black sabbath's "born again": classic or dud?

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so what the verdict? i say amazing. "zero the hero" ranks in the top 20 sabbath songs ever.

― greg, Sunday, 9 November 2003 21:34 (twenty-two years ago)

True story.. i was too frightened to go to the Wherehouse music outlet store (in Santa Monica) when i was a kid, because at the time (1983?), this album was prominently displayed all over the front racks, and the image of the devil baby scared the living shit out of me... so much that i cried out of the store and never went back to the store until almost a year later.

so it's funny to read back on the reviews of this record online and see how badly it is panned and made fun of. Anyway.... (sorry greg).

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 9 November 2003 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

For chrissakes....it's got Bev "ELO" Bevan on it!!! DUD!!! Plus, the cover art was ripped off from the cover art from Depeche Mode's "Shout" single. Heavens!!!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 9 November 2003 22:35 (twenty-two years ago)

there are some good songs, but dud. no ozzy, you see.

― your null fame (yournullfame), Sunday, 9 November 2003 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Interesting idea on paper ... but Gillan's voice just isn't happening. The whole band sounds tired. Agreed about "Zero the Hero" though, that's definitely the best cut on there.

― Broheems (diamond), Sunday, 9 November 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

There is no such thing as Black Sabbath without Ozzie Osbourne

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 9 November 2003 23:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it's the final Black Sabbath album, and it's scary enough to rate as a great career encore. Unfortunately, the band played on...

Suffers only from Ian Gillan's diary-entry lyrics, which I guess has always been his thing.

Points for on that tour using the Stonehenge stage set simultaneously being mocked on the big screen by Spinal Tap -- and not caring about them or Depeche Mode.

Cover design way outlasted its shelf life in county fair coke mirror form. Probably still pops up today in the hands of carnies, only slightly used.

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Sunday, 9 November 2003 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I have been curious about this album for a long time, as it was one of the first Sabbath records I heard when I was a kid. I remember that "Trashed" had a cool guitar riff and I used to have it taped on a cassette off of the radio from a heavy metal show.

I like the two studio albums with Dio, so I have been pondering searching this one out and the last two studio albums with Oz, as I've never owned them.

― earlnash, Monday, 10 November 2003 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

There is no such thing as Black Sabbath without Ozzie Osbourne

Ah, if only. Actually, I take that back. I'll forever stand by Mob Rules from the R.J.Dio era.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 10 November 2003 00:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Yr all nuts. Born Again is one of the five best Sabbath records. So...so...GRIM. And that cover art is amazing. I've gotten lotsa people into that record. and if yr gonna sing the praises of Ozzy "Britney Spears" Osbourne, at least spell the dude's name right. He deserves at least that.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Monday, 10 November 2003 00:38 (twenty-two years ago)

So bizarre - I thought about this album for the first time in 15 years this morning. I used to play it every day when I came home from school. Such an adolescently bleak record especially the guitar. What was Iommi on?

― DoctorB, Monday, 10 November 2003 00:55 (twenty-two years ago)

you're the doctor so you shd know!

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 10 November 2003 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Hell, even Ozzy's last record with Sabbath, "Never Say Die", wasn't all that (though the title track was alright). Best Sabbath album cover though.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 10 November 2003 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Dud. Though "Zero the Hero" is a very good song. Guns 'n' Roses used that same riff in "Paradise City".

― abegrand, Monday, 10 November 2003 18:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Never Say Die is pretty good, actually. Much better than I had been led to believe. Title cut and "Johnny Blade" are both great. I still haven't heard Technical Ecstasy.

― Broheems (diamond), Monday, 10 November 2003 18:41 (twenty-two years ago)

technical ecstacy is worlds better than never say die. i would however listen to heaven and hell or mob rules over these any day. (or the first dio album for that matter!)

"we're disturbing the preist, wont you please come to our feast!"
seriously, born again is a great album. except for "digital bitch", which has some of the worst lyrics ever. but i guess it's sort of funny in an ironic way.

― Kyle F., Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:51 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...

this is black sabbaths finest album... too bad it's this line-up's only release.

― emmitt henry derrick, Thursday, 10 June 2004 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Interesting debate :) I love "Born Again"; it's my favorite Sabbath album after "Black Sabbath". I find it kind of funny that people will defend wretched longplayers like "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die" while maligning "Born Again" simply because Ozzy Osbourne's not on it. Come on, folks! The Ozz was gone by this point and the band soldiered on. I love Ian Gillan and Deep Purple, but that's not why I love this record(although Gillan is great on it, and I think he's dead wrong when he says that he was Sabbath's worst vocalist). I love it because it's Black Sabbath, through and through.
My favorite song is the title track. It's gloomy, bombastic...exactly what I like about English metal :) I also like "Zero the Hero"(particularly the lyrics, in which a damn fine point is made), "Digital Bitch", and "Trashed". Oh, and in an odd way, I think "Keep It Warm" is good, too. Did Bev Bevan actually play on this? Bill Ward is on the back cover of my old vinyl copy, but even if the old Electric Light Orchestra fella IS on drums, I don't see how that's supposed to make the music bad.
Anyhoo, I give "Born Again" four stars out of five. Thanks for reading.

― Jonny Oldguy, Wednesday, 23 June 2004 18:03 (twenty-one years ago)

supposedly there are a number of bootlegs which exist that feature gillan singing on all of the old sabbath classics as well as sabbath versions of several deep purple songs. anyone heard any of this stuff?

― greg, Wednesday, 23 June 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

There's at least one on Sharing The Groove

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 22:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't heard any of the bootlegs, but I know that they did "Smoke On the Water" as one of the encores on the "Born Again" tour. I'd love to hear Gillan's take on the old Ozzy-era Sabbath songs.

― Jonny Oldguy, Thursday, 24 June 2004 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I got a tape from the Born Again tour recently -- Gillan screaming out "Children of the Grave" is indeed awetastic.

"digital bitch", which has some of the worst lyrics ever.

"she made a fortune from computers" cracks me up. Bleep bzort, it was 1984.

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Thursday, 24 June 2004 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, yes...I'd imagine that Gillan excelled on "Children of the Grave", and probably "Black Sabbath" too. "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" seem a little iffy but, as I say, I haven't heard the Gillan versions of any of these songs.

― Jonny Oldguy, Saturday, 26 June 2004 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Gillan's a great vocalist, but too many of the songs ("Trashed", "Digital Bitch", "Hot Line") just aren't Sabbathesque. It's better than late-period Ozzy, but clearly inferior to the first 5 albums, both the Dio studio efforts and Live Evil.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Saturday, 26 June 2004 18:02 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

I've just re-listened to this--the 1st Sab LP I heard as a kid--always being played by the older brothers and stoner aunts of my friends--and it took me a long time to accept Ozzy as THE Sabbath vocalist rather than as the guy who became a werewolf in the Bark at the Moon video.

The hatred (see AMG review) for Born Again is odd, but it had/has defenders: in "This Band Could Be Your Life" Black Flag tour with this album constantly on their tape deck and one of them says something like: "It's Sabbath with a REAL singer."

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:32 (nineteen years ago)

Heh heh...too bad we couldn't have heard Black Flag with a REAL singer!

I haven't heard "Born Again" in years, but I remember getting off on practically every track, with a coupla exceptions. "Zero The Hero" is their greatest post-'75 track (& heaviest ever, maybe.) And I liked Ian Gillan better than RJ Dio, personally. (But then I never cared much for Dio in ANY context, so...) And c'mon, Geezer Butler wrote his share of dumb (if well-intentioned) lyrics, too.

― M. Agony Von Bontee (M. Agony Von Bontee), Monday, 11 September 2006 17:58 (nineteen years ago)

Side 1 = Classic
Side 2 = Dud

Still have this on vinyl. The Born Again demos leaked a couple years ago, they're pretty good.

― Edward III (edward iii), Monday, 11 September 2006 18:07 (nineteen years ago)

four years pass...

It was announced that Born Again will be re-released bonus material on May 30, 2011 in the UK. There had been speculation that the album would be re-mixed before being re-released, but the album was only remastered due to the fact that the original multi-track tapes could not be located.

Hadn't even heard about this! Hoping it sounds better, at least, and the second disk is live stuff. They really should've bought the bootleg of demos and thrown that on, too.

― Star Trek II: Sweater Guy Goes to Tennis Planet (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 29 May 2011 10:24 (fourteen years ago)

Will buy

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Sunday, 29 May 2011 13:43 (fourteen years ago)

seven years pass...

the first side is classic as hell but the second side is good too, come on

― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 2 May 2019 17:32 (six years ago)

five years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JniMqjHC3lk

― calstars, Friday, 7 June 2024 17:53 (one year ago)

!!!

I just got the big non-Ozzy box set in the mail, stoked to dig in

― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 7 June 2024 18:59 (one year ago)

one year passes...

Working my way thru the complete Sabbath catalog (for science!). Donning my pith helmet, entering the wilderness years.

Gillan’s voice sounds painfully tight -whatever throat polyps he did or didn’t have as a pretext for breaking up Deep Purple, he surely shredded his larynx after hanging with the Sabs. jesus.

Ian Gillan = the most famous unserious lyricist of all time? Digital Bitch feels like spiritual b-side to Spinal Tap’s Sex Farm. Hilariously awful even for him.

Zero the Hero definitely goes. That’s a keeper.

Born Again also kinda cool but a wee bit like Sabbath Whitesnake (did he just sing “sex lawyer baby” i cant tell)

Hot Line is very awesomely shreddy! but also this is so much more Kiss (or Manowar lol?) than Sabbath. Gillan doesnt have any gravitas.
Sir this is a Wendys.

Keep It Warm (rat?) ok this kinda goes. Maybe my #2 fave after Zero the Hero.

Overall better than I expected but the Gillan is so ridiculously unserious that even when it goes hard like Keep It Warm (rat!) it feels like I am listening to an actual Spinal Tap album

The cover rules tho

― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 July 2025 05:59 (seven months ago)

Trashed is the one! hopefully iomi keeps his promise and does do the remix/remaster soonish for this.

― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Sunday, 27 July 2025 14:51 (seven months ago)

I remember being frightened by the "Zero the Hero" video as a child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL_svZmiGWw

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Sunday, 27 July 2025 15:28 (seven months ago)

So in kindergarten, we were tasked with coloring in a pic to be used in a button. It was an anthropomorphic number zero with Zero the Hero written underneath.

It was 1986 and my kindergarten teacher was a 20-something fresh out of college.

Was she a secret Iommi fan?

― steal the classy spy's gun (Neanderthal), Sunday, 27 July 2025 15:35 (seven months ago)

100%

― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 July 2025 16:53 (seven months ago)

"Disturbing The Priest" was the result of a door in the studio having been left open during playback, and a local vicar appearing in the doorway asking for the volume to be turned down as it was disturbing choir practice in the adjacent village.

Rock and motherfucking roll! they weren't playing too loud for the next *building* over, no no, the next VILLAGE

What a polite vicar, however.

(On first listen, Born Again has shot straight into my tentative Sabbath Top 5.)

― TheNuNuNu, Sunday, 10 August 2025 04:58 (six months ago)

"How it started is was just 'cause we got drunk together one night," the Deep Purple frontman said. "I went for a drink with Tony and Geezer, and we ended up under the table. And I can't remember much more that happened. But I got a call from my manager the next day saying, 'Don't you think you should call me if you're gonna make decisions like this?' I said, 'What are you talking about?' He said, 'Well, apparently you... I just got a call. You agreed to join SABBATH.'

― TheNuNuNu, Sunday, 10 August 2025 05:00 (six months ago)

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