Listening back to this album, the opening track "Turn Up the Night" feels more like a Dio song than a Sabbath song. This is more noticeable as it is also the first album with Vinny Appice on the drums. A more metal album, thanks to Iron Maiden, producer, Martin Birch. It was also written in the studio ranked up to 11, so that affected the writing approach, making things sound more powerful. This can be heard in the chug leading into "Voodoo" is classic 80s metal, and meets somewhere in the middle between solo Dio and what Sabbath should sound like, even without Ozzy.
'The Sign of the Southern Cross' might be my favorite song on this album; it definitely shows Sabbath can sound like Sabbath without Ozzy or Bill Ward, for that matter, if the right sonic darkness is in place. It might be the album's darkest and most hard-hitting song, though songs like the title track are energetically more in your face thanks to the tempo. Speaking of the title track, it's a rocker, so a crowd pleaser, but not the most Sabbath sounding song on the album.
While "Country Girl" is more of a rock song, it's well-written and works for what they are doing here; it's strong and does not feel like filler. The more aggressive guitar crunch helps with this. There is a more Led Zeppelin-like groove to "Slipping Away," which was an influence on Rainbow's more mystical slant, but they felt more like peers of Sabbath. When we get to "Falling off the Edge of the World," it is clear that this album is lyrically more melancholic and darker than the previous one. "Over and Over" works off a similar doomy melancholy as the previous song. Toni's solo rips at the end. Overall, I think that hsi album is a little better than the first album with Dio, despite the fact it was harder for them to make.
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