BORN AGAIN

This album must have been the biggest inspiration for the movie This Is Spinal Tap considering all the stories that Gillian told related to his brief collaboration with Black Sabbath (go to YouTube and type 'Ian Gillian' + 'Born Again'). Besides, some of the tracks actually resemble songs from the movie! I guess what I'm trying to say is that this album is a complete mess.

Originally I was discouraged by all the negative professional reviews to even give this album a spin, but after talking to a few hardcore Black Sabbath fans they really makes this album seem like an underrated piece of art. Just after completing my military service, I got a hefty chunk of cash as a bonus so it felt only right to invest some of that money into a few risky releases that I would otherwise have never even considered purchasing. So I lay my money down and Born Again was in my possession.

Things kick-off well with Trashed where Ian Gillian clearly makes his presence known, but it's a downhill slide from here on. There is no reason to even talk about the rest of these terrible composition and instead I'll let their titles do the talking. We have cliché-filled titles like Stonehenge mixed with painfully ridiculous tunes like Disturbing The Priest, Digital Bitch and ...wait for it...*drum roll*... Keep It Warm?!?

The thing that really ruins this whole experience is the terrible production that, I suppose, is meant to sound intimidating and rough but ends up like a blurry mess where I can't hear anything than Iommis guitar. There is also a definite '80s vibe in the sound scheme that just makes this whole material sound really dated and don't even get me started on the album cover!

Even if you're a fan of Black Sabbath, which I consider myself to be, then do yourself a favor and stay away from this terrible album! I'm sure that there might be some sort of a nostalgia factor for some of the band's fans who heard this record when it was first released, but otherwise this is strictly a completionists only release!

**** star songs: Trashed (4:15)

*** star songs: Stonehenge (1:58) Disturbing The Priest (5:48) Born Again (6:32) Hot Line (4:51)

** star songs: The Dark (0:45) Zero The Hero (7:34) Digital Bitch (3:38) Keep It Warm (5:36)