I really did see this coming. After Dio's sad passing a few years ago I got the idea in my head that the original Sabbath Lineup would reunite (again) and take the place of the Mk II Sabbath lineup of Appice and Dio. It was just the perfect opportunity, and you got to remember that several years ago they already planned to record another album with the original 4 members. The plan was already made (with Rick Rubin as the producer, as originally planned) but it just took an miniature eternity for it to be acted upon, and now we have this; the first Ozzy led Sabbath song in 15 years, 35 if you only count the last album the lineup made together.
Do I have huge expectations of this album? No. I really don't. Will I actually buy it when it comes out? Probably. The Heaven and Hell album that was released in '09 was fantastic and the heaviest album ever made by men who are old enough to be my grandparents, so I'm confident in my belief that Toni Iommi's still got some great riffs in him, it's just that I'm mainly focused on the new and not the old. I'm not saying that I've lost respect for the old school of metal, hell, I listen to Judas Priest almost every day. But that's the thing, I'm listening to their OLD material. I almost don't care what that band puts out today (especially after that bloated, beyond cheesy double album they made back in '08 that left me throwing my hands up in the air, but that's besides the point) and the same goes for any old school band out there who releases new material decades after making their mark. You aren't really getting anything new with these deals, you're just getting the satisfaction of a band you loved in high school putting out a decent release that makes you reminisce of the days where all that mattered was beer, weed, and fast women-given that the album is actually decent. The results could be disastrous; the sound of a bunch of old men trying to capture an essence of youth and aggression that has long since gone away. That will just give you a pretty nasty taste in your mouth that will take a half a bottle of Listerine to wash out.
The new song "God is Dead?" is one of those decent efforts that I would expect from a band like this, so did this song disappoint me at all? Since I already stated that I didn't really have any great expectations of the album, the answer is no. I didn't hope for much and I didn't get much, so I can't be disappointed. There's nothing wrong with the song, though. The riffs are pretty strong although some of them come off as standard issue, and Ozzy's vocals are what you'd expect from the aging madman. I also have to mention that the song is almost nine fucking minutes long. I honestly hope that the whole album isn't over-stuffed with songs like this, in that case, Sabbath will become one of those classic metal bands who try to show "development" by writing lengthier songs (*COUGH* Iron maiden *COUGH*)
The lyrical content on this thing makes me roll my eyes, just like the disappointing reveal of the new album's cover art. For a band like Sabbath to come back after all these years to shout out "God is Dead" over and over is kinda tiring. Yes, you guys pioneered occult themes in music many years ago, we get it. But this song is a little tricky in a way. Notice how the song is called "God is Dead?" with a question mark. If you listen deeper into the lyrics on this thing (getting past the "God is Dead" refrain) you'll notice that he's actually acknowledging the existence of a god, but now that I think about it, they already did that on "After Forever" off the Masters of Reality album. So, like I mentioned earlier, we're not really getting anything new here, but why would we?
There was nothing bad at all about this new song, but nothing was really awesome about it either. I'll say that I liked it, and I'm still looking forward to the new album anyway, and I'll leave it at that.
7.3/10
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