I can't believe this album is rated lower than Technical Ecstasy! Surely. I thought, people have more brains than to slough off this album as further evidence of Ozzy's decline and Sabbath's as well. I find this album to not only redeem the grotesque mistep of Technical Ecstasy but offers a view into a Sabbath that almost was. The band all play in top form, in ways they never had before, the album sounds livelier and fuller than its predecessor and it's still relegated to metal history's dustbin of record prejudice.
Sabbath doesn't get a lot of credit for being a progressive band. Indeed, held up against the legions of bands that invoke the famous Sabbath sound (the doom/stoner, downtuned guitar style so ubiquitous today) and without radioplay, Black Sabbath's true masterpieces go largely unnoticed. Songs like Fluff and Laguna Sunrise are the polar opposites of doom-and-gloom works like Into The Void or Electric Funeral and show that they were more than just a metal band or "The Godfathers of Doom". Black Sabbath albums progressed from lengthy blues-inspired jams to the infamous doom-sound until we reach Volume 4 and the creative lid is blown open. Here, they reached their peak sound, sort of like Opeth from MAYH through Blackwater Park. These albums saw more orchestration, an increased presence of keyboards and a very much matured sense of songcraft. The right combinations of life experience and drugs, basically.
After Sabotage, came the aforementioned crapfest known as Technical Ecstasy which coupled with the We Sold Out Souls best of, seemed to signal the downfall of the mighty. Ozzy was in and out of reality and Sabbath a lot these days and as the drama surrounding these times is well known, I think Never Say Die gets a bum rap. At first listen, it's a noticably different Sabbath that eschews its trademark stoner/doom sound for a lot of jazz, a little latin and some late 70s hard rock. There is a common theme of buildup and payoff in these songs with good riffs often giving way to great riffs like the breakdown in Johnny Blade or the money riff in Shock Wave. Never Say Die is a nonstop swinging rock song whilst A Hard Road is a blues paced rollicking sing-a-long.
Sabbath came full circle on this album as Never Say Die sports the most jazz influence since the self titled debut. Junior's Eyes' bass and drum fade in sound culled from some live jam, like something you'd here between songs. An earlier version of this song (performed with Dave Walker of Fleetwood Mac on vocals during on of Ozzy's breaks) goes straight into the heavy riffing and features a much more pronounced blues-rock influence. Air Dance is IMO Sabbath's most progressive song since Who Are You but in even more extremity. The first part of the song has a Santana vibe with the only distortion being Tony's latin-jazz inspired licks. The second half, after a quiet interlude breaks into a solo section you'd expect to hear from a fusion group like Return to Forever or Weather Report. Over To You features lush, cascading pianos, both underlying and accenting key sections. Breakout is bold and with the brass arrangement calls to my mind an extended G.E. Smith & the SNL Band jam during commercials.
The only weak moment on the album is Swinging the Chain. Its a good song, yet unremarkable and coupled with the lack of Ozzy, no small wonder it's the last song. Leaving out on a blues-rock jam we say goodbye to one of the greatest bands in music's history. Had they kept it together, there's no telling what Sabbath could have done, expanding on the template they set up on Never Say Die. Instead, we got Randy Rhoads and the long reign of King Ozzy (79-95), while Sabbath shined briefly with Dio and sank into the mire. I love the s/t and I feel that Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath is their masterpiece but this is probably the album I listen to the most.
(metal-archives.com/reviews/Black_Sabbath/Never_Say_Die%21/503/) Review by mudbog. April 24th, 2009