{"id":30884,"date":"2013-07-22T11:36:48","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T16:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30884"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:55","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:55","slug":"black-sabbath-13-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/black-sabbath-13-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Sabbath | 13<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"BlackThe return of the (mostly) original lineup of the mighty Black Sabbath has been one of the bigger stories in metal recently, so the band\u2019s new studio album, titled 13<\/em>, has been eagerly anticipated. 13<\/em> is Black Sabbath\u2019s first studio album (depending on how you view Heaven & Hell\u2019s lone album) in 18 years and first with original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 35 years. Drummer Bill Ward is a notable absence, especially given his very public falling out with the band. Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk fills in here.<\/p>\n

Even without Bill Ward\u2019s presence, expectations were high going into 13<\/em>, and by and large Black Sabbath delivered. This is a band with a huge legacy to live up to, and both they and producer Rick Rubin seem to understand that. 13<\/em> goes straight back to the band\u2019s classic sound, emphasizing Tony Iommi\u2019s signature riffing, the heavy, grooving rhythms that inspired legions of imitators and yes Ozzy\u2019s unique vocal delivery. Given Ozzy\u2019s declining performances (both on stage and in the studio) in recent years, many fans were worried he\u2019d be the weakest link. Instead he turned in what has to be his best performance in recent memory, showing us the haunting prophet of doom we know from decades past rather the reality TV sideshow.<\/p>\n

Most of the songs on 13<\/em> could be placed easily on Master of Reality<\/em> or Sabotage<\/em>, especially the longer, riff heavy songs like \u201cEnd of the Beginning\u201d and \u201cAge of Reason.\u201d Songs like \u201cDamaged Soul\u201d and \u201cDear Father,\u201d with their plodding pace and total heaviness, harken back even further to the debut\u2019s sound and end the album on a somber note. Oddly enough, the album\u2019s first single \u201cGod Is Dead?\u201d is the only real dud on 13<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In the end, 13<\/em> is a more than worthy addition to the Black Sabbath legend. Given how many years have passed since those original albums, it\u2019s hard to rank 13 alongside them, but it\u2019s very unlikely to disappoint many long time Black Sabbath fans. The band didn\u2019t need an artistic triumph here or to redefine their legacy; they simply needed to do no harm, and they succeeded. The skeptics can relax, and the fans have another slab of heaviness to enjoy from the inventors of the whole genre.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: The standard version of 13<\/em> is an 8-song, single disc release. There is a deluxe edition that features a lenticular cover image and a second disc with three new studio songs, one of which \u2013 \u201cMethademic\u201d \u2013 is as good if not better than anything on the \u201cproper\u201d album. If you get the 2-disc version from Best Buy, it features a fourth track on disc two called \u201cNaivete in Black\u201d that\u2019s also quite good.<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal, Doom Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nOzzy Osbourne (v)
\nTony Iommi (g)
\nGeezer Butler (b)
\nBrad Wilk (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

Disc 1
\n1.\tEnd of the Beginning
\n2.\tGod Is Dead?
\n3.\tLoner
\n4.\tZeitgeist
\n5.\tAge of Reason
\n6.\tLive Forever
\n7.\tDamaged Soul
\n8.\tDear Father<\/p>\n

Disc 2
\n1.\tMethademic
\n2.\tPeace of Mind
\n3.\tPariah
\n4.\tNaivete in Black<\/p>\n

Label: Vertigo<\/p>\n

Website: www.blacksabbath.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — The return of the (mostly) original lineup of the mighty Black Sabbath has been one of the bigger stories in metal recently, so the band\u2019s new studio […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,1093,2587,2491,1063,334,1276,3670],"class_list":{"0":"post-30884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-doom-metal","10":"tag-geezer-butler","11":"tag-heavy-metal","12":"tag-ozzy-osbourne","13":"tag-review","14":"tag-tony-iommi","15":"tag-vertigo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}