intothewellsabyss

Jun 21, 20235 min read

𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵 — 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 (1995)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

28 years ago this week, this seemingly “Forbidden” Sabbath album was released!

On June 20, 1995, Black Sabbath released their eighteenth full-length studio album, “Forbidden” via I.R.S. Records.

This recording saw the reunion of Black Sabbath's “Tyr”-era line-up from 1990, with the return of Neil Murray and Cozy Powell. It was the last album to feature Tony Martin on vocals and Geoff Nicholls on keyboards, and the last by the band until 2013 when Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler returned for the album “13”. The album sold 21,000 copies in the US in its first week and as of 2013, “Forbidden” has sold 191,000 copies in the US.

The album received a generally negative response from critics and fans alike. After its release, the band underwent several line-up changes and found itself at a career crossroads. However, original Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne would reconcile with guitarist Tony Iommi not long afterwards.

Background:

The recording of “Forbidden” followed some late lineup changes within the band, with Butler replaced by Murray and Powell returning in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 “Cross Purposes” tour.

Writing and rehearsals took place at Bluestone Farm in Wales, ahead of recording at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool that December.

According to a July 1995 interview by Tony Iommi for the Boston radio station WBCN, the album took ten days to record. The album was launched in June 1995.

Musically, the release draws on traditional Heavy Metal and Power Metal styles as well as influences from Blues.

Ernie C of the Metal band Body Count produced, recorded and mixed the album. The album's opening track, "The Illusion of Power", features a verse by Body Count frontman Ice-T, delivering a spoken word part during the song's bridge.

Forbidden Tour:

Sabbath toured from March 1st until December 19, 1995 in support of "Forbidden". Motörhead and Tiamat were the main supporting acts on this tour. During this tour, Sabbath played in the US, Europe, Japan and other parts of Asia.

Cozy Powell played his last gig of the tour on August 3rd and was replaced by a returning Bobby Rondinelli on August 19th, who's first gig in the tour was at the Rock At The Border Festival.

When Bobby Rondinelli replaced Cozy Powell on tour, Bobby was doing a drum solo; Cozy did not do one on the US tour.

Sabbath were scheduled to play seven shows in Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, New Castle, Brisbane, and Townsville) and one in Auckland, New Zealand, from November 21st, 1995 to December 9th, 1995. These shows were canceled by the promoter.

The last show of the tour was scheduled to end at the Phoebus Amphitheater Complex in Bangkok, Thailand, but two final shows were added; one at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines (Dec. 16th) and one at Hon Min Kin in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Vietnam (Dec. 19th).

Critical Reception:

“Forbidden” was panned by critics upon its release. AllMusic's Bradley Torreano gave the album only one and a half stars, remarking that "with boring songs, awful production, and uninspired performances, this is easily avoidable for all but the most enthusiastic fan". He also stated that he considered it a "sad state of affairs" given the band's long history.

Blender Magazine called “Forbidden” "an embarrassment ... the band's worst album".

Band members have since spoken about their mixed opinions of the album. Vocalist Tony Martin made known his feelings in an interview in July 2011, during which he stated: "Well, “Forbidden” is... I want to say “crap”, but it's actually not". He added that he thought the songs worked in rehearsals, but other factors, such as rumours of a reunion of the original Black Sabbath line-up and the record company wanting to "take (the album) and see what Ice-T wanted to do", gave the album a "distinct ill feeling". Martin also maintained that he never believed a "Run-D.M.C. type"/"Rap Sabbath" album would work.

Rob Zombie gave some lighter praise at the launch, stating "There is one easy way to figure out the lasting power of Black Sabbath. There's always certain bands that get a great reaction and Black Sabbath is always one of them."

In regards to the subsequent original line-up reunion, Martin has also said “Forbidden” was a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion", but remarked that he "wasn't privy to that information at the time".

Guitarist Tony Iommi has admitted to Sabbath fanzine “Southern Cross” that he was "not happy" with “Forbidden”. He elaborated by saying, "We brought in Ernie C. to do production, which was a bit difficult really, because I had to leave him to it… One of the problems was we weren't all there at the same time, when we were writing it. Cozy and Neil were still contracted to do other stuff, so it ended up with just Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls and myself just jamming around and putting ideas down. It all came together very quickly and we didn't have time to reflect: make sure it was the right songs and the right way of doing it." Iommi reiterated his dissatisfaction with the album to the Birmingham Mail newspaper.

More Information:

On March 4, 2016, Iommi discussed future re-releases of the Tony Martin-era catalogue. He explained: "We've held back on the reissues of those albums because of the current Sabbath thing with Ozzy Osbourne, but they will certainly be happening... I'd like to do a couple of new tracks for those releases with Tony Martin... I'll also be looking at working on “Cross Purposes” and “Forbidden”."

(Sabbath set list from the Forbidden tour)

In 2019, Iommi said he was working on a remix of “Forbidden” "on and off" with Mike Exeter.

On May 14, 2020, during an interview with Eddie Trunk, Iommi revealed that the remix of the album was complete and he was just waiting for "the right time" to re-release the album.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

“Forbidden” is not yet available for streaming on any platforms, along with most of the non-Ozzy/ Dio era releases.

Click this link to follow Black Sabbath on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbath

Click this link to follow Tony Iommi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyiomm

Click this link to follow Tony Martin on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044296096726

Click this link to follow the Cozy Powell page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozypowelldrums

Click this link to follow Neil Murray on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Neil-Murray-bass-guitarist-129870273694146/

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells