It’s been rumored for a while now, but today Tony Iommi took to social media to formally announce the upcoming release of Anno Domini: 1989-1995. Comprised of all the music Black Sabbath wrote with vocalist Tony Martin during this time span — Headless Cross, Cross Purposes, Tyr, and Forbidden (no The Eternal Idol, that was 1987) — the box set tackles an era of the band’s history that’s been criminally overlooked. The CD version also includes some bonus tracks which have been, up until now, extremely annoying to track down. I find the exclusion of The Eternal Idol a bit odd, but it’s also probably the one Tony Martin album folks are familiar with, and currently the only one streaming.
Though the band’s output during this time period didn’t spawn multiple subgenres or become an almost obnoxious fixation for a subsection of doom metal fans (instead, it’s an obnoxious fixation for folks like myself), it’s killer heavy metal that shows Iommi’s riff-crafting taking on new forms while remaining as memorable as always, and Tony Martin’s vocals are fantastic across the board (and what he did afterwards on his own is worth hitting too). If you need a refresher on this era complete with cheesy 1980s metal stylings, the band also released a remastered version of the “Headless Cross” music video:
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Pre-order Anno Domini: 1989-1995 on CD and LP here. Below, read more information about the release, taken from the aforementioned link:
Black Sabbath’s history with singers Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio has been chronicled extensively through the years in multiple collections. Until now, no boxed set has focused on Black Sabbath’s time with Tony Martin, the band’s second-longest-serving singer.
Rhino explores this prolific period from the godfathers of heavy metal in a new collection that brings four albums back into print after an extended absence. The ANNO DOMINI 1989-1995 4LP and 4CD sets contain newly remastered versions of HEADLESS CROSS (1989), TYR (1990), and CROSS PURPOSES (1994), plus a new version of FORBIDDEN (1995) that guitarist Tony Iommi remixed specially for the collection.
Several albums make their vinyl debut in the LP version of ANNO DOMINI, while the CD version contains three exclusive bonus tracks: the B-side “Cloak & Dagger” and the Japan-only releases “What’s The Use” and “Loser Gets It All.” A booklet comes with the set featuring photos, artwork, and liner notes by Hugh Gilmour. The collection also contains a Headless Cross poster and a replica concert book from the “Headless Cross Tour.”
ANNO DOMINI picks up Black Sabbath’s story in 1989, two decades and multiple lineup changes into the band’s groundbreaking career as metal originators. At the time, membership had solidified around riffmaster and founding member Tony Iommi, legendary drummer Cozy Powell (Jeff Beck, Rainbow, Whitesnake), singer Tony Martin, and longtime Black Sabbath collaborator and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (Quartz, Bandy Legs).
The group originally released HEADLESS CROSS in 1989 on I.R.S. Records, the first of four albums Sabbath recorded for the label. Praised by fans and critics alike, the band’s 14th studio release produced three singles: “Devil And Daughter,” “Call Of The Wild,” and the title track. Bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Gary Moore) joined for the “Headless Cross Tour” and stayed to record Sabbath’s next album, 1990’s Tyr. Named for the Norse god of war, the album explores similar mythological themes in songs like “The Battle Of Tyr” and “Valhalla.” On “The Sabbath Stones,” the band channels Old Testament fire and brimstone into a classic bruiser.
In 1992, following a successful world tour, this incarnation of Black Sabbath was put on hold when the band reunited temporarily with Ronnie James Dio. Two years later, Martin and Nicholls were back in the studio with Iommi to record 1994’s CROSS PURPOSES. The band was completed with the addition of founding Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bobby Rondinelli of Rainbow.
The Tyr-era Black Sabbath lineup reunited in 1995 when Powell and Murray returned to record FORBIDDEN. It was the band’s 18th studio album, and its last for nearly 20 years. (In 2013, Iommi, Osbourne and Butler released Black Sabbath’s final studio album, 13.) FORBIDDEN, produced by Ernie C of Body Count, the hard rock band fronted by rapper/actor/Sabbath fan Ice-T, who appears on the song “Illusion Of Power.” Since its release, sonically improving the album has been one of Iommi’s pet projects.
He explains, “I was never happy with the guitar sound, and Cozy was definitely never happy with the drum sound… So, I thought it would be nice to do it for him in a way.” He adds, “I just felt that, without changing any of the songs, there was an opportunity to go back and bring out some of the sounds and make it more what people would expect Sabbath to sound like.”
