Proof at last that the early '90s weren't a complete grunge shambles. Sadly, anything other than grunge in the early '90s seemed dismissed so easily by critics. The reality is, when you find the heart to look back over that period, you'll seem some incredibly under-rated albums which were criminally ignored. I for one can be blamed for not giving '90s Sabbath recognition. Ronnie James Dio was back in the fray, and 'Dehumanizer' was a cracking heavy metal album that didn't sound out of place and stomped on the skulls of Pearl Jam and the likes who were boring me rigid with their non-metallic rock.
I am an Ozzy purist who believes that Sabbath's records back in the day are unsurpassable, but I was so naive to think that anything they released after Ozzy was a negative. I'm more appreciative now of the Dio-fronted Sabbath records, and 'Dehumanizer' has all the hallmarks of another very admirable Sabbath record. 'Computer God' immediately proves as to why Sabbath are still relevant during a time when kids were casting true metal aside. Dio's vocals have always had a magical quality and there's proof here that it's not always about goblins and dungeons! The riffs are as true as steel and match anything from 'Mob Rules' and 'Heaven...', and the sheer weight of some of these cuts will leave the room shaking. Check out the monolithic 'After All...', and solid 'Letter From Earth'. 'I' is another chugger of the highest order.
Ten quality heavy metal tracks make for a real slab of an album which varies in temp, but never loses its focus. The closer 'Buried Alive' would have, if recognised, left the '90s as a pile of ash, but due to the ignorance and the creation of 'scenes', this type of stuff was made to seem dated, even though it sounds as fresh now as it ever did, whilst a majority of grunge bands couldn't fill an album.
'Dehumanizer' is not only a fine heavy metal record, it's a fine Black Sabbath album, and that's a great thing to accomplish.
8/10
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