BLACK SABBATH — Dehumanizer (review)

BLACK SABBATH — Dehumanizer album cover Album · 1992 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
bonnek
Dehumanizer is another stunning powerhouse of an album where Dio's compelling vocals clash with the riff grandmaster Tony Iommi. It’s been copied a thousand times but still Sabbath remain one of the few bands who can pull it off so successfully.

Dehumanizer was released at the height of the grunge and doom revival years in the early 90's and they could fiercely hold their ground amidst all the youths from Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Cathedral and Solitude Aeturnus. Respect! You won’t find many other bands of the early seventies that were still creating something relevant at that time (or since...)

I remember that at the time of its release, everyone I knew loved this album a lot, even people that had given up on Sabbath for years. So I’m somewhat surprised at the lukewarm reception here. I guess the poor album art warns off many young fans and it's sure not polished enough for the power/sympho fans that went along with the other Sabbath albums of this era.

Whatever the reasons, this album is stunning. First of all, the song writing is as good as on the early 80's albums with Dio. But it’s not just a copy of those albums. Dehumanizer is a lot heavier and harsher. Which brings me to the strong organic sound of this album. Sabbath has definitely chosen not to continue the polished and perfected production standards of the previous studio albums. Instead we get a rough and untamed sound. The guitars are sharp and edgy, the drums very direct, the bass clearly audible and Dio simply singing the stars from the sky.

I would have a hard time picking favorites. Time Machine is probable the least accomplished song here but it's still good. The remainder of the songs are all very consistent, with the 3 closing tracks as absolute highlights.

This album is a very strong 4 star and another doom essential from Sabbath. Highly recommended to doomsters, grunge fans and all other dark music lovers.
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