September 28, 1978 - Never Say Die!

Four weeks since my last release, and a long two years since "Technical Ecstacy", Black Sabbath released their eighth album "Never Say Die!" on September 28, 1978. At this point in their careers all four members of the band were dealing with drug and alcohol problems and Ozzy Osbourne even briefly left the band since their last release. The other three members wrote new material with Fleetwood Mac vocalist Dave Walker, but Ozzy eventually returned and he refused to sing any of the songs written with Walker. The band re-worked some songs and wrote a bunch of new material after Ozzy rejoined and this album is the result. It doesn't seem like Black Sabbath are at the their best here, but let's not judge before we listen!

The album starts off with the title track "Never Say Die" and it begins with a fast hard rock riff led by Tony Iommi's guitar. Ozzy comes in to sing the verse and despite all his issues, he still sounds like classic Ozzy. His high voice sounds good as usual and the chorus is very similar to the main riff. It's not a bad riff by any means but it's a little tame for these guys. After the second chorus they slow it down for a short bit that isn't all that exciting before returning to the verse. A solo would've been awesome there but they instead sapped the song of it's energy briefly. After a final verse and chorus we do finally hear an Iommi solo. It sounds pretty good as you'd expect but it's too little too late to save what was otherwise a pretty straightforward song. Up next is "Johnny Blade" and we hear some epic synths leading the way. All the keyboards on this album are played by session musician Don Airey. While normally I don't enjoy keyboards in Black Sabbath, he makes this song sound very haunting as he leads the opening. He plays some cool stuff, especially once the rest of the band finally joins in. They settle into a more Sabbath-like main riff that sounds pretty low and sweet. Ozzy's singing is decent as Iommi leads with a solid guitar riff. Bill Ward's drumming is quite good in this song and he plays a nice fill that segues into a new thumping rock beat. Iommi plays some sweet guitar in this new part as Ozzy shows a bit more emotion. They return to the main riff and Airey rejoins with some cool fast synths. Ward plays some more excellent drums and the stage is set for a guitar solo. Once again Iommi's solo continues until the end of the song and once again he does a pretty great job. He ends it on a nice little note as well and brings this better song to a close. Track 3 is called "Junior's Eyes" and the rhythm section kicks it off, led by a cool bass riff by Geezer Butler. Iommi plays some trippy guitar overtop this groovy riff as Ozzy sings good as usual. The chorus is a more standard rock riff that sounds decent, but again a little tame. The verse sounds much better I think and after another chorus they turn things up a notch with a pretty sweet guitar solo! Iommi takes the lead in this faster part and he plays some awesome stuff. They seamlessly bring it back to the groovy main riff and repeat the verse/chorus formula. They jam out the last minute in a new riff that sounds pretty good and end it with a classic rock and roll flourish. Side one ends with "A Hard Road" which begins with a pretty simple, slow riff. This is the main riff as Ozzy starts to sing overtop of some decent guitar. Ward's drums are good in the chorus but most of this riff is pretty boring; it has no real bite to it! It's not a bad rock riff, but you expect a bit more from Black Sabbath than just your average rock song. Iommi plays a slow solo overtop of the main riff that sounds alright but once again it's not very forceful, it sounds almost lazy. They play another verse and chorus and then the other three members do some backing vocals, singing the chorus so Ozzy can do a bit of rambling that sounds alright. They jam out this chorus several times until this first side comes to an end.

Side two opens with "Shock Wave" and Iommi leads this heavier riff with some nice guitar. Ozzy's singing sounds pretty good and Ward plays some solid drums in this more Sabbath-like tune but it still sounds like rock and not the crushing metal of their earlier albums. They play a few decent verses before Iommi goes off for another solo. He rips off one of his best solos of the album I think as he plays some excellent stuff in this extended guitar solo. They return for another verse before changing into a new riff that sounds pretty heavy and awesome! I'm not a big fan of the oohing in the background but this slower, chugging riff sounds pretty sweet as it takes us to the end of the song. Up next is "Air Dance" which is led by another riff that sounds okay, but it sounds like a light rock band, not the fathers of heavy metal. They just seem uninterested at this point and it's just very sad to see them fall so far. The verse is very light indeed but does feature some pretty good piano by Airey. Iommi plays some faster guitar in the chorus but the verse is very tame indeed aside from Airey's speedy piano. After another chorus they slow things right down as we also hear some light synths added to this slow riff. It sounds interesting, but it's certainly a change. Airey's piano sets the stage for an Iommi guitar solo and Tony spices things up finally with a pretty good solo. There are just way too much keyboards for me for a Black Sabbath song though, that's not what I came here for! The synths play out the end of this song and while it was a good song, it's a far cry from being amazing. Track 7 is called "Over To You" and it's driven by another slow rock riff that doesn't seem heavy or complex enough to be a Sabbath riff. Airey adds some backing keyboards and Ozzy sings a pretty tame verse. Airey plays some nice piano in the chorus but the main members are all playing some slow and unexciting stuff. After a couple chorus's they shift into a new riff, but this one is also very slow and uninspired. They don't even play a guitar solo as they seem content to jam out in mediocrity until the end of this very drab song. The last two songs on the record don't feature Ozzy at all, starting with the instrumental "Breakout". Ward plays a slow drum beat that sounds pretty good and we hear some horns mimicking Iommi's slow guitar. There's a whole brass section on this song and they sound pretty sweet! We once again have the conundrum of hearing some interesting new music, but this doesn't sound like Black Sabbath at all! It sounds more like a King Crimson song, which I think sounds pretty cool, but if you came to hear some new metal by the guys who started it all, you would be extremely disappointed. I thought it was one of the better songs on the album though, despite it being the shortest. The last song on the record is "Swinging The Chain" and is Sabbath's second song to have Ward on lead vocals. It's led by a distorted guitar riff by Iommi and Ward's singing isn't terrible but it's also not really lead vocal material I think. It adds up to another song off this album that doesn't sound like Black Sabbath one bit! After the second chorus Iommi does play one last solo that sounds pretty good. Ward hits some pretty high notes and we also hear some harmonica that sounds alright in this mood. They shift very suddenly into a faster riff that sounds much better and with the harmonica it has a very Led Zeppelin feel to it! I like this part much better for sure and they at least end the song on a better note as they bring this record to an end.

That is the end of "Never Say Die!" and I thought that it was an okay rock record but a very poor Black Sabbath record. Some other bands would be very happy with this release I'm sure, but when your previous albums are revolutionary this seems like a very tame effort indeed. There is nothing on this album that even comes close to any of their first six albums that are all quite good. I do think it was an improvement on their last album however, which just goes to show how unexciting Black Sabbath have become recently. Can this once electrifying band find itself again? I certainly hope so, but some changes will have to be made.