13

The perfect Halloween album perhaps as we draw nigh to that date, Sabbath return with a fury on "13" - album number 19 in the studio. It is hard to resist the power trio of Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne, back together at last. If nothing else it is great to hear Ozzy wail and his tone is so endearing. I have enjoyed Ozzy's journey from early dark debut to solo career and of course The Osbournes is legendary television.

The new album impresses with Iommi'as incredible deep resonating riffs and Butler's mighty bass but the real star is Ozzy who is terrific on vocals. He sounds as though he has been put into a cupboard and dusted off to rise again such is the crystal clarity of his vocals. The man has hardly changed over the years in terms of vocal technique. The lyrics have remained as dark as ever too with a few laughable moments such as "Satan's waitin;" and "God is dead". It is not exactly groundbreaking but it is Sabbath through and through.

I could not really latch onto any specific song as a highlight because they all whirl past in a blur with a ton of metal guitar in a classic metal vein and a ton of melodic singing. However I can say I loved the opener "End of the Beginning" and "Zeitgeist" is a psych metal delight, and perhaps a strong contender for a return to the classic Sabbath riff is found on the wonderful 'Age of Reason'.

Overall this is a decent return to the classic lineup. I cannot compare it with the great proto metal sound of vintage Sabbath though as that is definitive Sabbath, however "13" is still going to please many a Sabbath fan.