November is Doom- Black Sabbath :"Headless Cross"

If I made a list of my top 10 metal albums of 1989, this would be on there. Everything clicked with Martin this time around. Does it employ the kind of tropes that I find cheesy in power metal? Yes, but they are dark enough to work in this context. Listening back now, it's the kind of occult gobblygook that I do nto take seriously. But teenage me ate it up, because he did not know better. The title track that opens the album is still a slapper, so let's see how the rest of the album stacks up.

The drums are more driving on "Devil & Daughter." Martin's higher register is impressive on this song. Iommi's performance on this album is one of his most fiery. "When Death Calls"  is one of the only songs aside from the title track to make it into the live sets with Martin. It is more like the Dio era power ballads that place an emphasis on power, but are dark and dramatic enough to not feel like a ballad. Though it sounds like a Dio song, "Kill in the Spirit World" might be the best song of the album, perhaps second to the title track. 

"Call of the Wild" is not much heavier than a White Snake song. It is a little darker. "Black Moon" is driven by more of a metal feel, though this of course, run through a bluesy '80s filter. The chorus feels more anthemic and Whitesnake-like as well, with more jyes present in the mix here. The vocals on the verse are more of a call and response. "Nightwing" jeeps a similar powerful vibe; it's brooding but gives Martin room to belt it out. I will round this up to a 9.5 as it hit harder when it came out, but still sounds solid to my ears. 

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