Don't hate the album by any means but it's sort of my least favourite Martin album along with Forbidden. In fact the lyrics are probably his most cliched ... in my opion.![]()
I think Headless Cross is the best Martin era album, the lyrics, the riffs. Fantastic for me
Don't hate the album by any means but it's sort of my least favourite Martin album along with Forbidden. In fact the lyrics are probably his most cliched ... in my opion.![]()
My name is Lucifer please take my hand.
The world is a lonely place - you're on your own.
Guess I will go home - sit down and moan.
Crying and thinking is all that I do.
Memories I have remind me of you,
Of you, of you...
My least favourite Tony Martin album ,and one of my least favourite Black Sabbah albums period. It does have its good moments though. 'When Death Calls' and 'Black Moon' are the best songs on the album (even though 'Black Moon' had been previously recorded), and 'Headless Cross' and 'Nightwing' are decent, but they still don't compare to Sabbath's other material. 'Kill in the Spirit World' is great once the slow, doomy part starts but I hate the rest of it, and I can't stand 'Devil & Daughter' at all. I don't even remember the other song, it was so forgettable. If 'Cloak and Dagger' counts, than it would be the best song on the album by far. I love it. But the rest is mostly weak. Tony Martin sounds awesome though--probably his second-best vocals after Tyr. I do love the album for briging us the Headless Cross tour though, and the Moscow 1989 recordings which I'm absolutely in love with.
To safeguard my philosophy until my dying breath
I transfer from reality into a living dead
I empathize with enemies until we’re dying right
With God and Satan at my side, from darkness will come light
One of the few albums where the cliché 80s drums actually fit the theme and atmosphere of the music. It's dark and heavy, the riffs are great and the lyrics are amazing. I love this album, probably the second best TM era album for me (TYR being the best), can't say where it fits in on my total Sabbath list but it's not that high though. "Call of the Wild" kind of brings it down a little bit, along with "Devil and Daughter". I only have minor issues with those songs, I hardly ever skip them but minor things are enough when it comes to comparing Sabbath with Sabbath. Nightwing is my favorite off the album, a song that sometimes gets into my list of top 10 all time Sabbath songs. Other strong cuts are "Black Moon" and "When Death Calls". Great artwork as well, maybe among top 3 or at least top 5 Sabbath album ranked by artwork imo.
When it comes to the dark, occult imagery in lyrics, atmosphere and artwork I cannot find anything cliché with it at all. Of course I am biased as I was a fanatic Sabbath fan when I first discovered the album but still, I think it all sounds very serious and I never think of it as over the top.
"There in the middle of the circle he stands, searching, seeking, with just one touch of his trembling hand, the answer will be found.
Daylight waits while the old man sings, heaven help me! And then like the rush of a thousand wings, it shines upon the one. And the day has just begun..." (1975)
-Ronnie James Dio, Rest in Peace
"In the summer days we flew to the sun, on melting wings, but the seasons changed to fast, leave us all behind... Blind..." (1969)
- Jon Lord, Rest in Peace
My band's Reverbnation page:
http://www.reverbnation.com/Oracleswe
Headless Cross is very much fitting to the Black Sabbath name, but it's not my favorite Martin era album. Most of the reasons mentioned are why it doesn't sit higher up for me. But the album is very powerful and very spooky.
Headless Cross is a great, heavy album but not my favorite from Martin. For me it's Cross Purposes and Eternal Idol then Headless Cross.
Robert McAfee
Headless Cross wasnt perfect but it was a better album than Eternal Idol imho.
Headless Cross & Cross Purposes - best tm albums imo
"I don't sound like nobody"
I found Cross Purposes a bit flat, I prefer Forbidden if I'm honest.
For me Eternal Idol is best, followed by Headless Cross and Tyr.
I like the album primarily because it was Cozy Powell's first album with Black Sabbath, and I always thought he would be the ideal drummer for Black Sabbath. I don't think the drum sound is at all "'80s;" it just sounds like Cozy! It's not much different to Rainbow Rising, MSG, or even Emerson, Lake & Powell.
However, at the risk of sounding "me too," the lyrics are my least favourite aspect. When you just sing about one topic for almost every song, of course it's going to get tired, even though Tony Martin's vocals are above reproach. Tony Iommi must have thought the same thing, because in his autobiography he said that for Tyr he directed TM to get away from the "Satan" stuff.
I like all the Martin-era albums (yes, even Forbidden!) and HC rates somewhere around the middle of the list for me, with Tyr being my favourite. That was the most unified "band" sound they'd had since at least Mob Rules, and then Iommi shot it all to hell with the abortive Dehumanizer reunion.
He is not here. He has risen!
"There in the middle of the circle he stands, searching, seeking, with just one touch of his trembling hand, the answer will be found.
Daylight waits while the old man sings, heaven help me! And then like the rush of a thousand wings, it shines upon the one. And the day has just begun..." (1975)
-Ronnie James Dio, Rest in Peace
"In the summer days we flew to the sun, on melting wings, but the seasons changed to fast, leave us all behind... Blind..." (1969)
- Jon Lord, Rest in Peace
My band's Reverbnation page:
http://www.reverbnation.com/Oracleswe
Headless Cross is amazing dude, I really love that album. There is so much atmosphere on this album, it sounds dark, heavy and really satanic. I just don't compare it to Black Metal (I hate BM) or anything else like this but the riffs, the lyrics, the sound, the drums, everything is really atmorpheric and sounds like satan is standing in front of you.
The title track, When Death Calls, Devil&Daughter and the amazing Nihtwing are really really good. Cozy did a great job, I mean the whole band did a great job.
My favourite Tony Martin album still is TYR but Headless Cross got the second place.
I also agree with you. Actually this is my most favorite album since they started their band.
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