I thought this one might be fun to post. Released in late 1983 while Black Sabbath was going through their separation from Ozzy, this album featured Ian Gillan (of Deep Purple—you know, “Smoke On The Water” and all that…) on vocals. Gillan also sang the role of Jesus on the original recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 1970. Here you have what may be Sabbath’s most evil sound ever fronted by Jesus.
The other story involves the album cover. Widely considered the “worst” cover of all time, it is based on a real picture of a newborn from a 60’s medical journal. Rejected at first by the band and management, Tony Iommi, lead guitarist, decided he liked it and so that was that.
Sales of the album have done better through the years as more people “discovered” hard rock in the 80’s and 90’s. Today, it is considered a rock “classic.” Some good stuff here.
