F O U R T H E Y E

It's leaked and sounds really mean. Ozzy sounds good and Tonny brings the riffage. "Live Forever" is already a Sabbath classic. "Dear Father" is a great chug along tune. The opener,  "End of the Beginning", holy shit-it's menacing!

 

I'm pretty satisfied with this release; it definetely exceeded my expectations.

It hasn't leaked yet. It's being streamed on iTunes. I'm kind of scared to listen.

Ozzy's vocals sound raw and unmixed here and there - especially on album opener End Of The Beginning.

 

Haven't like anything I've heard off it so far.

 

Jeez, some people are easily impressed!

I have pretty low expectations for this.  I'll give it a listen when it leaks properly.

satan!! satan!!

fortysixand2 said
It hasn't leaked yet. It's being streamed on iTunes. I'm kind of scared to listen.


It most certainly has leaked.  I downloaded it last night. 

Calfium Jay said
Ozzy's vocals sound raw and unmixed here and there - especially on album opener End Of The Beginning.

 

Haven't like anything I've heard off it so far.

 

Jeez, some people are easily impressed!


Or they just have different musical tastes than you...

SEEING THEM IN NOVEMBER!!!!

Ettan said
SEEING THEM IN NOVEMBER!!!!


 

I hear ticket prices are outrageous...how much did you pay?

An iTunes stream rip is not a leak. There are several torrents floating around now but they're all most likely transcodes. Anyways, I wasn't impressed after the first listen. Speaking of ticket prices, I got my Black Sabbath lawn ticket for $17 after taxes at the Ticketmaster inside of Wal-Mart. It was some sort of early bird special. I couldn't believe it.

fortysixand2 said
An iTunes stream rip is not a leak. There are several torrents floating around now but they're all most likely transcodes. Anyways, I wasn't impressed after the first listen. Speaking of ticket prices, I got my Black Sabbath lawn ticket for $17 after taxes at the Ticketmaster inside of Wal-Mart. It was some sort of early bird special. I couldn't believe it.


 

I'm aware a stream isn't leak. I got a 320KBPS download last night. That's pretty much what I look for when I d/l music.

excellent album.

Finishing up now, and I'm glad I went in not expecting much because it has been a pleasant surprise.

There are some really nice tracks here, and they all sound in really good form.  Still bummed about them locking out Bill, but Brad is a damn good fit.  Hope this isn't Tony's last.

The mix on this album is fucking terrible

Ok, had a listen, aside from the mixing issue, it's pretty much a by the numbers Sabbath album.  All the songs seem to sound like a Sabbath song already recorded.  I can't really fault the album, the performances seem fine.  I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason I'd listen to it over any of their older classics though.

 

5/10

hellboy1975 said
Ok, had a listen, aside from the mixing issue, it's pretty much a by the numbers Sabbath album.  All the songs seem to sound like a Sabbath song already recorded.  I can't really fault the album, the performances seem fine.  I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason I'd listen to it over any of their older classics though.

 

5/10



And to that I say "Amen"...

 

At least the classic Sabbath material had memorable hooks. Think about it:  Sweet Leaf, Paranoid, Changes, Symptom Of The Universe, Black Sabbath, N.I.B....

All of them instantly recognisable and remembered. Iconic doom of an age gone but not forgotten.

Now pit these classics up against....um.....End Of The Beginning or Live Forever (easily the worst track on the new album). There's just nothing....there. Each track just sort of plods along in a familiar, non threatening way. It's as if each new track were afraid of upsetting the fans. The album treads too carefully between the cracks. They don't give us anything to savour.

This new album is the McDonalds of the Sabbath catalogue. It says "I know what you like and I won't offend you by offering you something new. You'll eat me not because I tastes particularly great but I know you'll come back for more only because you are so used to it and you are too lazy to go elsewhere."

 

Honestly I prefer the 80's forgotten Sabbath albums like Eternal Idol and Seventh Star.

 

 

 

hellboy1975 said
The mix on this album is fucking terrible

 

 

I've heard this from other sources as well, and that the cd sounds compressed. However, I do look forward to hearing it. Hopefully the vinyl will be of decent quality.

Not bad. Though I will say if you haven't heard any of the bonus tracks (Methademic, Peace of Mind, Pariah) I'd recommend seeking them out. They're pretty good. Probably my favorite tracks on the album, which is strange...

Picked this up today, enjoyed the cd. Looking forward to seeing them in August. Don't know the whole story of why Bill Ward is not with them, that Sucks..

But what really sucks is why these 4 bonus tracks were just not included on the regular cd in the first place, no time issues on a single cd..  But the fact that "Naivete In Black" was not included in the above Super Uber Limited Edition just seems wrong, but for $15.00 you can get all 4 bonus tracks at Best Buy..

 

;-}~

 

I won't say 13 is amazing, revolutionary, or a must have, but it's not as lackluster as I was expecting either.  I suppose caution has to be at play here so as not to give an album dropped by the mighty Sabbath too much credit simply for not sucking.  I did however expect next to nothing, so there was nowhere to go but up.  Self-derivative, yes. Then again, everything Iommi has written post Born Again has that very well treaded sound to the riffs and progressions.  13 is no different.  At times, it's uncanny how overused some of the riffs are but surprisingly, it's not bad.  I'm no Rick Rubin fan and those who buy into the oft made claims that Rubin's "signature style is to be less produced" need a Q-tip.  Just because he uses less reverb doesn't make it less polished or produced when he compresses everything to holy hell.  It is mastered louder than it really needs to be. It is not Death Magnetic or Vapor Trails brick walled but it rides the ragged edge.  If you crank it too high you will get a little bit of distortion from the compression peaks. The dynamic range doesn't leave much room for the frequencies to really breathe.  The production is very(too)clean, but you can hear all instruments very clearly.

 

The album as a whole could use a few more up-tempo changes in some songs so it doesn't plod along at the same pace throughout.  Iommi has a few nice solos but some are quite generic.  It would have sounded better if it was recorded in analog verses digital.  It seems he tried to sound a bit retro but the recording and mixing technique reduced the effects.  Ozzy's vocals are all in a deliberately subdued type delivery, no doubt so he can have a prayer of hitting any of this shit live.  He is auto tuned so he stays in the same key throughout the songs.  That part bothers me because you know Geezer and Iommi had to have that blatant limitation in mind and couldn't write the way they would have with a real vocalist at the helm.  He sounds mostly ok though for a doddering, washed up hack who hasn't done anything worth a shit in 20 years.  Thank goodness for studio magic.  Geezer has a few spots where he is immersed in deep groove, nice to hear.  A couple of licks by Iommi employ some enjoyable jazzy/bluesy riffs.  The real stand out that is missing is Ward.  Brad Wilk can't touch Ward's fills and for what Brad brings to the table you could have used a fucking drum machine.  I'm admittedly bitter about an album which initially boasted the original lineup, suddenly being devoid of Ward, so it's not really a knock on Wilk, who is nothing amazing, but certainly capable.  Having had no expectations of this album being great, perhaps that has allowed me to just enjoy it in a casual manner.  The 8 song regular version is available everywhere besides Best Buy, where you can purchase the deluxe version with 12 songs on it. A cash grab that has Sharon Osbourne's slutty fingerprints all over it.

  A worthwhile listen but I don't think I'll be tossing my copy of Technical Ecstasy in the trash anytime soon. 

 

Bobage said
I won't say 13 is amazing, revolutionary, or a must have, but it's not as lackluster as I was expecting either.  I suppose caution has to be at play here so as not to give an album dropped by the mighty Sabbath too much credit simply for not sucking.  I did however expect next to nothing, so there was nowhere to go but up.  Self-derivative, yes. Then again, everything Iommi has written post Born Again has that very well treaded sound to the riffs and progressions.  13 is no different.  At times, it's uncanny how overused some of the riffs are but surprisingly, it's not bad.  I'm no Rick Rubin fan and those who buy into the oft made claims that Rubin's "signature style is to be less produced" need a Q-tip.  Just because he uses less reverb doesn't make it less polished or produced when he compresses everything to holy hell.  It is mastered louder than it really needs to be. It is not Death Magnetic or Vapor Trails brick walled but it rides the ragged edge.  If you crank it too high you will get a little bit of distortion from the compression peaks. The dynamic range doesn't leave much room for the frequencies to really breathe.  The production is very(too)clean, but you can hear all instruments very clearly.

The album as a whole could use a few more up-tempo changes in some songs so it doesn't plod along at the same pace throughout.  Iommi has a few nice solos but some are quite generic.  It would have sounded better if it was recorded in analog verses digital.  It seems he tried to sound a bit retro but the recording and mixing technique reduced the effects.  Ozzy's vocals are all in a deliberately subdued type delivery, no doubt so he can have a prayer of hitting any of this shit live.  He is auto tuned so he stays in the same key throughout the songs.  That part bothers me because you know Geezer and Iommi had to have that blatant limitation in mind and couldn't write the way they would have with a real vocalist at the helm.  He sounds mostly ok though for a doddering, washed up hack who hasn't done anything worth a shit in 20 years.  Thank goodness for studio magic.  Geezer has a few spots where he is immersed in deep groove, nice to hear.  A couple of licks by Iommi employ some enjoyable jazzy/bluesy riffs.  The real stand out that is missing is Ward.  Brad Wilk can't touch Ward's fills and for what Brad brings to the table you could have used a fucking drum machine.  I'm admittedly bitter about an album which initially boasted the original lineup, suddenly being devoid of Ward, so it's not really a knock on Wilk, who is nothing amazing, but certainly capable.  Having had no expectations of this album being great, perhaps that has allowed me to just enjoy it in a casual manner.  The 8 song regular version is available everywhere besides Best Buy, where you can purchase the deluxe version with 12 songs on it. A cash grab that has Sharon Osbourne's slutty fingerprints all over it.

  A worthwhile listen but I don't think I'll be tossing my copy of Technical Ecstasy in the trash anytime soon. 


Especially since those are probably the strongest tracks.

Solid album, I was pleasantly surprised.  As already stated, nothing ground breaking or anything but it's decent stuff.  7/10

 

I find it absolutely asinine that a "bonus" edition exists though.