Mention the name Tony Martin to any rocker out there and the first thing that will come to their (our) minds is Black Sabbath. Of course. Martin took over the mike in that band in a time when things in the Sabbath camp were anything but stable. The band had sliding doors for musicians and singers and the band’s popularity was going down-hill fast, especially when an album like Seventh Star (1986) that didn’t sound like the Sabbath we knew was in reality a Tony Iommi solo album. Ray Gillen had taken over from Glenn Hughes and had recorded the vocals for The Eternal Idol (1987) but had left the band long before the album’s release. Martin was brought in and redid the vocals for the album and the rest is, as they say, history. I still remember when I came home with my copy and gave it a go – I was totally floored when Martin took tone in “The Shining”. It’s a terrific album!
In the late 80’s/early 90’s, Sabbath’s stock wasn’t all that much to write home about but today, albums like Headless Cross (1989) and Tyr (1990) has gained classic-album status and rightfully so because they’re as awesome as anything Sabbath did with Ozzy or Dio. Cross Purposes (1994) is a damn good record too. Besides guesting on other artists albums, Tony Martin has two solo-albums to his name. The debut, Back Where I Belong (1992), was maybe not what Sabbath fans expected of him, the album is a blending of bluesy Hard Rock, Classic Rock, AOR and even poppy moments but man what a brilliant record it is. Martin’s last solo effort Scream (2005) was an uneven affair, not bad but many times saved by Martin’s amazing voice. Now, 17 years later, Martin releases his third solo album – and oh how I have longed to hear his voice on record again.
The album’s opening track and leading single “As The World Burns” knocked me for six right off the bat. Fast, heavy and punchy, this ballsy rocker hit me in the gut with powerhouse riffage, a dark atmosphere and a stone-hard rhythm. It’s an apocalyptic bulldozer of a song albeit with the immense and embracing vocal-melodies straight from Headless Cross‘ back-pocket. It’s everything I had hoped for – and more. Stunning! “Black Widow Angel” is slower with doomy gloom, moody riffing and a beat heavy enough to carry a mountain. It’s a muscular beast with some throwbacks here and there to Tyr. It’s delicately darkening with striking melodies and a Martin that takes the song for a home-run. Very good.
Starting out with some monk-like choral voices, setting a dark and ominous standard for the song right away, “Book Of Shadows” has Martin looking back to his Sabbath days without going on repeat by any means. The eerie keyboards gives the song an even more sinister touch over the crunchy guitars. The song goes for a more upbeat vibe yet keeping the slower pace and the direct chorus hits like a ton of bricks. Awesome. “Crying Wolf” takes a bit of a left-turn as it brings on a slight folky vibe with its foundation of acoustic guitars and Led Zeppelin-esque Classic Rock and a fitting organ. It’s a swinging groover, quite soulful, very 70’s sounding with a strong main-melody and great chorus. The song stands out like sore thumb here but I love it – it’s perfect as a breather as well. Great.
Martin takes us back into pumping rhythms, fat riffing and dark heaviness with “Damned By You”. But the song is more to offer than that. The song starts out with a melancholic violin playing alongside the beefy guitar-riffing and the song’s chorus is massive, catchy as hell albeit not in a radio-friendly way. The contrasts marries very well – one of my favorite tracks here. The slammin’, punchy and heavy rocker “No Shame At All” blasts along in an upbeat, faster pace. It’s hard and rough but also a bit repetitive and doesn’t feel as strong as the previous tracks. It’s a decent song but falls a bit on the way-side.
“Nowhere To Fly” starts out down-beat and stripped down with only a guitar and vocals inside a gloomy soundscape. When the band comes in it takes a doom laden route in a slow pace and brings on Martin’s trademark vocal-melodies the way they sounded in the Sabbath days. It’s a heavy ballad, like the love-child of “Cross Of Thorns” and “I Won’t Cry For You” – mellow and emotional. Love it. In the sludgy “Passion Killer”, Martin & co goes into Metal territory with edgy riffing, a thunderous bass line and hard-hitting drums – very ballsy, muscular and heavy. Parts of it even reminds me of Pantera. As song it’s kind of insipid, to be honest, but Martin’s vocal-efforts pretty much saves the tune and he really owns it. Good one.
Fast-tracked and in-your-face, “Run Like The Devil” goes for the throat right away. It’s stone-hard, heavy and rough. I can’t help but to think of Martin-era Sabbath’s fast numbers with its razor-sharp riffing and bullseye melodies. The chorus isn’t catchy as such but it still sticks – and it do leave a scar. A natural live opener, in my book. Good stuff indeed. Even more left-field is the acoustic guitar based “This Is Your Damnation”, a quite groovy piece with an upbeat stomp where Martin talk-sings and only small parts of the vocal melodies in the chorus is reminiscent of what Martin is known for. I’ve no problem with any left-turns if the song is any good but although this one’s not bad per se, it fails to reach the goal here and feels very out of place. It’s ok but not much more, I’m afraid.
The album closes with the titular track “Thorns”. It starts out slow and earthy on the threshold of pure balladry but picks up the beat as soon as Martin start singing. It’s a heavy track yet emotional, deep and darkening where Martin’s duets with Pamela Moore, you know, Sister Mary of Queensrÿche fame. Moore is a fantastic singer and she and Martin create a prominent dynamic – their voices work splendidly together. There’s also a down-beat and stripped breakdown which contrasts in the most terrific way to the rest of the song. An epic and grandiose number, it’s probably my favorite song on the record.
Tony Martin is back – and then some. This is a great record, quite varied and it brings out everything I dig with Tony – the melodies, the drama, the darkness, the Sabbath vibes and his fabulous voice with lots of awesome tracks and no actual bad ones. The band – guitarist Scott McClellan who co-wrote the whole thing, bassists Magnus Rosén (ex- Hammerfall) and Greg Smith (Alice Cooper, Rainbow, Tokyo Motor Fist) and drummer Danny Needham (Venom) – does a splendid job. And yes, listening to this album, you actually get the feel of a band. Tony Martin will always be compared to Black Sabbath but with an album as good as this, that shouldn’t be a problem at all. Welcome back, Tony and please make sure this isn’t just a one-off.
8/10
Tracklist:
1. As The World Burns
2. Black Widow Angel
3. Book Of Shadows
4. Crying Wolf
5. Damned By You
6. No Shame At All
7. Nowhere To Fly
8. Passion Killer
9. Run Like The Devil
10. This Is Your Damnation
11. Thorns
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