NEVER SAY DIE!

I understand that Osbourne has been quoted as saying that this is the worst album he has been involved with and disassociates himself totally with it. Well I say.... good; he is hardly an arbiter of taste as witnessed by all his subsequent output and this sure ain't a 'heavy metal' album in the mould of say the cliched NWOHM and Iron Maidon that was starting to gain traction at the time. I've often wondered how Sabbath get a listing on prog archives. Well this album is a good reason why. For a start, Never Say Die is a mash up of different genres and the production is everything heavy metal isn't. This is, with perhaps the exception of the title track, a much more mature and intelligent offering. For example, even jazz rock influences are present. I have to admit, as a 17 year old at the time of its release, I was disappointed. However, with maturity and a crisp cd release, this is manna from heaven to my ears. Even the Bill Ward sang track sounds damn good. Air Dance is sublime and the lyrics poignant,,,,,,,,, who would have thought. It must have been a risk at the time to come out with such a left field album. Come the eighties, bands such as this kept strictly within the confines of their genre and to their detriment. The follow up with Dio was good I admit, but the end of the Osbourne era was sad and Sabbath would never be the same again. If you like Sabbath just for pounding riffs, look away, but if you like a bit of intelligence with your 'metal' give this a go. Great cover too.