1263. Various Artists / Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath. 1994. 5/5

Cover albums and tribute albums have been around for a while, and have been done in different ways, but when it comes to the true start of the GREAT tribute albums, then I think this release marks that occasion. Firstly, it’s Black Sabbath, and by the time 1994 rolled around, it had been 15 years since Ozzy Osbourne had left the band, and in many people’s eyes was the true demise of Black Sabbath the band, or at the very least the greatest era of the band. And that era was so influential to so many bands that had then gone on to bigger and better things over that 15 year period. It contains so many great guitar riffs, so many awesome bass lines, so many amazing drum fills and so many brilliant vocals. Secondly, those bands that had been influenced by Black Sabbath were coming into their own at this time, and so it was a good opportunity for them to be involved i this kind of project. And thirdly, given the time this album was released, and the constant drama that the then current lineup of Black Sabbath was going through, it was a great time to remind everyone of the great songs that the band had written and performed in their heyday.
The compilers of the album had a difficult task ahead of them with this project. Firstly, they had decided that the songs to be covered on this album would only come from that era of Sabbath from 1970-1978, the Butler-Iommi Osbourne-Ward era of the band. This was a canny move, ensuring there was no comparison across the board of that era of the band with the ones that followed with the various members and different vocalists in particular. Then they had to choose the bands who would participate in the project, and that could not have been an easy thing. A couple of the tracks that appear here had already been released by the bands who did them on their own albums, but most were brand spanking new versions of some excellent songs. And it is interesting to note, because often, cover versions cannot match the originals when it comes to their gloriousness. But there are several tracks here on this album that truly match the awesomeness of the originals...and perhaps... almost surpass them...

There are 12 tracks on this album, and for me they are all terrific. But there are some bands and artists that seem like a strange choice to be a part of this compilation. Some I think were brought in to make this album attractive to fans who didn’t really know some of the bands involved in the hope they would buy this album, and other choices also seem unusual.
For instance, the choice of Faith No More to perform “War Pigs” is a great move, given the studio version of this song that appears as a bonus CD track on their breakthrough album “The Real Thing” from 1989. It is a brilliant version of the song and very worthy of this album. But the version on here is the live version that came off their live album “Live at Brixton Academy”, and while it is good, Mike Patton’s vocals are not as terrific, mainly because he had an aversion to the song and did not enjoy performing the song live every night, and thus made a point of changing the lyrics when they did. So good but could have been far better. Then there is “Iron Man”, which is performed by the band Therapy? but with a guest vocalist... being... Ozzy Osbourne! Now, we know Ozzy hadn’t been in Black Sabbath for 15 years, but why invite back the original vocalist of the band that you are covering, to get him to cover his own song? It has always seemed like a strange decision, obviously made to get Ozzy fans in to buy the album. But what a shame not to have had Therapy? do the song and let Andy Cairns sing it! To me, that would have been just as good if not better. The version is excellent, but just sounds generic because Ozzy is singing it. Strange. And, in that same ballpark, comes the ‘supergroup’ that was brought together only for this project, the Bullring Brummies. Now for this group, Rob Halford is the vocalist, who had filled in a couple of times for the band in recent years, and his love of the songs is well known, so having him involved is great, and he sings “The Wizard” wonderfully well. But was there a need to bring in Geezer Butler and Bill Ward to play on this as well? Again, like Ozzy, brought in to cover their own work? It seems ludicrous, no matter how good it sounds, and again could only have been to draw people into buying the album. And while I understand that Ugly Kid Joe were popular at the time and on a roll, would there not have been better options out there to cover “N.I.B.”? It's a good version, but a bigger heavier version of this amazing heavy song may have worked better.
What else have we got? We have a really good version of “Paranoid” by Megadeth. Professional, clinical, everything that you would expect from this band at this time. They received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for this song. I would love to have heard them cover something that required a bit more technical playing than “Paranoid”. 1000 Homo DJs version of “Supernaut” was released by the band as a 12” single in 1990, and Al Jourgenson from Ministry really fires up this version of the track. White Zombie do a perfectly wonderful White Zombie version of “Children of the Grave”, which probably waters down the original's heaviness across the board but overall makes for an entertaining version of the song. And Peter Steele and Type O Negative perform an amazing version of the song “Black Sabbath”, that retains the doominess of the original track while adding their own stamp to this version. It is a truly original take on the song and well worth the 7 minutes plus of the length.
The album opener is one of the best versions on this album, with Biohazard absolutely crushing their version of the brilliant “After Forever”, adding a fire and brimstone to the track that has it sitting on a pedestal right next to the original for sheer brilliance. Corrosion of Conformity add their unique take to “Lord of This World”, and Godspeed’s excellent depiction of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” is helped along by the appearance of another guest vocalist in Bruce Dickinson, currently on hiatus from Iron Maiden and doing his own solo gig. And the final song here is the killer, the one most people keep coming back for because of the way the band melds itself to their version of this song, and take one of the heaviest riffs ever written, and channel that through the whole song. Sepultura’s version of “Symptom of the Universe” is something to behold.

In a period when buying music – or anything for that matter – was not an easy thing to do given my circumstances at the time, this album was still one I purchased on a whim on a visit to Utopia Records not long after its release. It had all the usual banners around it proclaiming all of the artists involved and that it just HAD to be good. So I took it home and put it on... and Utopia was right. It was amazing, right from the opening 30 seconds through to the final 30 seconds. And I got so much from it, because at the point in time that I bought the album, I still hadn’t heard bands such as Therapy? And Type O Negative, who within 12 months were to be enormous influences in my life. I hadn't heard any Biohazard. And then there were the artists I knew, whose songs here are so perfect. Bruce Dickinson, Faith No More, Megadeth, Sepultura.
Not only was it eye opening – or ear opening if you prefer – for hearing these bands, but the versions of some of these tracks are amazing. Honestly, “After Forever” and “Black Sabbath” and “Symptom of the Universe” are just sensational versions here, because the bands utilised their own music style in performing them, and that’s important when it comes to cover versions of songs. You can do a note for note retelling of the song, much like Megadeth do here, and it will sound great. But the versions that will grab your attention need to have a piece of the band attached to them to make it memorable. Not all will be great versions, of course. But these ones here certainly are.
I have spent the last three weeks listening to this album over and over again and enjoying it as much as I ever did. And like I mentioned at the top of the episode, to me this was the template that was set for future tribute albums. It showed the way to go, to make a successful album of this type. Great musicians and bands, creating great versions of songs of the artist or band you want to create a tribute to. And in the long run, with most tribute albums, you will eventually get tired of the new versions, and just want to go back to the original versions created by the band and listen to them again, because they will always be the best. And that is true here, except I have never gotten sick of listening to this album. It is a gem and sit on the top of the pile when it comes to tribute albums. Perhaps it is the reverence that Black Sabbath is held in that created this album, or that the songs were so perfectly crafted by this band that covering them becomes another work of art. No matter what the reason, this album is worth checking out, for any number of superb tracks.