Listened to "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die" this morning to see if they are as bad as I remember. Of the two, I'd say TE is better. Granted, I could do without "Gypsy" or "It's Alright", and it's undeniably weaker than the prior albums. That being said, there's a bit more inspiration to it (the riffs are still solid and Ozzy sounds good), I like the funk influence in "All Moving Parts (Still Stand)" and at the end of the day, it's largely an enjoyable if not somewhat slight affair.
NSD though, still doesn't do it for me. "Johnny Blade" isn't too bad, but it doesn't need to be as long as it is, I like the title track and "Air Dance" had fun Jazz Fusion vibe. However, the rest of it just sounds uninspired, as you can tell the band is phoning it in (especially Iommi), Ozzy's voice is weaker and Bill Ward's drumming is pretty bad. Worst of all, it feels a dated. A big part of that is the fact it was released the same year as Van Halen's debut, plus Judas Priest was running circles around them (revisited "Sad Wings of Destiny" a not too long ago and Goddamn that's a great album) and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was taking shape. In hindsight, it's living proof that Ozzy embarking on a solo career and Dio replacing him as Sabbath's frontman was for the best.
ultimateclassicrock.com
blabbermouth.net
www.avclub.com
variety.com
www.wearethepit.com
consequence.net
