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Metal Review: |
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When I recently wrote the article “Must Have Albums from the UT Collection” (Have you written your column on 25 must haves and sent it along yet?), I stumbled across my Nativity in Black Discs again for the first time in a while. These quickly found their way into my CD player, and I realised that it is my moral and ethical duty to bring its genius under your attention... The title of these discs is based on/pokes fun at the common misconception that Sabbath’s song N.I.B is an acronym for “Nativity in Black”. What actually happened was that Bassist Geezer Butler wrote this awesome track and needed a name for it. One debaucherous night, Ozzy declares that drummer Bill Ward, sporting a serious beard at that stage, looks like a pen nib. Moments later, Butler shared his dilemma with the rest of the band, and the intoxicated Ozzy said “call it nib”. This then quickly became N.I.B, and “Nativity in Black” followed… I bought Vol. I upon release in 1994, and Vol. II (again, upon release) in 2000. Being a huge Sabbath fan (if this is my first column you are reading!), both quickly became jewels in my CD collection, although Vol. I is my favourite of the two. Both sport inlays with a Tarot card representing each song, together with a few lines written by a member of the band covering the song to sing praise to the Great Ones. But on to the albums. Volume I. Vol. I kicks off with the rap/funk-metal outfit Biohazard’s rendition of “After Forever”, a powerful remake that really lays the groove down for what is to follow: White Zombie doing “Children of the Grave”. This was the track that introduced me to and made me fall in love with Rob Zombie and his band of undead (in a platonic, music-fan kind of way! Besides, if you didn’t know, White Zombie’s bassist was a very attractive lady!). Next up is Megadeth covering “Paranoid”, showing that Sabbath songs could just as easily have been thrash metal – all you need to do is speed it up a notch or two. The up-beat “Supernaut” is up next, performed here by 1000 Homo DJ’s, lead by Ministry’s (rather twisted) frontman Al Jourgensen. Of all the tracks on the album, this one is the most indicative of the flexibility of Sabbath’s songs. It kicks off with some “person” preaching the sins of “Top 40 records being played in the United States” as being a “communication to the children” that “it’s fun to take a trip: put acid in your veins”. Moments later, it erupts into a vicious Industrial track that will blow your mind and your speakers. Ozzy, supported by the splendid Irish rock/metal act Therapy?, is up next with a somewhat heavier rendition of “Iron Man”, before the 90s metal act Corrosion of Conformity tackles “Lord of this World”. The Brazilian masters of thrash-meets-death metal, Sepultura, follows with a skin-tearing rendition of “Symptom of the Universe”, again showing just how heavy Sabbath songs really are. The all-star cast just doesn’t end – next up is the metal god Rob Halford himself, fronting the rest of the Sabbath crew as “The Bullring Brummies”, and tearing through flesh and bone as he pays tribute via “The Wizard”. As if this isn’t enough, Olympic fencer, airplane pilot, author, and, oh yeah, Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson is up next, backed by Godspeed, shredding through “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” to make it sound as violent as it has ever been. Next up, the rock-act Ugly Kid Joe lends a sweet and nasty twist to “N.I.B”, showing that it is just as at home on in sunny California than it is in a dark dungeon. This is followed by Faith No More performing the great “War Pigs” live. Towards the end of the song, Mike Patton forgets a full bar of lyrics, which he promptly substitutes with some incoherent and hilarious mumbling… The full and complete darkness of Sabbath is displayed next, courtesy of Peter Steele and his Type O Negative’s rendition of “Black Sabbath”. This track is exceptionally shadowy, painting images that can rather euphemistically be described as extremely malevolent. In the liner notes, Steele had the following to say: “I think Sabbath are directly responsible for all metal, hardcore, thrash, and goth music. They are the premier goth band”. I couldn’t agree more. Vol. I is slowed down and concluded with “Solitude”, a beautiful track equally beautifully performed by doom/death act Cathedral, another “very heavy” act inspired by the great ones. The deep and soothing vocals lend an eerie feel to this flute-driven ballad-like masterpiece, and when it is done, you can’t but skip back and listen again… Volume II. Like Vol. I, Vol. II also features a number of “old-school greats”. However, this album also incorporates the talent of a number of diverse newer generation acts, which to me clearly demonstrates the lasting influence of Sabbath. The splendidly powerful “Nu-Metal” act Godsmack kicks off with a ripping rendition of “Sweet Leaf”, reliving the exploits of the 70s with crunching late 90s guitars. Next up are the masters of aggressive metal, Machine Head, giving a thrash metal twist with a slight feel of industrial to the great “Holy in the Sky”. Like always, Rob Flynn’s violent Bronx-inspired vocals quickly starts cultivating the need to get rid of some pent-up aggression, while the music itself launches a full-frontal assault on your senses. Awesome stuff. Another “Nu-Metal” act, Static-X, is up next to perform an excellent and rather sped-up rendition of “Behind the Wall of Sleep”. Then, Megadeth makes another appearance to perform one of the last “Sabbath-with-Ozzy” singles, “Never Say Die”. “Snowblind”, as performed by the very political Armenian rock/“Nu-Metal” group System of a Down, follows, before the Texas Masters of “pure Against the Grain Metal”, Pantera, very successfully tries their hand at “Electric Funeral”. Like Mustaine in Never Say Die, Phil Anselmo succeeds in mimicking Ozzy’s vocal throughout the verses, but he explodes in true Pantera style during the bridge to remind us of their rattlesnake brutality. The track “N.I.B” then also makes its appearance again, performed by Ozzy and a name well known here, Les Claypool (and Primus). Claypool lends a funky feel to one of my favourite Sab tracks here, but never to such an extent that Butler’s original lines are violated. The CD spins on, and what penetrates through the speakers is the ominous bass riff that rips into the famous “You push the needle in” – “Hand of Doom”. Bassist/ vocalist Tom Araya and his crew of not-so-merry men, also known as Slayer, steps slightly out of their faster-than-deadly character by performing the vast majority of the song at its original pace. This greatly surprised me, as when I saw their name, I expected a murderous battering that would leave me in pain… Max Cavelera, formerly of Sepultura, and his new act Soulfly tries out “Under the Sun” next, followed by Hed(PE), who gives a slight rap-meets-R&B feel to the classic “Sabbra Cadabra” (also see Metallica’s “Garage Inc.” for a great cover). This is followed by another relatively new band, Monster Magnet, doing their rendition of “Into the Void”. Although slightly foreign at first, these tracks seem to quickly grow on you as you realise that the original genius is still intact with a few things added. And again, Sab’s flexibility shines through. The biggest surprise of this album is the last track, “Iron Man”. When I bought the album, I did not recognise the name of the artist, and when I eventually came to the song, I was a bit curious. Familiar bass drum and bend note, but then a voice informs me that “This means War”. The original riffs are there, but the lyrics have been replaced by some “gangsta-rap”. Having been a fan of stuff like Ice T’s Bodycount, this was not a problem – rather, I liked it instantly. Ozzy’s voice shines through in the choruses, which has both some new and some original lyric lines. Only later was I to find out who Busta Rhymes is… For me, the true beauty of the two Nativity in Black albums reaches beyond two all-star casts paying tribute to the first and greatest metal band of them all. These albums show off the diversity and immortality of Sabbath, and prove that their songs will forever be ageless and “fresh”. I wanted to avoid the cliché “like fine wine it only gets better with age”, but there it is. And to add substance to my cliché, it is evident that after more than three decades since their first album, Sabbath’s alchemy continues to inspire, and prove once and for all that true metal will indeed never die. |
