Black Sabbath - Anno Domini 1989-1995 (2024 Box Set)

Post #400

    I became a fan of Black Sabbath for the first time in the early 1990's, largely due to the fact that I was a fan of Dio, and I heard that Ronnie James Dio had reunited with Black Sabbath for the Dehumanizer album in 1992. I added that album to my collection, and proceeded to track down most of Black Sabbath's back-catalog over the next several years. Most of the albums I tracked down featured Ozzy or Dio as vocalists, but there were a couple more-recent ones featuring some guy named Tony Martin as the lead singer.

    The Sabbath/Dio reunion did not last beyond the Dehumanizer album, and the next album they released, Cross Purposes, again featured Tony Martin on vocals. As a new fan, I was a little frustrated with the inconsistency of their lineup in this era, but at the end of the day I didn't think much of it. They had one more album with Martin, Forbidden, released in 1995. Little did anyone know this would be the final studio album from Sabbath for years and years to come...

    Fast-forward to the post-iTunes, and streaming era of music, and all these digital platforms have a huge gap in Black Sabbath's discography: all the albums released under the I.R.S Records label! Coincidentally, these albums included 4 of the 5 albums that Black Sabbath recorded with Martin as vocalist. The first album he sang on, The Eternal Idol, was the band's last release under the Warner Bros. label.

    For years, the only way to hear these 'missing' albums was if you owned them in physical format from their initial release. The I.R.S. label folded in 1996. I had collected some, but not all, of these Tony Martin Sabbath albums as CDs, but for years I was missing others. In recent years I've become a 'streaming music' listener, and frequently craft my own playlists to listen to on my daily commute. The absence of these Black Sabbath albums left gaps in my Black Sabbath playlists, and the songs from these albums faded into obscurity...

    Thankfully, Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath's founding guitarist, and only member who was in the band throughout it's entire career, has been diligently working for years, if not decades, to try to get these missing albums reissued. Now, in 2024, this has finally happened!

Anno Domini 1989-1995 is a 4-disc box set collecting these 4 albums previously unavailable since 1996. 3 of them have been remastered and the 4th (Forbidden) remixed by Iommi himself. I have this box set on CD format now, but perhaps more important is the fact that they are now available on streaming platforms for the masses to access. I have also revised several of my playlists to now include tracks from these albums. Don't worry, I'll post links to some of these playlists at the end of this post.

    Now let's look back on the I.R.S. years, and the Tony Martin era contained therein. Joining Sabbath in the late 1980's, Tony Martin brought with him a voice that was perfect for the times: melodic with plenty of range. He was able to sing with power and grit, but also hit high, falsetto notes. While his voice can be described as closer to Ronnie James Dio's than to Ozzy's, it is still a unique voice, and deserves respect and appreciation in its own right.

    Another important element of their sound during this era is the keyboardist Geoff Nichols. Nichols adds the ambiance of keyboards on each of these albums. While their prominence varies from one song to another, they are perhaps most prominent during this era than in any previous incarnation of Black Sabbath. With these musical elements in mind, I'll now share my recommended tracks for each album.

Headless Cross

-Headless Cross (for this lineup, this song is like the track 'Heaven & Hell' was for the Ronnie James Dio Lineup)

    -When Death Calls

    -Nightwing

    -Cloak & Dagger* (a bonus track, not available on original release)

Tyr

Tyr is essentially a concept album based on Norse mythology. Tyr is the son of Odin, and is known as the God of War.

    -Anno Mundi

    -The Law Maker

    -The Battle of Tyr/Odin's Court/Valhalla (the centerpiece of the album, these tracks form a medley of continuous music, best played in order!)

Cross Purposes

 -I Witness

    -Immaculate Deception

    -Evil Eye (Cowritten with Edward Van Halen)

    -What's the Use* (another bonus track, not available on the original release)

Forbidden 

Forbidden has long been my favorite album from this era, and with Tony Iommi giving it a thorough remix with a fine-tooth comb, it has only gotten better!

    -The Illusion of Power (a slow and heavy, doom-laden track, but the most unique element? Guest vocals by the hardcore rap artist Ice-T!)

    -Can't Get Close Enough (starts off with the feel of a ballad, but morphs into one of Iommi's classic, heavy riffs- one of my favorites!)

    -Rusty Angels (a faster-tempo number, this one really rocks!)

    -Loser Gets it All* (another bonus track, nicely closing out the Tony Martin era of Sabbath)

Now, as promised, here are the links and brief descriptions of my updated Sabbath playlists that feature songs from this box set:

"The Sabbath Stones" This one is directly copied from the track list of a compilation of the same name, one that was briefly available from I.R.S. Records, but now can only be found for resale in the far corners of the internet...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/346jU680sRtuUptujFCkhY

"Best of Tony Martin" A response to a playlist challenge posted in a Facebook group devoted to the Tony Martin Era of Black Sabbath.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2xpO1pKrsAjQ9R6odoEKHk

And last but not least, "Black Sabbath - Dark Sacrament" This playlist is focused on Tony Iommi's guitar work, and I've included some tracks from every recorded album I could find. Originally this was compiled on 4 CDR's, and progressed from early-to-late releases. I've even included Iommi's contributions outside of Black Sabbath where I could find them...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1U5FL6HPnDBI67l4WwbV10

Happy Headbanging!