Idolatry begets ignorance. – 95%
hells_unicorn, August 29th, 2006
Written based on this version: 1987, CD, Vertigo Records
There is a fine line that exists between devotion and fetishization, but particularly in the polarizing eras and corresponding personalities that make up one of heavy metal’s oldest and longest endured institutions, it is one that all but ceases to exist. The clashing of swords between the Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio parties of the Black Sabbath legacy have become the stuff of legends, and occasionally a regiment from the Deep Sabbath days will come along to challenge the other two in the name of Ian Gillian. Relegated to the sidelines of this long enduring debate of which era is the true representation of Sabbath is the latter 80s and early to mid 90s stretch featuring vocalist Tony Martin, a little known quantity when compared against even the likes of Glenn Hughes, yet one that nevertheless deserves consideration. The chaotic circumstances following the semi-solo project turned accidental Sabbath album Seventh Star (owing completely to label pressure) was fertile grounds for a sharp stylistic left-turn and an unknown voice leading the sonic charge, which is probably the best way to sum up exactly what The Eternal Idol is, a departure in just about every respect, save when compared to its immediate and aforementioned predecessor.
This is not an epic foray into the proto-power metal fringes of the NWOBHM like the Dio albums, nor does it conform to the doom and gloom with an occasional glimmer that was the Ozzy years, though occasional elements of both rear their heads. This is essentially an iconic 80s heavy metal album that somehow manages to sidestep all of the negative stereotypes associated with the concurrent AOR-tinged exploits of Saxon, Twisted Sister and Tygers Of Pan Tang while still exhibiting most of the same production quirks; namely a massive and heavily reverb-laden drum and vocal mix accompanied by a slick guitar tone. Truth be told, apart from Tony Iommi’s choppy and meandering guitar solos and an occasional throwback riff here and there, it is a bit difficult to really identify this as the Sabbath sound if going by the precedents set prior to 1983. Though clearly possessed of a Dio-like mixture of soaring majesty and grit, Tony Martin’s vocals lean a bit more on that sleazy 80s swagger that was all the rage on MTV in the mid-80s, a direct product of his vocal lines being made to mimic melodic lines and inflections first committed to recording by Ray Gillen. The only thing on here that really deviates from the mainline heavy metal format of the day is Bob Daisley’s bass work, which is far fancier and involved than most and reminisces on how Geezer Butler gave the instrument far more time in the sun.
As with any successful stylistic pivot, be it extreme or slight, things are instigated on a pleasantly familiar note with the mid-paced groove and ultra-catchy anthem that is “The Shining”. Per Iommi’s own testimony, much of this song had been floating around in his unfinished repertoire since the Born Again days, and it definitely functions as a sort of stylistic bridge back to the mid-paced sway of the Dio era with a denser atmospheric backdrop befitting a lost track from the 1983 collaboration with Ian Gillian. The blend of acoustic and distorted guitars over top a thick keyboard line out of longtime unofficial 5th member Geoff Nicholls is a masterful one, setting an atmospheric tone of splendor and mysticism that predicts the ongoing obsession with ghostly tales afflicting Axel Rudi Pell. This blend of atmospheric wonder, iconic riff work and driving melody is displayed in a similar fashion on the ode to war and tragedy “Glory Ride” and the haunting rocker “Nightmare”, all of which reminisce greatly upon the 1980-83 era of Sabbath while still sounding mostly removed from the grittier character of the early 80s. On the opposite side of the coin is the pure 80s rocking swagger of up beat numbers like “Lost Forever”, “Born To Lose” and “Hard Life To Love”, all of which play a bit better to Iommi’s blues box soloing style and showcase a more happy-go-lucky side of the band despite the lyrics avoiding the cliches of sappy love and mindless partying.
In a sense, this album has a bizarre side to it that comes into greater focus when dealing with the rest of its material, which reveals an album that has one foot planted in early 80s metal and another in later 80s rock and a mutant third member that reaches into a darker and less expected place. Though not really an all out doom metal affair, “Ancient Warrior” has a sort of slow paced, Middle Eastern mystique to it that is a bit more befitting of the darker character of this album’s successor The Headless Cross, not to mention one of the most memorable principle riffs to come out of Iommi’s arsenal since he parted ways with Dio. The charming instrumental offering “Scarlet Pimpernel” isn’t really a dark affair, but it does take one back to the days of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath where the acoustic guitar work went beyond a stylistic device and became an orchestral force in itself, here adorned with a dense, almost theatrical keyboard backdrop to seal the deal. The coup de grace of musical surprises, however, belongs to the closer number and title song “The Eternal Idol”, which can be best described as an accidental throwback to the darkest fringes of Sabbath’s early years with Ozzy, but translated into something far closer to the epic doom metal fatalism of Candlemass. The foil of Tony Martin’s high soaring vocals with the bleak, oblivion-drenched atmosphere like something out of the second Hellraiser film is beyond brilliant, resulting in a song that is arguably among the most original things to ever emerge from Iommi’s mausoleum of horrors.
The charge that this album is simply a jumbled mess held together by Iommi’s guitar work and a generally consistent production job out of the studio engineers is a flat out ridiculous one, though maybe understandable if one is religiously locked into the orthodoxy of the Ozzy/Dio paradigm of Black Sabbath. To be fair, this is an album that could be more easily regarded as an Iommi solo album in much the same respect as Seventh Star, though The Eternal Idol is far closer to the dark and forbidding spirit of the Sabbath name and even the earlier eras of this outfit were not a uniform stylistic affair but an ongoing chemistry set of sounds that just so happened to land in consistent territory because of the lineup being such. If nothing else, this album and every other masterpiece bearing the Sabbath name is a testament to Tony Iommi’s genius as a songwriter, one that surpasses the commendable yet not terribly prolific efforts of Geezer Butler, and also one that avoided the almost comical campiness that dogged much of Ozzy’s solo career following the death of Randy Rhodes. It goes without saying that the formative metallic exploits of Sabbath with Ozzy and Dio at the helm are to be venerated for what they have accomplished, but idolatry and the irrational devotion that it commands tends to rob the individual of experience, and this album, nay the entire Tony Martin era of Sabbath will go down in history as one of the most unjust victims of it.
Rewritten on February 20th, 2018.
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