aglasshouse Tyr's name originates from the Norse god of the same name who, in an effort to bind him, famously had his right hand bitten off by the abominable wolf Fenrir. This along with several allusions to elements of the mythology, like Valhalla and Odin, made Tyr one of the oddest releases for the fractured late-80's/early 90's Black Sabbath. Even though bassist Neil Murray denies the connection, Tyr's heavy use of mythos did well to spur the "viking metal" genre that gained cult status in the greater part of the 90's.

Silly although it may sound, Tyr is packed full of extremely talented musicians. Whether their past merits stand out here though...that's to be decided.

This album came about at a time where Black Sabbath was featuring heavy lineup changes. While this is not unfamiliar for the group, in the 80's it was practically fractured and by the time Tyr came out one original member consistently decided to be a part of it- guitarist Tony Iommi (although Dio did join back for a one-off on Dehumanizer). Tony Martin was seemingly a semi-permanent fixture at least, seeing as he had lasted longer than both Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes, which really isn't that hard considering they were both on for one album each. Not only was the lineup destroyed, the 80's Sabbath showed huge fluctuations in quality from album to album. First you'd see a pretty good album like Born Again in '83, next you get a total face-plant with Seventh Star. It was fairly hard to tell how it would turn out until the music actually came out. So where does Tyr lie on the spectrum?

Like most of these albums, the quality of the music that they house can't exactly called spectacular or really outstanding at all, and Tyr does nothing to break this characteristic. It continues the Rainbow / Sabbath fusion sonically that was established a few years prior, but not even the mythological reference don't seem to mix it up. This leaves Tyr in sort of stale state, wherein greatness is heard in bursts but it doesn't have the ability to put it at the forefront. For one, the slow, symphonic heavy metal sound it has never varies, and many of the songs end up sounding like carbon copies of another. Same signatures, same drum fills, same vocal harmonies. If this sound is very friendly to you and you feel comfortable with it, you might find solace on this album. If you find it distasteful, by god you will hate it. As for where I stand, I'm not a fan of heavy repetition nor over-indulgence in a certain musical medium, and Tyr's dabbling in both is something I'm not particularly fond of. At times though, like I said before, the power really shines through. Iommi's solos sound particularly good on this album not only compared to the other 80's/90's albums. Not sure why that is, but I'm not complaining. Martin's vocals are particularly good at times, and I've never professed myself as a hater of his. Quite the contrary- I think that Tyr is some of his best work, following closely behind 1989's Headless Cross (which is undeniably the best Martin-era album).

Other than that though, these factors really leave Tyr at "okay". Nothing more, nothing less. Sabbath would go on to continue the trend of ups and downs, but overall quality of the group actually seemed to stabilize somewhat. Tyr is a sign of an aged, but legendary group that sometimes shows it's former glory, but all in all is fairly average.

bonnek Tyr is possibly the best album Sabbath made with Tony Martin. It’s not really my kind of music but when it comes to power metal this is the real thing. Just like the Dio-fronted Sabbath albums, this is a mix of vintage Rainbow with Sabbath heaviness. It’s heavier then Rainbow Rising but it’s more slick, melodic and commercial then Heaven and Hell.

Most songs are really good. Again, not as good as Rainbow Rising or Heaven and Hell but quite a treat if you’re a fan of this style. For me, there are still too many traces of AOR left, as can be heard in the nasty break 2.15 minutes into Jerusalem. Other songs like Anno Mundi and The Sabbath Stones are true heavy metal monoliths.

The production is professional but very polished and big (= 80’s reverbed drums alert!). It makes the epic music a bit too bombastic for me and knocks off a half star. With a more organic and rougher edge this would be no less then 4 stars. Recommended for power and sympho metallers.

SouthSideoftheSky "Are you among the blind so easily lead?"

Here we have the third consecutive Black Sabbath album featuring the great Tony Martin on vocals and the second to feature drum god Cozy Powell, and it is indeed another excellent album. This album features my second favourite line-up of the band after the classic one; we have here Neil Murray on bass, Geoff Nicholls on keyboards and, of course, Mr. Black Sabbath himself: Tony Iommi. This makes up what I consider to be the definitive post-Ozzy line up of the band! It is sad that this version of Black Sabbath did not last longer or be at least better remembered. They ought to be!

TYR is the first and only explicitly conceptual album by Black Sabbath and is also the most clearly progressive album by the band since Sabotage from 1975. The progressive tendencies in Black Sabbath's music had been there all along, but in the early 80's they were almost extinct. The progressive side of the band slowly began to rise again from Seventh Star onwards and it culminated with this album. The concept is inspired by Scandinavian mythology and I initially had serious worries about this before I listened to the album. I was scarred that it would turn out to be a Spinal Tap kind of thing, embarrassing the history of the band that I loved. Fortunately, the concept doesn't take over the music. TYR is only loosely based around its concept. Personally, I think that the concept enhances the music without controlling it. The music controls the concept and not the other way around which is a common mistake with concept albums.

There are many great riffs on this album with Anno Mundi (The Vision), Jerusalem and The Lawmaker being up to par with the Headless Cross material. The style here is similar to those of The Eternal Idol and Headless Cross albums. The Sabbath Stones has a symphonic sound with quieter passages alternating with some heavy passages. Excellent music!

Three of the album's tracks are connected to form a kind of 'suite' starting with the short, strongly symphonic instrumental The Battle Of Tyr, this then leading into the haunting ballad Odin's Court, which in turn leads into the rousing Valhalla. I wouldn't call this a Prog 'epic', but it is very effective. Feels Good To Me is a typical AOR, power ballad that doesn't really fit into the theme of the album. However, it does not distract too much and it's not horrible at all. Indeed, it lends a bit of diversity to the album and represents a type of song that was very rarely made by the band.

If you want to discover post-Ozzy Black Sabbath, the much underrated Tony Martin-era is an excellent place to start. Sadly this album would be the end of this interesting period of the band's history. The next album would again feature Ronnie James Dio and a much more contemporary and 'trashy' sound in a very misguided attempt to achieve greater commercial success again.

Excellent addition to any collection that already holds The Eternal Idol and Headless Cross.