''Cross Purposes'' is the seventeenth studio album by English rock band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, released through I.R.S. Records on 26 January 1994. The album marked the return of Tony Martin as the band's lead vocalist, after the second departure of Ronnie James Dio.

Background and recording

'' Dehumanizer'' saw the reunion of '' Mob Rules''-era Black Sabbath, but, after the tour, Ronnie James Dio (vocals) and

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. Career Appic ...

(drums) departed. They were replaced by former Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin and former

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

drummer

Bobby Rondinelli Robert Rondinelli (born July 27, 1955) is a rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/ heavy metal bands Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, The Handful, and Rondinelli. In July 2013, Rondinelli was ...

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

remained with the group, although he would depart later in the year again before the recording of the '' Forbidden'' album. Rondinelli left the recording sessions for

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...

's album '' Terrified'' to join Black Sabbath. The album was recorded at

Monnow Valley Studio Monnow Valley Studio is a recording studio in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. History In the 1970s, Monnow Valley was the rehearsal facility of the famous Rockfield Studios. It became an independent studio in the 1980s owned by Charles Ward afte ...

, in Wales.

Songs

Tony Martin explained during the show at Roseland in NYC on February 12, 1995 that "Psychophobia" was about

David Koresh David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Se ...

, and the Waco, Texas incident. A promo video in black-and-white was shot for the song "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle". Tony Martin explained in a 2011 interview with Martin Popoff that he wrote this song about

Beverly Allitt Beverley Gail Allitt (born 4 October 1968) is an English serial child killer who was convicted of murdering four children, attempting to murder three other children and causing grievous bodily harm to a further six. The crimes were committed ...

, a children's hospital nurse in England who was convicted of serial infanticide in 1993. The video features a young girl, assumably in reference to this. The song "Cardinal Sin" was originally intended to be titled "Sin Cardinal Sin" (or "Sin, Cardinal Sin") but a printing error on the album sleeve caused the first word to be removed. Sabbath simply adopted the title "Cardinal Sin" as the name of the song. "What's the Use?" was released only on the Japanese edition of ''Cross Purposes'', which also contained a free sticker of the artwork. A nearly identical version of the "burning angel" image was featured on a Scorpions single three years earlier.

Reception

Critical reception

Bradley Torreano of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

rated the album 3 stars out of 5, praising it for bridging various aspects of the band's different eras. He said it was "the first album since '' Born Again'' that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record" and "probably the best thing they'd released since '' The Mob Rules'', even with the filler tracks and keyboards." In July 2014, '' Guitar World'' magazine ranked ''Cross Purposes'' at number six in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.

Sales

The album peaked at number 122 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 charts but made it to number 41 on the UK album charts. In both Finland and Sweden, the album hit #9.

Track listing

Personnel

;Black Sabbath * Tony Martin – vocals *

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

– guitar *

– bass * Geoff Nicholls – keyboards *

– drums ;Technicial personnel *Leif Mases – producer, engineer, mixing *Darren Galer – assistant engineer *Dave Somers – assistant engineer *Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1994 albums Black Sabbath albums I.R.S. Records albums