This box set has been a long time coming, Anno Domini 1989-1995, which features each Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath studio album (bar 1987's The Eternal Idol) - 1989's Headless Cross, 1990's Tyr, 1994's Cross Purposes and 1995's Forbidden. Due to them originally being released on the defunct I.R.S. record label, it became increasingly difficult to find each of these albums unless you were willing to pay an arm and a leg for them. And it was impossible to officially stream them too outside of old YouTube uploads. But here we are in 2024 and they're finally available once again, both physically and for streaming! Even better still is the fact they've all been newly-remastered, while Forbidden has been given a much-needed remix! The reason The Eternal Idol is missing is because that was the only Martin-era album that's been widely available and re-released many times over the years, presumably because it was released on the Vertigo/Warner Bros. label.
Before I talk more in detail about the new box set however, I'd like to talk about my own history with Tony Martin-era Sabbath. Well, I've always been a big fan of almost all eras of Sabbath, for different reasons. The first post-Ozzy Sabbath album I ever bought was Born Again with Ian Gillan on vocals - waayy back when I was about 14 years old - and I loved it, despite already being a huge fan of the original line-up and already owning all 8 of those records. I remember owning all 3 of the Dio-era albums in my last year of school and before I turned 16; I saw the band live in 2007 with Dio when they were performing under that silly 'Heaven and Hell' moniker (I wished they'd just used the Black Sabbath brand, because that's what it was). I never owned any of the Tony Martin stuff until I was 16 however, although I was aware that Tony Iommi had made 5 albums with this guy on vocals.
So anyway, I remember stumbling across a copy of The Eternal Idol when I was 16 years old; I'd finished school and it was during the summer holiday before I was due to start college. I found an old used CD copy of the album in a market stall selling used albums in either Coventry or Leamington Spa (can't remember which). It cost me £3, and I remember that because the damn sticker is still on the booklet, and if I try to remove it, it fucks up the album cover! Still, £3 for an absolutely classic album that I immediately loved from first listen. The songs on this album are mostly awesome; and in all honesty, as far as '80s Sabbath is concerned, Eternal Idol features some of Iommi's best riffing. As for Tony Martin, some liked to call him a wannabe Ronnie James Dio, but these people are morons. Tony Martin is Tony Martin - he may have some Ronnie influence in his vocals, but no one else sounds like him. He's an impressively versatile singer who pulls off everything Sabbath throws his way more than well.
So, I loved that album then, but I didn't get hold of the rest of the Martin-era albums until I was 18/19. I remember getting Seventh Star with Glenn Hughes while I was in college, meaning I owned every Sabbath album bar Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes and Forbidden... ooh I wonder why?!
Basically, I got a full-time job immediately after I finished college when I was 18, got a debit card and immediately went out of my way to try and get those remaining albums online. I remember getting each of my used I.R.S. CD copies of Headless Cross, Tyr and Cross Purposes from Amazon Marketplace all within a short space of time, and each copy cost me between £10 and £12, which was actually pretty decent price-wise. And I remember Forbidden took a little longer to obtain because it's poor reputation amongst the critics made me not prioritise it as highly as the others, but either way I owned my copy at some point by the time I was 19.
Essentially, I've been fans of most of these albums for a good portion of my life (I'm 32 now), and like many of other Sabbath enthusiasts out there, was highly anticipating the release of the Anno Domini box set. Tony Iommi had been teasing it for years, but at the same time Tony Martin was more cynical and had no idea whether or not it was going to happen (if I remember correctly). These albums should always have been readily-available to buy physically as well as to stream, but I suppose legal issues relating to them can really make things difficult. I don't think Iommi was deliberately forgetting about these records, I think it was more a case of it simply not being possible at the time for them to be in print and available to buy. Whatever. It's 2024 and they're back - and rightly so. The box set dropped on the 31st May - I pre-ordered mine (CD version) from HMV when it was officially revealed in March and received it a day early on the 30th May.
The first album in the box set is of course 1989's Headless Cross. This album has been something of a fan-favourite for as long as I can remember, and I firmly agree that it's classic Black Sabbath. In fact, I think this album is absolutely fantastic. Weirdly however, it wasn't until around my mid-20s when I really began to appreciate it's brilliance. I think when I first got hold of the album as an 18 year old, I liked it, but I couldn't quite understand why it was so highly regarded among the die hard Sabbath-heads. Headless Cross' production is totally '80s all over; everything is drenched in reverb and Cozy Powell's drums are absolutely massive. You can compare it to a lot of '80s arena rock, and I suppose I just found it to be a little unsettling when I was younger. I loved Eternal Idol, and I guess the songs on Headless Cross aren't a huge departure either - but the production most definitely is.
One day however, the album just clicked with me. I must've just listened to the whole thing in one go with headphones and absolutely zero distractions. And I can honestly say that the huge '80s production actually works in it's favour, and somehow manages to create an atmosphere across the entire record that is just incredible. The songs are so doomy and atmospheric, yet so soaring and melodic all the same. It's a different sort of doomy; it isn't the spooky kind of doomy that the debut Sabbath album has going for it, nor is it the B-movie comedy horror kind of doom of Born Again. No, it's a majestic kind of doomy. Iommi's riffs are as good ever, but he's not necessarily focussing on heaviness per se. Take a song like the hugely overlooked 'Kill In the Spirit World' - this track is heavy in it's chorus, yet hugely melodic at other times and also moody and dark towards the middle of the song. It has everything you could want from a Sabbath tune.
I think the album's majestic, yet doomy nature is also helped by Tony Martin's incredible vocal performance. He already proved his worth on Eternal Idol, but that record was actually initially written for Ray Gillen to sing over. That never happened of course, and in the end Martin filled the position and sang the words that were given to him. On Headless Cross however, it was his turn to write all the lyrics and sing the songs as he envisioned them. The lyrical matter very much deals with death, the occult and ghost stories, because Martin felt he had to write words of that nature to match the whole Sabbath aura. He didn't of course, because Iommi ended up not being so keen on this approach, but I think fans would agree with me that it was perfect for the album in the end. And as for his actual vocals, Martin really hits the highs when he has to throughout - I really think this might be one of the greatest vocal performances from start to finish on any Sabbath record.
Bill Ward may not be present on drums, but who's really gonna complain when you have Cozy motherfucking Powell behind the kit?! The production combined with Geoff Nicholls' haunting keyboard work is integral to the album's greatness as well. Nicholls had been a background member since Heaven and Hell, performing all keyboards on every album from then onwards (save for 2013's 13) and also providing any keyboards in the live shows from 1980-onward. Headless Cross is the album that really proves how important Nicholls was to the band's sound at this stage in history. Session musician Laurence Cottle recorded all the bass work, and despite never joining the band as an actual member, plays his part on the record and at the end of the day is faultless here.
My favourite tracks have to be the aforementioned 'Kill In the Spirit World' - such a cool song. I also love the massive, soaring title track with Martin's outstanding vocals. The crushing 'Devil and Daughter' features some of my favourite Iommi riffage and is just a song I can listen to over and over and not get bored. 'When Death Calls' is a chilling masterpiece that even boasts some unreal Brian May soloing on it! 'Black Moon' is yet again atmospheric, but it's bluesy pacing is surprisingly groovy and catchy all the same. Meanwhile, 'Nightwing' is a wonderful ballad and a fantastic way to close the album. The only song that isn't quite tip-top for me is 'Call of the Wild', but even this track has it's strengths. I still dig it, totally.
Anno Domini's 2024 remaster of the album sounds as incredible as ever. I don't think it's a particularly big departure from the OG record, I just think the sound has been boosted ever-so-slightly to provide better quality... but it's hard to tell. To be honest, Headless Cross, Tyr and Cross Purposes all sounded good to me in the first place, and these remasters don't bring them down one bit. The real improvement is the new remix of Forbidden, but more about that later. The box set's version of Headless Cross does come with the bonus track 'Cloak and Dagger', originally the b-side to the 'Headless Cross' single. This is another rock-solid tune with a bluesy riff and a vibe that could work on either Eternal Idol or Headless Cross. It's really nice to have it here.
The next album is 1990's Tyr. This is another album that is beloved by hardcore Sabbath fans... as for me, I really like it. I've always liked it, but now I think it's great. Unfortunately my 2020 review of the album doesn't reflect my thoughts nowadays; I need to re-review Tyr because I'll be scoring it higher than the 7.5/10 I gave it back then (which is still a respectable score anyway). I've been a huge Headless Cross fan for the last 6 or 7 years, but I've only really grown to love Tyr since... well, Anno Domini dropped just last week!! For me, Tyr was comparable to Seventh Star in that it didn't really sound like a Sabbath album at times. The only difference is that Seventh Star was never supposed to be a Sabbath album (it was intended to be Iommi's first solo release) and therefore didn't need to. But then I think of other releases in the discography; oddities like Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die!, which featured all kinds of weird experimentation, yet almost always get the seal of approval from fans. Why can't Tyr do things differently too?
And in all fairness, the differences are minor. I guess 'The Law Maker' sounds closer to Motorhead musically than it does Sabbath, but is a cool speed metal number regardless. And 'Valhalla' has something of an old-school power metal vibe, but is still a phenomenal song in it's own right. Easily one of the most epic songs Iommi (and to a point, Tony Martin as well) ever penned. The opening harmony vocals of 'Anno Mundi' are definitely unique to this album too; but they're also kind of pretty. And once 'Anno Mundi' gets going, it's a total Sabbath-fest anyway. Some other songs I love from this record are the doom-laden 'The Sabbath Stones', the soaring 'Jerusalem' and the radio-friendly ballad 'Feels Good to Me'. But in reality the whole album is strong from start to finish... but in particular, I think 'Anno Mundi', 'The Sabbath Stones', 'Jerusalem' and 'Valhalla' are outstanding numbers.
One of Tyr's other unique traits is it's lyrics. Tony Martin moved away from the occult references of Headless Cross and delves into Norse mythology in some of these tracks - if you couldn't tell already from song titles such as 'Valhalla', 'Odin's Court', 'The Battle of Tyr' etc., but the album is often mistaken for a concept record, which it isn't. But it's still an interesting side to Sabbath that was never explored before Martin entered the band, and Viking metal was a fully-fledged genre some years later. Tyr is not my favourite album in the box set, but it's album I've come to appreciate even more-so today. I'd easily shift my 7.5/10 rating up to an 8 if I were to re-review it in detail right now.
Regarding 1994's Cross Purposes, this was actually my second favourite of the Tony Martin albums behind The Eternal Idol for a very long time... until I had that sudden revelation in my mid-20s and realised that Headless Cross was actually my favourite, even topping Eternal Idol. I still think I enjoy Cross Purposes just as much as I did to this day however. It's a very well-crafted record and in many ways sounds closer to what you'd expect it to sound like as a Black Sabbath album, if that makes any sense? Like, if I'd never heard a Black Sabbath album from the '90s before, I wouldn't be all that surprised if it sounded like Cross Purposes, but I would be more surprised if it sounded like Tyr.
Yeah, this album brings much of the doom and gloom back to the band's sound that Tyr was kinda missing. I'm not saying that Tyr needed to be so dark and ominous to in the traditional Black Sabbath sense to be great, I'm just saying that it was in some ways a departure for them musically. Having Geezer Butler back on the bass is probably a large factor in why this album sounds a bit more doomy once again - just listen to the spectacularly moody 'Virtual Death'. This song is about as Sabbath as it gets. Also 'Evil Eye', which manages to sound doomy and groovy all the same... and it even has Eddie Van Halen contributing guitars to it! How cool is that?! I also really dig Iommi's ridiculously catchy riffs in the gritty 'Psychophobia', and the fast opening song 'I Witness' might be my favourite of any of these albums. Maybe! 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' is maybe the most '80s-sounding song on the album, and is a kind of ballad/hard rock hybrid, but it breaks up the pacing of the record very nicely.
Back to Geezer though. It's really nice that he stuck around long enough to record this album, and go out on the tour. According to Tony Martin, Geezer didn't contribute any lyrics, meaning Martin wrote them all. But his bass playing is automatically noticeable from the get-go. No disrespect to Neil Murray, who played bass on Tyr and Forbidden - that man is a legendary bassist in his own right - but Geezer will always be the quintessential Sabbath bass player.
Cross Purposes is, like I said, a bit doomier and more formulaic as a Black Sabbath album, but it still feels like a natural evolution for the band. It couldn't have been made in the '70s with Ozzy, nor could it have come out in the '80s with Dio or Gillan. No, it feels like a '90s Black Sabbath album - but I mean this in the best sense possible, because it's a fine record from start to finish! A few years ago I gave it a slightly higher rating on this blog than I did it's Dio-reunion predecessor, 1992's Dehumanizer. I don't know if I completely agree with that rating right now; some days I'll take Dehumanizer, other days I'll take Cross Purposes. I think the latter is a bit more refined and consistent overall, but I think the best songs on Dehumanizer might be better than the best songs on Cross Purposes. Whatever, both are great! Also nice is the added bonus track, 'What's the Use'. This one is actually a bit faster and upbeat, and would have sounded more at home on an '80s release. But it's a cool song either way.
The final album in the box set is Forbidden from 1995. This is the album that almost always ends up stone dead last on every mainstream music critics' album ranking list (except, surprisingly, for the Guardian. I wrote an article looking at their ranking in 2022), and in general has gathered mixed opinions from the fans. Even the band didn't like it - Ice-T's Body Count guitarist Ernie C was pushed upon Sabbath to produce the record and was the wrong man for the job. Cozy Powell frequently clashed with him as Ernie was supposedly telling him - a highly established rock drummer - how he should play his drums! Meanwhile Tony Martin wasn't even sure if he was going to appear on the finished album, and was not comfortable recording his vocals. As a result of all this, the original Forbidden mix has always been rough-sounding and did not do the songs themselves the justice they deserved.
As far as my own history with this album goes, I, like many others, considered Forbidden to be the band's worst studio release for many years. I bought it when I was 19 and only gave it a few spins. I hated the production, but thought most of the songs were okay (I remember liking 'Get a Grip' a lot, even then)... just an average disc at best. When I re-reviewed it in 2020 during COVID however, it suddenly dawned on me that Forbidden was actually not my least favourite Sabbath record, and the majority of these songs were actually rather good. The production however, I still wasn't convinced by. Cozy's drums - normally thundering - sound so thin and compressed, while Iommi's guitars are murky and buried in the mix. It's just not a good-sounding album, but I'd at least gotten to the point where I could still enjoy the songs, despite the crappy mix.
Fast-forward to 2024 however, and the new Forbidden remix featured within the Anno Domini box set is absolutely awesome. Everything is so clear and powerful now; every single note Iommi plays is now clearly audible and Cozy's drums have been liberated and sound much more like Cozy if 'ya know what I mean. I never really took much issue with Tony Martin's vocals on the original mix, but now they're even clearer, and as a result he just sounds far better for it. You can even make out Neil Murray's bass all the time now. The album is completely transformed because of the fantastic work Iommi and crew have done with this remix. With the exception of the occasional comments I've seen online, it seems to (mostly) be widely accepted that Forbidden in 2024 is the far superior version of the album. But there are still some people out there who, despite liking the album sonically now, will still argue that the songs themselves still aren't up to snuff.
Like I said before however, I actually like pretty much every track on this album. And now I like them even more! Granted, 'The Illusion of Power' is still a somewhat odd way to kick of the record; I do like it overall, but I don't think it'll ever be one of my favourites on the record. It now sounds far doomier, but the lyrics are kinda goofy and the small Ice-T spoken-word segment doesn't add a lot to it. Ice-T's inclusion was massively controversial back in the day, and while I don't think he was necessary to the song, I'm also not one of those idiots that likes to label Forbidden as 'Rap Sabbath'. Ice doesn't even rap, he basically just speaks for 10 seconds, not making or breaking the song. He's just kinda there.
Still, the rest of this album is mostly very good I think. 'Get a Grip' has such a catchy, groovy riff, but is also as heavy as you'd want it to be. I always liked the cartoony music video for it too. And 'Kiss of Death' is just a tremendous song full-stop. It's an outstandingly heavy, dark ballad that also contains of my all-time favourite Iommi riffs - the fast one that comes in around 2 thirds into the song. Sooo cool. I also think the soaring, melodic metaller 'Rusty Angels' is hugely overlooked; I always thought it sounded like a Saxon track with Tony Martin on vocals. It's different for Sabbath, yes, but very strong whichever way I look at it. The title track almost sounds like a Headless Cross leftover, and the new mix makes it sound all the more awesome. Finally, the ballad 'I Won't Cry for You' is hauntingly melancholic, but also hits hard when the big riffs come in. And thanks to the new sonic tones of the record, Forbidden has been promoted from a good album, to a great album for me.
So, the music within Anno Domini is pretty much tip-top then. Headless Cross is and always was a near-perfect Sabbath record, Tyr is a fine follow-up, Cross Purposes is one of the most polished albums they ever made while Forbidden's new remix proves that it was a great album after all. As far as the rest of the box set's contents goes, well, you're getting a 60-page book full of archive interview quotes from Iommi, Martin, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray etc., as well as brand new notes from Iommi and Martin. It's an interesting read, and gives insight into the making of each of these albums, as well as the tours that followed. You also get a reproduction of Headless Cross' tour programme - a nice little bit of history for enthusiasts like myself. Finally, there's a large poster of the Headless Cross artwork. The teenage me would've immediately stuck this straight on my bedroom wall, but I must admit I don't exactly put posters on any of the walls of my house as a 32 year old man these days! It's a good quality poster for sure, but it does baffle me sometimes why record labels put posters in album box sets for bands whose fanbases are mostly going to be made up of older people. Hey-ho.
I think I'm reaching a conclusion now, which is that Anno Domini 1989-1995 is an essential purchase for serious fans, or anyone who never checked out the Tony Martin era (for these people, I also recommend getting the 2010 Deluxe Edition of The Eternal Idol to accompany the box set). It's really nice to see these amazing records alive and well in 2024, and it's also great to have them remastered. My favourite aspect of the box set would be the remix of Forbidden - no, it's still not my favourite album in the set, but it just sounds amazing now either way. Maybe some of the extras within the box could have been different; I'd have much preferred an official Headless Cross t-shirt over a poster, and would happily fork out extra money for this. But I can live with the other contents, and the book is great at least. Cross Purposes Live is missing, but according to a recent interview with Tony Martin, I'm pretty sure he said that album is still in legal limbo, but is not out of the question for a reissue. It'd be nice to see a reissue of said album, 'cos I'm missing it and it sells for crazy prices online.
I like Anno Domini so much that I'm even considering getting the vinyl version of it now. I heard it sold out and is in the works for a second pressing right now... if it's still widely available in a few months time, maybe I'll add it to my vinyl collection too, but right now I'm still satisfied with my CD edition - it sits very nicely among the rest of my collection. So yeah, the music's pretty much a 10/10 for me overall... even if none of the albums are actually 10s, all of them together sort of is, and I can't really explain why! Sorry! The extras within the set are more like a 7 or 8/10, but good stuff either way.
