November is Doom- Black Sabbath :"Never Say Die"

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the Ozzy incarnation of Sabbath had made it into the 80s; their last album with Ozzy is a 1978 rock banger that shed most of the experimentation, though is not as streamlined as what would come after, as the drugs were peaking. The title track that opens the album is classic Sabbath, then synths lead into "Johnny Blade." The combination of the two is almsot like something Hawkwind might have done if Ozzy's vocals did not anchor it like a champ.' Junior's Eye" is pretty sad when you think about the relationship Ozzy had with his first son and feels pretty heartfelt, while being a rocker with honest pain emoted. 

Then it becomes literally a "Hard Road" though listening back to this album, it is better than I remember as some ofthe fast-forward classics are pretty solid. "Shock Wave: is a forgotten rocker that goes harder than you might remember, though the melody kicks in and it all comes back to me. The twin guitar intro to "Air Dance" sounds like Thin Lizzy, but the song goes into a darker, more melodic direction that is more fitting. "Over to You" has more of the Kiss rock n roll swagger. It reminds me of "Cold Gin" riff-wise before the cascade of pianos washes over it. One thing I have noticed on the final two Ozzy albums is that Toni solos less on them. 

The sax leading into "Breakout" makes it feel like they are going into a King Crimson song. It is only an instrumental interlude as Ozzy declined to sing on it, and then the last song is sung by Bill Ward, which is equally unnecessary. I will give it a 9.5, as it's far from their classic albums, but it is better than the bulk of other rock bands at the time

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