TONY MARTIN – Thorns
Battlegod Productions
Tony Martin, the one former BLACK SABBATH vocalist who is truly the last in line. Yeah I just came up with that line so fuck everyone else who steals it. But hey in my not so humble opinion ever since Ronnie James Dio passed away in 2010 there's been a renewed nostalgia look back at the Tony Martin years of SABBATH. Special thanks to that shit 13 album done with Ozzy in 2013.
Now I must admit back in the day I considered Martin as a Dio-lite singer with a mullet who wore a leather duster fronting Tony Iomni's attempt to keep the SABBATH name alive in order to get a paycheck. Luckily I did go back and gave albums like 1987's The Eternal Idol and Headless Cross from 1989 a second chance. The other three albums Martin was on are another matter altogether. The bottom line was that yeah the first two SABBATH releases he was on where great albums.
So my modern mind said Martin should get up with Iomni, Geezer and a drummer of their choice to reunite as Dio did to create HEAVEN & HELL. Since they can't use SABBATH because of Ozzy's wife's BS contract deals then call the band HEADLESS CROSS. Oh well that didn't happen but hey we've got this release and it touches on the style Tony Martin knows best.
This is the guy's third solo album. I never checked out his first one, Back Where I Belong, from 1992. But I thought Scream from 2005 wasn't bad. Thorns is a tad better in that Martin embraces the fact that he is a great vocalist. In other words there are cuts on here which remind ya of times when he did front SABBATH as well as that one chance he could've fronted CANDLEMASS. I've got those demos and they are good. As well as moments where it could be RAINBOW.
Musically this is a romp through areas which are obviously melodic doom as well as a touch of 80's metal. All of which sounds cool as fuck. Martin sounds fuckin amazing, period end of story. But hey add to being a great singer is that Martin also plays some keyboards, a few guitar solos and drums on a track. WTF, the guy even plays the violin on the album's title track. He's a superstar but not alone. His son, Joe Harford, adds great guitar soloing. Add to that Geoff Nicholls comes back to contribute on keys.
The only thing I hate about this album is certain groove metal bullshit, "Passion Killer". As well as the acoustic cuts which end Thorns. A great album turns into an OK album. Still I'll give it a thumbs up. Now I'm gonna play some Tony Martin SABBATH albums for fun.
http://www.battlegod-productions.com/v1/
LISTEN HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gthz82C4eps
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