Review Summary: An album panned by critics and a good number of fans, Born Again deserves less hate and a little more appreciation.
Following Ozzy Osbourne's departure from Black Sabbath in 1979, the juggernaut metal band did not decide to call it quits. In fact, it can be stated that Black Sabbath had overstayed its welcome in the metal community, but I tend to enjoy all of the albums. After a brief-yet-memorable stint with Ronnie James Dio, which ultimately led to his departure after a dispute about the mixing of the 1982 live album, "Live Evil", Black Sabbath had to find a new singer once more. All it took was a drunken night at pub for guitarist Tony Iommi to recruit former Deep Purple singer, Ian Gillan, into the band. Released in 1983, Born Again is one of the most divisive albums in the entire catalog of Black Sabbath. While a large number of people have begun to enjoy this album more in recent years, there is still a high number of critics towards this album. In my opinion, while it may not be the best Black Sabbath album (that goes to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), or even the best post-Ozzy album (that would be a toss up between Heaven and Hell or Dehumanizer), Born Again is still an enjoyable album that is a very interesting combination of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.
From the opening track "Trashed" to closing track "Keep it Warm", Born Again contains a certain charm that many other albums in the Black Sabbath catalog do not possess, and that charm is the energy and vivacity of the album. While some tracks stand above others, similar to pretty much every single album in existence, even the weaker tracks are far from being impossible to listen to. Highlights of the album would be "Trashed" with its fast-paced groove telling the listener about a drunken Ian Gillan crashing a car, "Disturbing the Priest", which is the absolute highlight of the album, and the title-track that lessens the energy of the album and becomes a slow-burning song that ultimately gains momentum. Other tracks, such as "Hot Line" and "Keep it Warm" are much weaker in comparison to the majority of the album and definitely feel like filler. The fact that these two songs are the final two tracks on the album makes me believe that they are filler as their only purpose is to make the album an acceptable length. Then there is other tracks, such as "Stonehenge" and "The Dark" which are just intros to the two behemoths of the album, the aforementioned "Disturbing the Priest" and "Zero the Hero". The only reason that Zero the Hero is a behemoth of a song is because of the length of the track, as it goes on for far too long, and is just unappealing to my taste. Overall, the album does contain a strong amount of energy and keeps the listener's attention for the majority of its duration.
The energy of the album can and should be attributed to the vocal performance of Ian Gillan. His haunting screams on "Disturbing the Priest" and his fluctuating vocal volume on the title-track are mesmerizing to listen to, and keep this album from being just an average experience. The rest of the performers, on the other hand, are definitely not at their most inspired, most notably Tony Iommi. As Tony Iommi is my favorite guitarist, it surprised me to not really find a memorable riff from this album. Bassist Geezer Butler is very prominent on the album, and that is because of the strange album production that made the bass more noticeable than ever. After leaving the band after Heaven and Hell in 1980, drummer Bill Ward returns behind the kit and he delivers a very good performance, while it seems to be undermined by the muddy production of the album.
Speaking of the album's production, one of the main criticisms towards Born Again was its production. I agree with the number of critics in saying that the production is definitely not the best I have ever heard, but I have heard worse (I believe that Forbidden had much worse production, as that sounded like a demo). Another main detraction of the album was its cover art. The red-devil baby with emerald green eyes and yellow claws definitely is not the best album art that Black Sabbath has ever had. While it is a lousy album cover, Black Sabbath has had some pretty lame album covers besides this one. For example, Volume 4, Technical Ecstasy, the laughably bad Seventh Star, Eternal Idol, and Forbidden are also pretty bad, so it isn't a shock that there is another bad album cover that Black Sabbath possesses.
Another flaw that is evident on Born Again is the downright cheesiness of a number of parts on the album. Just by looking at the cover, it doesn't hide that it is a cheesy album, and some of the music is also awkward. For example, the track "Digital Bitch" is very cheesy just by its title, and the chorus of "Zero the Hero" is also cheesy, as it just sounds like some sort of half-baked chant and the song suffers for it. Another problem with the album is some of the lyrics. My favorite stupid lyric on the album would have to be "The grey and plastic retards all floating in circles" from the title-track. While the cheesy nature undoubtedly would turn many people off from enjoying it, I find it to be charming and gives the album a personality, which makes it a unique addition to the discography of Black Sabbath.
Overall, while Born Again may have an awful album cover, a muddy production, and performances by a number of the musicians that underwhelm due to their fantastic previous efforts (except Ian Gillan, as he knocked it out of the park), this album has stood the test of time as it is an enjoyable listen that has obtained a cult following in recent years. While it is nowhere near the level of the first six albums that Black Sabbath made with Ozzy Osbourne, Born Again is a very enjoyable experience, if one could learn to accept the cheesy nature of the album and accept it for what it is. Born Again is not supposed to be an Ozzy-Era album or a Dio-Era album, it is an album of its own, and that is the main reason why I enjoy this album. Born Again is its own beast, differing from anything before or after it. Born Again is a recommended listen to any die-hard Black Sabbath fan or Deep Purple fan.
Recommended Tracks:
Disturbing the Priest
Trashed
Born Again
