Black Sabbath - Tyr (1990)

Tony Martin may not be Ozzy Osbourne, and he isn't Ronnie James Dio, and 'Tyr' isn't able to lace the boots of any album featuring either of those two metal gods, but... this is still a worthy heavy metal album from the '90s, even if Iommi's riffs seem on the lighter side of doom, but what can we expect, we're never gonna get another 'Paranoid,' 'Cornucopia' or 'Black Sabbath' but the guitar master is still able to cast his magic wand of doom. 'Anno Mundi' has all the ingredients required to make it a Sabbath classic, Martin, an underated vocalist if ever there was one, gives it his all has Iommi's thunder booms over those keyboards, giving this a 'Wicker Man' movie feel, with its eerie chants and cosmic tinkles. It is still rather cringeworthy to read Sabbath 'fans' commenting that Martin is a better vocalist than Ozzy, it's a laughable statement considering what the charismatic Mr Osbourne achieved, but let us not underestimate Tony, he's clearly not crooning through 'Tyr' as an understudy of Ozzy or Ronnie, and on the nine-minute 'The battle Of Tyr/Odin's Court/Valhalla' his vocal prowess paints pictures of foggy moors and distant lands. Some have described this album as Viking Metal - I can see where they are coming from when you hear the epic 'Sabbath Stones' which stands as some neolithic symbol to the ancient past. 'Feels Good To Me' has a more sultry feel to it and it is these type of moments that make 'Tyr' more of a distinctive rock record rather than a true Sabbath album. Sure, Sabbath have tried to move with the times, the anchor to life being the ever present Iommi, and wilst I can't knock the guy for sticking with it but this album labours, and lacks the genius one would expect from a Sabbath album. the facts are that without Ozzy (obviously) and Dio, Sabbath are simply a very good heavy metal band, but a band that doesn't live up to its past, but in the end how can it, when what has gone before was so high and mighty. 'Tyr' is very good in places, but it cannot compare to the ungodly delights of 'Paranoid,' 'Sabotage' blah blah, but we knew that anyway. Too many runes spoil the cauldron broth. 6.5/10