Black SabbathTyr

An underrated gem from the end of the wonderfully bombastic and very uncool 80s period of heavy metal and hard rock. Many classic albums were forged in the decade; this will rightly never be classed as such but it began the troublesome and musically sterile 90s well. And it stands up pretty well today. As a fan of the Tony Martin era of Sabbath I am slightly biased but while never reaching the heady heights of much of their back catalogue it is a cohesive and serious collection of well written tracks.'Anno Mundi' kicks it all off perfectly. I first heard this on a friend's sister's stereo in 1990 when I was still a wee teenager and the album was 'new'. Nobody at the time seemed to like it but the very chunky opener clinched it for me and I rushed out to buy the cassette (which was the preferred form of print back in the olden days). It's a classic in my eyes. 'The Lawmaker' on the other hand is not as good. It's ok but there are no hooks or anything outstanding to make it worth future listens. 'Jurusalem' is another strong contender for personal classic. It is catchy and heavy and perfectly 80s sounding. 'The Sabbath Stones' goes on a bit and is slightly better than just ok. 'The Battle of Tyr' is more of an interlude but it adds to the tone of the album which is consistent throughout. It's great theatre.'Odin's Court' is a lovely 'kind-of' ballad, very short but again keeps the tone of the album well. And it segues straight into the awesome monster that is 'Valhalla'. This is another of the outstanding tracks here, but it is sadly the last. 'Feels Good to Me' is a nice little mid-paced rocker but it's not excellent. And 'Heaven in Black' is very good but lacks something that should have moved it into classic territory, especially with such a great title.As a whole I'll give it 5 stars as it's more of a personal favourite, but as a piece of music it still stands up very well and is probably a 3 star effort on its own merits. But I love it.Just a short (!) N.B. concerning the price of the different issues by different sellers (at the time of writing November 2010). The edition I purchased was the 1990 but there is also a more recent 2008 version. The price I paid was reasonable for an out of print CD but still fairly high, but I REALLY wanted it and I was lucky as the used copy I received was in excellent condition. I would not have paid the £50 plus that others are charging for the 2008 edition. If you are thinking of purchasing, wait for a seller to charge between £10 or £20 as this is sufficient.

Well over the course of 40 years Black Sabbath have had more singers than Courtney Love has had men... well okay maybe they haven't had THAT much. From the obviously legendary Ozzy Osbourne, to the Godly Ronnie J Dio and to the forgotten Tony Martin as prime examples. What these silly sods don't realise is that Martin spent more time in the band than Ozzy Osbourne originally did in the 70s.Any way onto the album. It kicks off with an eerie keyboard solo from Geoff Nicholes and burst into reality with a smoking riff and some seriously heavy drums from sticks legend Cozy Powell. The sound is more reminiscent of Early Rainbow than Black Sabbath but who gives a toss because it sounds bloody good."Anno Mundi" is easily one of Black Sabbaths most criminally underrated songs. Alongside songs like "jerusalem" and "Valhalla", 70's Sabbath did not write a song nearly half as catchy as these monsters. They just ooze with raw power and force as this super line up blast the heavens with heavy metal.Give credit where it is due, Tony Martin has one incredible voice. His vocal range is just as high as Dio and can handle the creepy vibes that Ozzy sang 15 years before him. If you can except anything past the orignal line up than this is a place to start.The third album from the criminally forgotten Martin Era is extremely hard to find and is in need of remastering. It really makes the album sound more dated then it deserves. However it is worth finding just for collectors sake. Great art work and great music, how can you go wrong?

Enter Black Sabbath's 3rd Studio Album featuring the massively Underrated Lead Singer Tony Martin. After Sabbath's previous Masterpiece "Headless Cross" showing everybody that Sabbath were still around and that Tony Martin deserved to be there. This album is the complete opposite to its predecessor, instead of Satanic Themes its much into Norse Mythology which doesn't sound right for Sabbath, BUT WAIT! It works. Cozy Powell returns on Drums and does brilliantly (as usual) Neil Murray is back on Bass though not as good as Geezer but still contributes a good sound, and of course the man himself Tony Iommi the Riff Legend delivers some fantastic riffs on this album. TYR was my first Tony Martin Era Album I bought and I'm very glad I did not only is it one of my favortite Black Sabbath Albums but its a fantastic Metal Album and one of the best of the 90's. Best songs to listen to on this album are... Well all of them I'd say there is no filler on here. If your a Black Sabbath Fan or a Metal Fan who wants to hear New Bands and Haven't come across Black Sabbath yet this is an essential album of theirs to get (well get all of Sabbath's Albums) don't listen to the haters who are Ozzy only or Dio Only Sabbath this is SO UNTRUE there was a Sabbath after Them and they bloody ROCKED! Go on have a listen you won't regret it

I liked Tony Martin as the vocalist in this rare album, from the 1990's, he shares a good long slow vocal pitch with guitarist Tony lommi. So if you are an old school Sabbath rocker like me! you will like this Album!

The reason for the title is, Power Metal is a genre where the band/artist sing bout magic and dragons etc. Sabbath had done so on 1980's Heaven and Hell and 1981's The Mob Rules with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Tony Martin's lyrics fro the most part enter a world of Norse mythology with tracks like 'Anno Mundi' and 'Vahalla'.To those of you who like sabbath but may not enjoy the Power Metal genre, there are tracks for you, such as 'The Law Maker,' and 'The Sabbath Stones.'as for those of you reading this who love a big soppy power ballad, the last track, 'Feels Good to Me' can easily match 'No Stranger to Love' from 1986's Seventh Star.Overall, as a hardcore Sabbath fan, i still urge you to buy this album.