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Album Details

• Artist: Black Sabbath
• Album: Never Say Die
• Label: Warner Bros
• Year of Release: 1978
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2013-02-11

Black Sabbath were arguably the creators of the heavy metal genre, but were never really happy to rest on their laurels for that accomplishment. They generally have pushed the envelope in many ways touching on musical styles which most metal bands consider out of their realm. This album, actually greatly overlooked, is a fine example of that phenomenon. Influences on this one include pogressive/art rock and jazz. The lineup here is Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, and Tony Iommi. This was the last Sabbath album on which Ozzy before pursuing his solo career. Personally, I really like the album a lot. I can certainly see why some Black Sabbath purists wouldn’t like it, though. Let’s look at the individual tracks individually to get a better gauge of the set.

The title track opens the album and is a solid track in a mid period Black Sabbath mode (perhaps similar to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), not the more plodding Sabbath of old. It’s followed by “Johnny Blade.”  A markedly twisted sounding keyboard intro gives way to a track which is quite high in energy. This is the sad tale of a street fighter, and contains a few keyboard flourishes and an interesting metallic arrangement that only Black Sabbath could pull off so well. There are ways in which “Junior’s Eyes” calls to mind some of the jazzy elements of early Black Sabbath (perhaps related to “Hand of Doom”). Bluesy bass guitar and jazzy drums with a very open arrangement start the number. Eventually, the guitar and vocals join in, but the texture to the verses still maintain this nice texture. The chorus section has a more traditional sort of metallic feel.

“A Hard Road” and “Shock Wave” are more typical Sabbath tunes and not really all that special. Still, a competent Sabbath song is better than great music from many other acts. “Air Dance” is a very unique cut. The intro is pretty traditional Sabbath fare, but gives way to a central song structure which is in a rather progressive rock/jazz vein. This main song section features some wonderful piano work/jamming running throughout. This is quite a magical piece, and is my favorite song on this album. This track features many quirky changes and qualifies rather well as a progressive/art rock song. Although another solid rocker in the style of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage, “Over to You” contains more of that intriguing piano work that also shows up in Air Dance. This piano work is quite intricate, and, in fact, somewhat Wakemanesque at times.

Drums start the instrumental entitled “Breakout.”  It is a nice marriage of the Sabbath metal sound with a gritty jazz sort of mode. A saxophone part adds to this jazzy sort of feel, and this piece serves as an introduction to the album’s closer. Another very strong track in the tradition of classic Black Sabbath, “Swinging the Chain” is rather bluesy and, in fact, features some nice harmonica work. The arrangement to this one does hold some pleasant surprises. How one feels about this album will depend on whether one thinks Sabbath should extend and grow their sound or keep it like the early albums. I think this disc does a great job of expanding that sound.

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