Born Again (Black Sabbath)
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Born Again is Black Sabbath's eleventh studio album, released in August 1983.
The album was recorded during the summer of 1983 at The Manor Studio, Shipton on Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England. The album features the vocals of Ian Gillan, the former Deep Purple vocalist, who joined Sabbath in 1983 to replace departed vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward returned to the band as a replacement for Vinny Appice (who had left with Dio to form the band Dio), but quit the band right before the 1983 tour.
The album's sleeve was designed by Steve Joule, and featured the image of an infant with horns and vampire fangs, hence the title Born Again. The deliberately lurid design was submitted by Joule in a vain attempt to be rejected from this design commission, as he was also retained on a lucrative contract by Ozzy Osbourne's organisation for his sleeve designs. To Joule's surprise, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler approved the image for the album (Ian Gillan and Bill Ward were not present when the decision was made; they later noted that they hated the finished cover, with Gillan proclaiming, "I looked at the cover and puked!"). Joule reports that he was drunk and high on speed when he drew the finalized designs for the album. The cover is hated by many fans, but also has a cult following (much as the album itself), most notably with Max Cavalera and Glen Benton both stating that it is their favorite album cover.
There were many problems surrounding the recording and the tour, including having little room on stage due to it being decorated with three over-sized Stonehenge statues. In fact, this supposedly inspired the infamous Stonehenge scene in the movie This is Spinal Tap, although the "Stonehenge scene" was already in the 1982 20 minute demo of the film.
This album is sometimes cited as the ultimate low point in Sabbath's career among critics, yet it hit #4 in the UK and even made the top 40 in the US, and has gained a strong following among a number of fans. The major criticism of the album is its production, which Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan have both said is abysmal. Ian Gillan went as far as blaming Geezer Butler, who co-produced the album, for the awful sound quality. However, many fans feel that the production gives the album a heavier and darker sound not heard from Sabbath since the mid seventies, and even then-former Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne said at the time that it was the best album Sabbath had made in years. Gillan's studio performance is arguably his best since the Deep Purple days of the early 70s.
This album is also notable in that many purist fans consider it to be the last "true" Sabbath album, as its follow-up, Seventh Star, included only one original Sabbath member (Tony Iommi) and was intended to be a Tony Iommi solo project.
In 1993, American death metal band Cannibal Corpse covered the song "Zero the Hero" on the EP Hammer Smashed Face.
In 1994, Danzig gutiarist John Christ has told Guitar School that their song "Her Black Wings" compares a riff of "Zero the Hero". []
In 2005, a bootleg version of the album began circulating that was a collection of demo recordings. It contained every song that made the final album, plus a track called "The Fallen," which fans had previously assumed was lost forever and would never be heard. The album was of particular note because the general consensus among fans was that the production values on the demos were actually better than those on the final album, a somewhat unique phenomenon. Many fans prefer the bootleg to the actual album. Original versions of the bootleg were released at the wrong speed; subsequent versions have been restored to normal speed.
"Digital Bitch" is rumoured to have been lyrically inspired by Sharon Arden - then daughter of Sabbath manager Don Arden and later Mrs Ozzy Osbourne. In the words of Ian Gillan; "I remember exactly who inspired this story, but the only thing I can reveal about her identity is that neither she, nor her father, had anything to do with computers."
"Trashed" relates how Ian Gillan crashed Bill Ward's car during an alcohol-fuelled race around the grounds of the recording studio.
Ian also explained the genesis of "Disturbing the Priest"; "We were in loud playback mode, with the door open...When the track ended I was surprised to see a nervous vicar standing in the doorway. He explained how wonderful he thought the music was, but they were having choir practise in the adjacent village church and so would we mind closing the door…? I apologised immediately, we got hold of his schedule and never worked again during those times. The following evening I had a few beers with the vicar and signed some autographs for the choir. It was Geezer who came up with the title as we were laughing about the story some days later."
Track listing
- "Trashed" (Butler, Gillan, Iommi, Ward) – 4:16
- "Stonehenge" (Black Sabbath) – 1:58
- "Disturbing the Priest" (Butler, Gillan, Iommi, Ward) – 5:49
- "The Dark" (Black Sabbath) – 0:45
- "Zero the Hero" (Black Sabbath) – 7:35
- "Digital Bitch" (Butler, Gillan, Iommi, Ward) – 3:39
- "Born Again" (Black Sabbath) – 6:34
- "Hot Line" (Butler, Gillan, Iommi, Ward) – 4:52
- "Keep It Warm" (Black Sabbath) – 5:36
Credits
- Ian Gillan - vocals
- Tony Iommi - guitar
- Geezer Butler - bass guitar
- Bill Ward - drums
- Geoff Nicholls - keyboards
| Black Sabbath |
| Ozzy Osbourne | Tony Iommi | Geezer Butler | Bill Ward |
| Dave Walker | Ronnie James Dio | Vinny Appice | Ian Gillan | Bev Bevan | David Donato | Glenn Hughes | Dave Spitz | Eric Singer | Ray Gillen | Tony Martin | Bob Daisley | Jo Burt | Terry Chimes | Laurence Cottle | Cozy Powell | Neil Murray | Bobby Rondinelli | Mike Bordin | Geoff Nicholls |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Black Sabbath | Paranoid | Master of Reality | Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 | Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | Sabotage | Technical Ecstasy | Never Say Die! | Heaven and Hell | Mob Rules | Born Again | Seventh Star | The Eternal Idol | Headless Cross | Tyr | Dehumanizer | Cross Purposes | Forbidden |
| Live albums: Live Evil | Cross Purposes Live | Reunion | Past Lives |
| Compilations: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll | Under Wheels of Confusion | The Sabbath Stones | ' | ' | Greatest Hits 1970-1978 |
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