greatest rock band of the seventies hailing from the United Kingdom.

The record's second half slowly decreases in quality but can still be considered good to very good doom metal other bands would crave to create. Even forgotten bonus track "Cloak and Dagger" convinces with rhythmic guitar riffs and liberating vocals that invite to dance and sing along. This song would have deserved a rightful spot on all regular editions of this wonderful album.

The most recent remastered version of this record does this excellent album justice and even improves its already great quality. This remastered version shows how to appropriately honour the original material while making it sound perfectly timeless with flawlessly executed contemporary technology. Other veterans who have released underwhelming remastered efforts should most certainly take note.

At the end of the day, Black Sabbath's The Headless Cross is one of the greatest doom metal records ever released and especially its title track is a masterpiece for the ages. It's wonderful that this album has recently been remastered and republished as many fans have been forgetting about or even overlooking this record for much too long. Purchase the wonderful boxed set Anno Domini 1989-1995 which includes four great Black Sabbath records released between the late eighties and the mid-nineties and blast The Headless Cross as loud as you can to enjoy it to the fullest.

Final Rating: 90%