November is Doom- Black Sabbath : "Cross Purposes"

The return of Tony Martin in 1994 finds the band in an odd place, even with Butler still on board. The opener rocks as expected. There is a gritty, grunge-minded quality to the production of this album. The title track simmers before building up into a dark power metal ballad vibe. Martin's vocals are more restrained on this album and serve the songs. Martin has said "Pyschophobia" is about the Branch Davidians, but it does not quite let freedom ring like a shotgun blast in comparison to where metal was heading at the time, with a weaker chorus. But with epic-level musicians, it is not going to suck. 

Another bass line that deviates from the expected Geezer tones pops up going into "Virtual Death" with the vocals layered in Alice in Chains harmonies. I remember thinking that it felt weird for them to draw inspiration from bands they influenced, as it's an obvious wink in that direction. Listening back, it bothers me less, and I care more that it is darker. "Immaculate Deception" blends into the feel of modern doom easily. Martin's vocals feel comfortable here. "Dying For Love" is a bluesy ballad that works well with his voice, and gives Iommi the chance to lay down some tastiness. It's one of the album's msot well-written songs. 

There is more of a 70s boogie to "Back to Eden". Martin gives a more Dio-influenced performance here. The chorus is not as hooky and the song works mainly off it's groove. 'the Hand that Rocks the Cradle" finds them in that weird 80s overly emotive power ballad realm. The vocal harmonies are great though. Lyrically this album is darker than "Tyr"  as heard on "Cardinal  Sin" that works off an almsot "Kashmir" like syncopation in the verses. The last song has a doomier riff for the verse, and Iommi is strutting his stuff on the fretboard. I will give this album a 9.5; it's better than I remembered and aged pretty well for this era of the band. 

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