Iommi (with Glenn Hughes) :: The 1996 Dep Sessions (2004)

England | 2004 | Heavy Metal

Originally recorded at DEP Studios in Birmingham back in 1996, and for whatever reason never released (rumor has it that Tony Iommi wasn't overly thrilled with the results) these rocking sessions with former Sabbath & Deep Purple vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes are finally now available. My question for whoever decided to keep this stuff locked away in the vaults is "dude, what was the problem?"

Seriously, this is fine hard rock/metal that could easily be called Seventh Star Part 2, yet Hughes sounds even better here than he did on that mid-80's album. I always felt there was something special between Iommi's melodic, bluesy side and the gutsy vocals of Hughes, and the formula works well once again. Iommi's thick tone is the root of "Don't You Tell Me", a heavy blues rocker littered with molten leads and Hughes' emotional vocals, while "Don't Drag the River" could have easily have been a leftover from Seventh Star with its infectious hook and brooding tempo propelled by Iommi's doomy power chords. There are a bunch of rousing metal anthems, such as the powerful opener "Gone", and the melodic "Fine", but Sabbath fans will probably most appreciate the crushing, doom-laden "Time is the Healer", perhaps the CD's heaviest track, which sees Hughes screaming up a storm alongside Iommi's brutal wall-of-sound.

Fans of the solo work of Hughes over the last 10 years or so will love the fast paced melodic rocker "I'm Not the Same Man", a song that also features some stellar keyboards (courtesy of either Don Airey, Geoff Nicholls, or Mike Exeter) and crashing drum work from Jimmy Copley, as well as a tasty wah-wah guitar solo from Iommi. Of course, no recent Iommi project would be complete without a dark and brooding blues rocker, and "It Falls Through Me" fits the bill on this CD. Iommi's gutsy lead guitar work on this one is fueled by the powerful vocals of Hughes, who seems right at home singing this heavy slow blues material.

Amazing how it took eight years for this stuff to be released to the public. After hearing these eight tunes, most will be starving for more, especially considering that it's less than 40 minutes worth of music. Here's hoping that Tony and Glenn decide to resurrect this project once again in the not so distant future.

Track List

1) Gone
2) From Another World
3) Don't You Tell Me
4) Don't Drag the River
5) Fine
6) Time is the Healer
7) I'm Not the Same Man
8) It Falls Through Me

Quality: CBR 320 kbps

Size: 106 MB

Pass: kittyshare.blogspot.com

Black Sabbath::Paranoid (Deluxe Edition) 2009

England | 2009 | Heavy Metal

The deluxe version offers a triple-disc containing the extremely rare 1974 Quadraphonic mix of the album, as well as a deluxe digipak gatefold packaging with expanded booklets containing rare and previously unseen photographs, comprehensive sleeve-notes telling the story behind each album and include images of rare single covers and memorabilia from the period.

It also contains a third disc of previously unreleased bonus tracks, some of which were recorded at Regent Sound Studios.

Hence, there’s an eight-minute instrumental of War Pigs to really savour the guitar work they’re synonymous with, an alternative lyrical version of their seminal title track Paranoid and instrumentals of Iron Man, Electric Funeral, Hand of Doom, Rat Salad and Fairies Wear Boots.

Worth listening out for, too, is the alternative lyrical version of the mellow Planet Caravan, a really trippy slice of ’70s psychadelia that’s perfect for chilling out to.

Black Sabbath are Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, and they relased their eponymous debut album in 1970.

After that, they forged the most haunting and hypnotic rock sound of all time.

From humble beginnings, the Birmingham quartet captured the minds of millions of rock fans around the world and continue to do so into the new millennium.

The musical genre they created inspired countless musicians and spawned countless bands, all of which have attempted to emulate the Heavy Metal originators.

Paranoid remains, arguably, their greatest achievement and this deluxe edition provides fans and newcomers alike with a veritable goldmine of classic material. It’s a collection to be savoured.

CD 1:

01. War Pigs
02. Paranoid
03. Planet Caravan
04. Iron Man
05. Electric Funeral
06. Hand of Doom
07. Rat Salad
08. Fairies Wear Boots

CD 2:
Quadrophonic mix DVD-A DTS 5.1/DD 2.0, not uploaded.

CD 3:

01. War Pigs (Instrumental)
02. Paranoid (Alternative Lyrics Version)
03. Planet Caravan (Alternative Lyrics Version)
04. Iron Man (Instrumental)
05. Electric Funeral (Instrumental)
06. Hand of Doom (Instrumental)
07. Rat Salad (Alternate Mix)
08. Fairies Wear Boots (Instrumental)

Links:

CD 1

CD 3

Quality: VBR 320 kbps
Updated Pass: kityshare.blogspot.com

Black Sabbath::Master Of Reality (Deluxe Edition) 2009

England | 2009 | Heavy Metal

Released just 18 months after their debut, Black Sabbath's third album, 1971's Master Of Reality, saw Ozzy and co hitting their heavy metal stride. And unlike the newly expanded version of their first album, this release has some real treats rescued from the archives.

Master Of Reality shows why Sabbath has been so influential over the last three decades. The band had developed a trademark sound and here for the first time started to be more experimental with the song writing. The guitar and bass are detuned to great effect but the album isn't just about heavy metal.

Crunching fuzzed up guitar solos like those found on marijuana anthem 'Sweet Leaf' are interspersed with quieter moments. 'Orchid' sounds like the type of mellow introduction that Metallica would use for many of their '80s anthems a decade later, and 'Solitude' shows that Ozzy can actually sing without shouting. The latter also served as the template for later songs such as 'Changes'.

With more depth and instrumentation than its predecessors, Master Of Reality truly is a masterclass in how to make a metal record. These tracks sound rejuvenated because of superb remastering and feature inspired lyrics such as: "When you think about death/Do you lose your breath or do you think you're cool?/Would you like to see The Pope on the end of a rope/Do you think he's a fool?" But wait, there's more, the extra disc of unreleased material is actually worth listening to.

'Weevil Woman' is the only track that's new on the second disc, but most of the other eight songs have very noticeable differences to their final versions. If you're already familiar with the original album, a rewarding game of spot the difference ensues when you listen to the bonus material. Ozzy sings completely unfamiliar lines over parts of three songs and elsewhere the inclusion of a piano or alternate guitar tuning helps to change the atmosphere of songs such as 'Solitude'.

This is a fascinating exploration of the construction of an influential album and as such is of interest to new and old fans alike. The material on Master Of Reality hasn't dated as badly as perhaps Black Sabbath's debut and therefore is more accessible to a wider audience outside of just metal fans. It's a perfect example of why some albums truly do deserve the deluxe edition treatment.

Track List

CD1

01.Sweet Leaf [05:06]
02.After Forever [05:27]
03.Embryo [00:28]
04.Children Of The Grave [05:16]
05.Orchid [01:31]
06.Lord Of This World [05:26]
07.Solitude [05:02]
08.Into The Void [06:11]

CD2

01.Weevil Woman '71 [03:00]
02.Sweet Leaf (demo) [05:04]
03.After Forever (instrumental) [05:20]
04.Children Of The Grave (alternative lyrics) [04:36]
05.Children Of The Grave (instrumental) [06:01]
06.Orchid (with Tony Iommi's cough and count in) [01:40]
07.Lord Of This World (with piano and slide guitar) [05:37]
08.Solitude (alternative version vwth no flute) [03:45]
09.Spanish Sid (early version if Into The Void) [06:24]

Links:

CD 1 52 MB

CD 2 59 MB

Quality: VBR 320 kbps

Pass: kittyshare.blogspot.com

 

Black Sabbath :: Black Sabbath (Deluxe Edition) (2009)

England | 2009 | Heavy Metal

Sounding like it was recorded in a cave, this album is still one for which no stereo is loud enough, no Mother scared enough. The title track oozes menace like fog and would be worth the price of entry alone, yet we have the next three tracks ripped from some few milliseconds after the Big Bang. Bill Ward’s drum breaks on The Wizard are absolute perfection. Even gormless debut single Evil Woman comes across less like naff ‘filler’ and more like a gang of demons pissed up on virgins’ blood. Its nasty boogie serves to make Sleeping Village and The Warning crash in like sparking comets, festooned with diamond drum crashes, Iommi and Butler on total riff-destroy mode.

Disc two’s reason-to-buy tracks do not disappoint. Given that this most influential of albums was recorded and mixed in three days, you would think precious little ‘previously unreleased’ material would exist, but what we have provides a look at the human side of the creation of some of the most frightening music ever committed to tape. ‘I can’t remember the fuckin’ words’, moans Ozzy, shortly before stumbling through an otherwise-flawless take of the title track. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the Prince of Darkness’ contribution which serves as the main differentiation between the versions on disc two and the final release, as musically they differ very little. Evil Woman excepted - it really doesn’t work with flute and horns. It doesn’t work without them either, of course, but enough of my yakkin’. If they’d crashed out of existence after this album their place in history would be assured. But there was much, much more to come. Whaddaya say? Let’s boogie!

CD1

01.Black Sabbath
02.The Wizard
03.Behind The Wall Of Sleep
04.N.I.B
05.Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me
06.Sleeping Village
07.Warning

CD2

01.Wicked World
02.Black Sabbath (minus rain and with alternative lyrics)
03.Black Sabbath (instrumental)
04.Wizard, The (with jocular banter)
05.Behind The Wall Of Sleep (with "Dry" vocal)
06.N.I.B (alternative mix)
07.Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me (with horns & flute version)
08.Sleeping Village (alternative mix)
09.Warning (Part 1)

Links:

CD 1

CD 2

Pass: kittyshare.blogspot.com

 

 

Iommi :: Iommi (2000)

  England|2000|Heavy Metal

A diverse cast of characters helped create this impressive, four-years-in-the-works solo debut from legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. The vintage ultra-heavy Sabbath musicality gives the disc a cohesiveness despite the variety of voices and lyrics penned by 10 different singers. Skin (of Skunk Anansie) has a lovely, precise delivery that contrasts with the dirgelike feel of "Meat," while Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl turns in a performance that mixes the Foos, Nine Inch Nails, and Sabbath on "Goodbye Lament." Ian Astbury's dramatic vocals on "Flame On" are especially suited to the material, which in this case sounds like Danzig. Also perfect for the portentous vibe is Billy Idol, whose sensual snarl and trademark "yow!" on "Into the Night" is a highlight, despite lame lyrics. A few singers miss the mark: Type O Negative's Peter Steele's deep bass out-Goths the material and Henry Rollins sounds silly. But Iommi's stellar strategic solos (at times they achieve a Jimmy Page-like mysticism) and retro Sabbath stylings make Iommi a must-listen for old-school metal mongers. Black light posters optional.

1. "Laughing Man (In The Devil Mask)" - Henry Rollins
2. "Meat" - Skin
3. "Goodbye Lament" - Dave Grohl
4. "Time Is Mine" - Phil Anselmo
5. "Patterns" - Serj Tankian
6. "Black Oblivion" - Billy Corgan
7. "Flame On" - Ian Astbury
8. "Just Say No To Love" - Peter Steele
9. "Who's Fooling Who" - Ozzy Osbourne
10. "Into The Night" - Billy Idol

Size: 120 MB
Mp3: 320 Kbps
Pass: kittyshare.blogspot.com