Released January 28, 1986 (US)
Released February ??, 1986 (UK)
Re-Released April 22, 1996
Re-Released Nov 1, 2010 (Deluxe, UK)
Re-Released Oct 8, 2013 (US)
[ Lyrics | Tour Dates ]
2013 CD [ Amazon US ] | 2010 Deluxe CD [ Amazon US | Amazon UK ]
1996 CD [ Amazon US | Amazon UK ]
MP3 [ Amazon US ] | Deluxe MP3 [ Amazon UK ] | iTunes (US)
Track Listing
- In for the Kill
- No Stranger to Love
- Turn to Stone
- Sphinx (The Guardian)
- Seventh Star
- Danger Zone
- Heart Like a Wheel
- Angry Heart
- In Memory …
- No Stranger To Love (Remix, 2010 Deluxe Edition Only)
Disc 2 (Live; 2010 Deluxe Edition Only)
- Mob Rules
- Danger Zone
- War Pigs
- Seventh Star
- Die Young
- Black Sabbath
- N.I.B.
- Neon Knights
- Paranoid
Writing Credits
- Music & Lyrics by Anthony Iommi (Disc 1)
- Additional Lyrics by Geoff Nicholls, Glenn Hughes, & Jeff Glixman (Disc 1)
- Writing Credits vary widely for Disc 2, see albums songs originally came from
Credits
- Glenn Hughes – Vocals
- Ray Gillen – Vocals (2010 Disc 2 Only)
- Dave Spitz – Bass
- Eric Singer – Drums
- Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
- Gordon Copley – Bass (No Stranger to Love)
- Produced & Engineered by Jeff Glixman
- Recorded at Cheshire Sound Studios, Atlanta
- 1986 Original Mastering by Greg Fulginiti @ Artisan Sound Recorders – LA
- 1996 Remastering by Ray Staff @ Whitfield St Studios
- 1996 Reissue, design, booklet notes and sleeve art by Hugh Gilmour
- 2010 Project Coordinator – Steve Hammonds
- 2010 Project Management – Jon Richards
- 2010 Sleeve Notes – Alex Milas
- 2010 Reissue Design – Hugh Gilmour
- 2010 Remastering – Andy Pearce & Matt Wortham @ Wired Masters
Catalogue Numbers
- LP Warner Bros 9-25337-1 (US 1986)
- CASS Warner Bros 9-25337-4 (US 1986)
- LP Vertigo VERH-29 (UK 1986)
- LP Vertigo 826-704-1 (NETH 1986)
- CASS Vertigo VERHC-29 (UK 1986)
- CASS Vertigo 826-704-4 (?? 1986)
- CD Vertigo 826-704-2 (EUR 1986)
- CD Vertigo PHCR-4118 (JPN 1995)
- LP Warner Bros 92-53371 (CAN 1996)
- CD Essential/Castle ESMCD335 (UK 1996)
- CD Sanctuary SMRCD076 (UK 2004)
- CD Universal 2752472 (UK 2010 – Deluxe)
- CD Universal UICY-25130 (JPN 2011)
- CD Warner R2-25337 (US 2013)
Notes
- There is a music video for No Stranger to Love with Denise Crosby (Granddaughter of Bing and Star Trek actress) in it.
- Glenn Hughes was fired about 5 dates into the tour and was replaced by Ray Gillen.
- This was originally supposed to be a Tony Iommi solo album. Record company pressure forced Iommi to call it a Black Sabbath album, hence the official name of the band on this album being “Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi”. The “featuring” part was dropped when they went on tour, however.
- As of 2011, this album has never been formally released on CD in North America by Warner Bros.
- Disc 2 of the Deluxe Edition was recorded on June 2, 1986 @ The Hammersmith Odeon in London. I’ve been asked a few times why the band used that vs some other bootlegs out there of a superior quality. I’ve been told that the band is restricted in these matters regarding what recordings they legally own and have access to. Just because the fans have it, doesn’t mean it’s in a legal shape that the band can release.
- Geoff Nicholls told me the song “In Memory…” was written about his mother.
- The album was re-released on CD in the United States in 2013. However, little is known as to why. I asked someone at Warner, and he wasn’t ware of it. I asked Ralph Baker, and he didn’t know it was happening. I got a hold of a fan who purchased this version, and he says there is nothing in it that even indicates it was released in 2013. Can’t find a reason why this exists, or why it was made.
- I was sent this story regarding the Antony Aristovolou in the fall of 2002 regarding the artwork on the album. Very interesting stuff…
You probably know this, but since you haven’t mentioned this on your site, (maybe you don’t see the info as being too important), I thought, just in case you don’t, I’d let you know that the back cover artwork on ‘Seventh Star’ is a copper-plate engraving print by the German painter and engraver Lucas Cranach the Elder. It is the appropriately titled ‘The Torment of Saint Antony’, and was made in 1506. St. Antony the Great, (otherwise known as St. Antony of Egypt), was a 4th century Egyptian, who first developed Christian monasticism, leading the ascetic life of a hermit in the desert, in his endeavour to rid himself of the temptation to sin and attain spiritual peace and oneness with God. It seems that Mr. Iommi himself was going through much torment by record company execs to call his solo project a Sabbath album, and also, maybe, due to more personal reasons. Seeing Iommi looking quite distressed on the album cover, standing in the middle of a desert, one cannot help but see striking parallels with the mental torment faced by Iommi’s holy namesake in the deserts of Egypt. ‘Sphinx (The Guardian)’, and ‘Seventh Star’ seem to be Iommi’s tribute to St. Antony and Egypt, where both he and his namesake await the end of this world, (“…let my spirit go, lead my burning soul to rest…a thousand chanting souls, waiting judgment from God’s hand…the pyramids will fall…), and the coming of the new, (…the star will rise again, until destiny is done). I hope I have demonstrated that the relationship between the front cover photo of Iommi, the Cranach engraving on the back, and the two feature tunes on the album, are more than just co-incidental.
Links
Images
- The next couple of images are scans of my original 1986 cassette tape of Seventh Star I still have all these years later.
- The next image is a cassette tape scan of Seventh Star printed in the Netherlands.
- The next three images are the back side images for the 1986 Vertigo CD, the 1996 Castle CD, and the 2010 Deluxe Edition CD.
- This is a 1986 promotional advert for the Seventh Star album from Warner Bros.
- This is another piece of promotional art, the origin of which I do not know.
- The following is cover art for the 12″ single for No Stranger to Love
- The following are pictures of the acetate version of Seventh Star when it was really obvious that it was going to be just a Tony Iommi solo album, not a Black Sabbath record. Photos are (c) Mitchell Foy. Click here to see a story from Mitchell about the acetates.
- Here is an article about the band’s feelings regarding itself. It was obvious this was done before the tour started, as everything was happy. When this was actually in the newspaper it appeared in, Glenn was already gone from the band. Click on it for a larger, more readable version.
- This is an image of a vinyl pressing from the Netherlands. Click it for a much larger picture.
Video
- This is a cool video interview with Tony Iommi from 1986 talking about what happened inbetween Born Again, Seventh Star, why Glenn Hughes didn’t work out. Good video. Please let me know if it’s not working.
In For the Kill
Thunder shattered the dawn
Raging with fury, the king has come
The power of terror will reign
There is no mercy in pleading
In for the kill, no quarter be shown
Live for the thrill of battle alone
Blessed by the will to die for the throne
In for the kill
In for the kill
Freedom is taken by storm
The blood on his hands is still running warm
The power of terror will reign
There is no mercy in pleading
In for the kill, no quarter be shown
Live for the thrill of battle alone
Blessed by the will to die for the throne
In for the kill
For the kill
Thunder shattered the dawn
Raging with fury, the king has come
Death and destruction riding the storm
Blood on his hands still running warm
In for the kill
The king has come
No Stranger to Love
Cold is the night
Lonely till dawn
Cry for the light
For the love that won’t come
You said that you’d never
Leave me alone
I gave you my heart
You cried for my soul
An angel won’t come
This devil won’t go
Something is wrong
I just can’t get away
Living on the street, I’m no stranger to love
Why can’t you see I’m no stranger to love
But I’m a stranger in your arms
Yes, I’m a stranger in your arms
Maybe it’s right
But I just can’t understand
The hurt that I feel
For my love second hand
I know I should leave
But I just can’t walk away
Living on the street, I’m no stranger to love
Why can’t you see I’m no stranger to love
Living on the street, I’m no stranger to love
I’m a stranger in your arms
Living on the street, I’m no stranger to love
Why can’t you see I’m no stranger to love
Turn to Stone
She came from the past
She was never meant to last
Her destiny was fatal
From the start
A messenger from hell
She cast a deadly spell
On all of those who dare
To cross her heart
Ain’t no use in you trying to run
Fate has taken it’s toll
Just one look and the damage is done
Burn your eyes
Turn your heart into stone
History foretold of a circle
Cast in gold
An evil seed of power
Sealed within
But fate has lent a hand
Destroyed the golden band
And freed her soul
To wash the land with sin
Ain’t no use in you trying to run
Fate has taken it’s toll
Just one look and the damage is done
Burn your eyes
Turn your heart into stone
She cast a deadly spell
She put a spell on you
She’s got evil in her heart
Turn your heart into stone
Turn your heart into stone
Sphinx (The Guardian)
Instrumental
Seventh Star
There’s a vision in the sands
Rising from the ancient past
Crying let my spirit go
Lead my burning soul to rest
Hear the sound of distant ages
It’s the call of the seventh star
There’s no shelter from the heat
There’s no mercy from this land
Hear a thousand chanting souls
Waiting judgement from God’s hand
Hear the sound of distant ages
It’s the call of the seventh star
Hear the sound of fallen angels
It’s the call of the seventh star
The pyramids will fall
Turn to dust before the sun
And the star will rise again
Until destiny is done
Hear the sound of distant ages
It’s the call of the seventh star
Hear the sound of fallen angels
It’s the call of the seventh star
Danger Zone
Midnight, something don’t feel right
It’s been too much, too far away from home
Hard life, living the hard life
I can’t resist, I’m falling
To the danger zone
All day long I’m pushed and shoved
I just can’t get enough
In the danger zone
Red light, don’t stop for no red light
You know I’m always trouble on my own
Lonely, ever so lonely
I’ve got too much time
I’m heading for the danger zone
All day long I’m pushed and shoved
I just can’t get enough
In the danger zone
I’m eager, eager to please
I can’t stand no more
It’s got me on my knees
Ain’t gonna feel no hurt
Ain’t gonna feel no pain
I got nothin’ left to lose
I ain’t got no shame
Don’t try to stop me
Just leave me on my own
I’m gonna live or die
In the danger zone
I’m living in the danger zone
In the danger zone
Hard life, I’m living the hard life
I’m gonna take a chance
In the danger zone
Lonely, ever so lonely
I’m gonna live or die
In the danger zone
Midnight, can’t wait until midnight
Help me I’m falling to the danger zone
Heart like a Wheel
In the days of confusion
You’ve turned angry and cold
You say it’s an ilusion
There’s no fire in your soul
Say you don’t love me
Say you don’t care
But don’t leave me standing here
Your heart’s like a wheel
Just waiting to roll
It’s longing for freedom
To get out on the road
You’re hungry for something
That you may never find
So many reasons
Your love has made you blind
You say you don’t love me
You say you don’t care
So don’t leave me standing here
Don’t leave me standing here
You say you don’t love me
You say you don’t care
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me standing here
Life ain’t been easy
Full of passion and pain
Told me no reason
Why I was to blame
Don’t leave me standing
Don’t leave me standing
Don’t leave me standing
On my own
Angry Heart
I still remember how it used to be
I thought the only thing
That mattered was me
You always told me it was just insane
To feel such joy while others feel pain
There’s no way to change this angry heart
Cause when love goes it will tear you apart
And it’s been this way since time began
It’s a desperate search for a promised land
And the years slip by like so much sand
So many people who are dying to live
It tortures my heart they’ve got so much to give
I never saw it as a battle before
To win the fight
There has to be more
And there’s no way to change this angry heart
Cause all these fears
Will tear you apart
And it’s been this way since time began
It’s an endless journey, it’s the fate of man
To live each day and never understand
And it’s been this way since time began
It’s a desperate search for a master plan
And the years slip by like water through your hands
In Memory…
No one told me the way I should feel
You left an aching heart
Lost and lonely, the feeling goes on
You were the one friend I had
You gave me so much love
Now the tears remind me you’re gone
It still haunts me there’s a silence
Where you used to be
It still haunts me
Just an empty space in history
It still haunts me
But life must go on, on and on
It’s still haunting me
It’s still haunting me
Haunting me
Haunting me
Seventh Star is a hell of an album. I’m listenning to it for the first time in my 42 years following the music and the career of Black Sabbath. I almost had the fortune of seeing them acting live at the Pavillon de Pantin in Paris in 1978, October. I was passing my work holiday month at the house of some relatives that I have in France a few miles from Paris and that night that I thought to be of happiness (I was carrying with me two beautiful she-cousins) turned out to be of deception. You were going to act there, having Van Halen as first act at the first part of the show and suddenly, when everybody was expecting to get in the gigantic booth when the show was going to take place, we have seen with sadness your truck carrying the instruments and apparatus equipment for the performance, leaving the place of the venue. You guys, you have offered me a very bad trip that night of oCTOBER, 1978. Anyway, I still keep loving your music and have bought all your Ozzy age albums in vynil and now, I almost have all your cd records. I have read at this very site, a chronic review about the celebration of 20 years over the Seventh Star and the curiosity has driven me to buy the record and do you know what? I love the record and besides Ozzy Osbourne, Glenn Hughes is maybe the only other singer that holds tight the heavy beat of Tony Iommi. By the way, my best wishes of health for you Tony, I myself have been operated to a similar health issue at the colon two years and apparently everything seems fine till now, you will see that you will win this adversity. God wants you down here on Earth to perform for us, all the people that enjoy listenning to your incomparable music. You still have to perform for me in this very terrestrial life, you owe me that.
My best regards,
Kim Matola – Dragão da Beira
This is a great album. I have the Japanese CD version that has ‘Seventh Star’ misspelled ‘Seventh Stam’ on the disc.
Seventh Star. I don’t care for it.
Have always loved Seventh Star, from cassette to album to cd,. Danger Zone was always a fun track and the title track as well featuring the Sphinx,always thought Turn Your Heart into Stone was about the legendary Medusa,Angry Heart/In Memory remind of the things that I may have left behind through the years and reflect upon today.Great artwork as well on this album and again love iommi’s leather jacket Black Sabbath 4ever
That’s one of my main beefs with people who dismiss Seventh Star out of hand just because it’s not the original four. Is it as legendary as the original three Sabbath albums? Hell no. But whatever you might think of the name of the band (and we really can’t fault Tony for this one, he didn’t want it to be Sabbath), there’s some great tunes on there. Of that there is no doubt.
Seventh Star is an excellent album, & it is definitely Iommi’s best solo album by a mile! Great songs & you can tell it isn’t a Sabbath record by the style of the songs on it. Rock style ballads & blues power songs really take it away from the Sabbath vibe!
In For the Kill & The Sphinx are probably the only 2 songs that have a late 80’s Sabbath feel to them, but the rest is not anywhere near a Sabbath record! Heart Like A Wheel is an incredible blues song! It is a real shame that the filthy record company insisted it be titled ‘Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi” What a load of crap that was! A wonderful album!
I meant to say the tracks Sphinx (The Guardian) & Seventh Star are two selections as well as In For The Kill, that are sort of like late 80’s Sabbath!
I LOVE THIS ALBUM! I don’t consider it Sabbath, due to only Tony remaining from MK1-MK5 (Geoff Nicholls hardly counts, he’s not on every track), BUT OTHER THEN THAT THIS IS A HELL OF A RECORD. It’s so melodic. Glenn Hughes and Tony Iommi as a team are just as good musically from a skillpoint as Iommi/Butler/Dio! Glenn Hughes is easily the greatest bassist ever to play with Tony. These solos are also right up there with the Heaven And Hell record (the first one from 1980, I love most of the one from 2009 but it’s solos are not that extensive). Tony’s heavy riffs/solos+Glenn Hughes on bass/vocals are an extremely good match, which is why they got back together twice after this, just like Tony and Geezer did with Dio. Calling this Sabbath was a mistake, but other then that this was a successful experiment if there ever was one. Amen.
In Garry Sharpe-Young’s Sabbath book, Glenn Hughes claims that he played bass on Angry Heart/In Memory and not Dave Spitz. Those two tracks were recorded at a later session in Atlanta. Anyone know more about this?
When I first received the video used above it was a cool segment. I was really glad I found it and I couldn’t wait to share it on youtube. All these years later I see it everywhere!!!!
I still like this album after all these years. I just got the Deluxe version yesterday. It always takes me back to 1986 when I was 22 years old and living in New York. Does anyone know if this version was remastered and when? I also thought I had read somewhere that “In Memory” was written for the passing of Tony’s father?
Never mind. I just spotted the info on the remasterings. I still tend to think that this album stands out in the Sabbath canon as quite unique. Because it is quite different than all the rest, is part of it’s quirky charm.
Cranach’s engraving is actually titled “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (not sure if that impacts Mr. Aristovolou’s interpretation). Michelangelo painted a more famous version of this event and its title is “The Torment of…” (both titles were used by other artists to depict this and other of Anthony’s temptations and torments). In the scene Anthony is being torn apart by demons, a second later a bright light flashes (ie, God intervenes on Anthony’s behalf) and the demons flee.
http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_228153/Lucas-The-Elder-Cranach/page-1
An even more spectacular version has been painted by Jheronymous Bosch.
Seventh Star is also among one of my favorite Black Sabbath albums which are not from the Ozzy era or the Dio era. As I mentioned in other posts, I love all of Black Sabbath’s work but Seventh Star definitely deserves more attention. Another criminally under rated album! Heart Like A Wheel has some of Tony Iommi’s finest solos and the title track is phenomenal! I also enjoyed Eric Singer’s drumming in In For The Kill and Turn To Stone. Angry Heart and In Memory also deserve more attention. I think In Memory is a great ballad to end the album. Although I didn’t have the chance to hear the entire album when I visited Egypt five years ago, I made sure I played The Sphinx (The Guardian) and the title track many times in Egypt including when I was at the pyramids. Now I’m in China and hearing it again brings back the memories of the first time, which was 19 years ago in the fall of 1996. It reminds me of when I would climb to the top of a World War II era tower on the beach near my hometown with my friends and we would sit on the ledge and enjoy the view. Though dangerous, it was the perfect place to see the moon over the ocean. I hope I will have a chance to see Glenn Hughes live in concert because like Tony Martin, I haven’t had a chance to see him live yet.
The guitar solo on In For The Kill, Seventh Star, Angry Heart, fantastic stuff!
Great album, TI is on stellar form as always, searing guitar solos! The short lived live version of this era included the best bassist after GB imo, Dave Spitz. On the deluxe live disc he sounds very close to the great GB, riffing and string bending away with a growly sound. Cracking bassist, shame he’d not had a higher profile since.
I remember reading an interview at that time, where Iommi stated that this album had been written for Ozzy (as Mark I reunited the year before for the Live Aid performance). As they couldn’t work out a reunion, Iommi hired a new band to record it.
Not sure where you read that, but I have never ever heard of that before & I have read many interviews & the like over the decades! The songs don’t sound like they would accompany Osbourne’s vocal at all. It was & still is a Iommi solo album for all intentions.
Just heard this CD for the first time. After ignoring the 86-95 era for 30 years, I’m diving in head first with the deluxe edition. Hell, I have everything else possible from them so why not check it out. Gotta say, after only one listen, there’s enough good stuff going on that I want to hear it again. The only album from that era I have is Eternal Idol, and only because I found a used copy for $2, which didn’t leave me feeling the need to hear again like SS does. I’ll give EI another shot by getting that deluxe set, but for first time listens, Seventh Star takes it. A few tunes aren’t that great, and Glenn overdoes it some, but he really has a great voice and as much as I like Tony Martin, Glenn’s voice was not only better but his passion and conviction can’t be denied. What a shame he didn’t stay on for other albums of this era. Good album
I remember buying Seventh Star back in 1999, it was the Castle remaster edition. I was 20yrs old and a huge fan of the original band and the Dio years (I still am). I knew nothing of the album originally being a Tony Iommi solo project, I had also just purchased Born Again and thought “Well that was different”. So I open up the cd and see the picture of the band and think “Who the hell are these guys”? I put the cd on and I did not like what I was hearing at all. “This is not Black Sabbath” I thought as I sat there listening, while at the same time holding and staring at a copy of Sabotage in one hand and Seventh Star in the other. I dismissed it and put it away for years hating it. Well I guess I grew up some where along the way and now I quite like Seventh Star, I think it had to do with realizing it was never supposed to be Sabbath. I actually highly recommend it now. I finally picked up The DEP sessions and love that as well. Fuse is next on my list. I truly hope more people open their minds to Seventh Star. Hughes and Iommi together are brilliant, hopefully the work together again on a fourth album.
Nice to see someone flying the flag for this album.
Anyone know where the cover photos were shot? The crater behind Tony looks a lot like a crater right near where I live in the Mojave desert in California, Amboy Crater right off Route 66.