Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Capturing the era of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio on vocals following Ozzy Osborne's departure, Live Evil was the first officially sanctioned live album from Birmingham's foremost heavy metal pioneers. The album came together in 1982, drawing on shows from Seattle, San Antonio and Dallas on the Mob Rules tour, and now it has been given the deluxe reissue treatment. As well as the original mix of the album, there's an entirely new mix of the album from the original analogue master tapes by long time band associate Wyn Daivs, complete with a 40-page hardback book featuring new liner notes and replicas of the original concert book and poster form the Mob Rules tour.

Review: 1995 saw the semi-controversial release of the final Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath album Forbidden, marking their 18th full-length overall. Reuniting the 1990 Tyr-era lineup with the re-enlisting of Neil Murray on bass and Cozy Powell on drums, the project was maligned upon release on both the critic and fan sides of reception, likely stemming from the unusual choice to have Ernie C of Body Count man the desk for production duties with bandmate Ice-T even providing the spoken word segment on the opening track 'The Illusion Of Time'. While in later years, Martin would consider the project a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion", based off the fact that guitarist Tony Iommi would reconcile with original frontman Ozzy Osborne not long after, that still doesn't alter the fact that the original lineup reunion effort 13 wouldn't arrive for practically another two full decades. Whatever your deeply held personal beliefs, they are those out there who still fly the flag for this peculiar era from the metal pioneers, so much so that the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set release earlier in 2024 collates all of the Martin-era albums into one definitive collection while being freshly remastered by Tony Iommi himself in perhaps an internalised effort to undo the production choices many have highlighted as a major point of contention. This limited ultra clear pressing marks the first time since the release of said box set that Iommi's remaster of Forbidden has been made available for individual purchase.

Review: The Black Sabbath Hand Of Doom box set provides the ultimate collection for fans who opt to live in a world where the group never had any other vocalist apart from Ozzy Osbourne. Providing picture disc represses of all eight LPs released during the original frontman's tenure from 1970 to 1978 (2013's reunion album 13 is not included), the collection boasts the self-titled 1970 debut, the same-year follow up Paranoid, as well as the iconic slew of Master Of Reality (1971), Vol 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978). Limited to 3000 copies (which isn't a large amount when considering how vital Sabbath's early material still is to this day) and complete with a large coloured poster, fan service rarely gets as ideal or essential as Hand Of Doom.

Review: Following on from 1987's The Eternal Idol and 1989's Headless Cross, the very next year of 1990 would see the third full-length from Birmingham metal gods Black Sabbath to feature vocalist Tony Martin. Instructed to tone down the direct, in-your-face nature of the previous project's satanic lyrics, Martin looked toward Norse mythology for lyrical inspiration; a decision initially bewildering to guitarist and primary songwriter Tony Iommi. With the title Tyr, named after the son of Odin and the god of single combat and heroic glory, the band sought to seek out a new sonic identity to compliment the lyrical narratives, leading to what many fans consider to be the heaviest Sabbath album to date, while some bemoan that Cosy Powell's mammoth drumming utterly eclipses all other instruments. With the release of the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set earlier this year which collates all albums from the Tony Martin-fronted era, this marks the first time any of these LPs have ever been reissued, and now with all albums being made separately available, the newly remastered Tyr does its utmost to restrain Powell's power and amp up everything else from the grooving riffage to the quintessential keyboard sections provided by perennial fifth member Geoff Nicholls. This would also be the last time this lineup would record together until 1995's Forbidden.

Review: Originally released in 1989, Headless Cross would serve as the second Tony Martin-era album from Birmingham metal pioneers Black Sabbath, following on from The Eternal Idol. Notably increasing the occult and satanic aspects to higher degrees than ever before, many heralded the work as a true return to form following the hard rock-centric turn of their latter material with Ozzy or throughout the majority of their Ronnie James Dio fronted run. With hefty, macabre riffage cloaked (and daggered) in shrouds of sonic gloom, the project would be the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell, while being their only full-length with session bassist Laurence Cottle. Marking the dawn of their deal with I.R.S. upon becoming disillusioned with the big major record labels, this criminally overlooked era of the band finally received its flowers in early 2024 with the release of the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set which collates all the Tony Martin albums onto one fully remastered box set for many of the titles' first time ever made available on wax. This pressing offers the same updated, newly revitalised version, now being individually distributed.

Review: From any one of their landmark genre-defining metal albums to the scores of live documents, there are many ways to approach the monumental legacy of Black Sabbath, but this box set is the perfect distillation of the best of the band honed into a two-disc collection. Focused on those breakthrough years with Ozzy Osborne, there are just too many classic tracks to count on here, whether it's the harmonica baiting sludge of 'The Wizard' or the motorik drive of 'Paranoid' you're after. A perfect primer for newcomers, or a handy capsule of all the best bits - it's Black Sabbath, need we say more?