The Unknown Zone

Black Sabbath
British Band that Defined Early Heavy Metal

Most all metalheads know that Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio sang for Black Sabbath but the band didn't end after those famous voices departed. They continued on with other vocalists and released more albums of various qualities. Many metalheads, however, are a bit shaky on what happened with the mighty band throughout the last 30 years, so we went a little deeper into the Sabbath catalog and pulled out our favorite tracks, with the extra caveat--no songs by Ozzy or Dio.

THE UNKNOWN ZONE: BLACK SABBATH SONGS PROHIBITED
BLACK SABBATH DEEPER TRACKS WORTH TRYING

"Disturbing the Priest" (Born Again)
Dark, raw, and energetic Disturbing the Priest is an evil and psychotic tune featuring some unsettling vocals and screams from Ian. Excellent lyrics, great breakdowns, and some punchy riffs throughout this song. --Troy Cole



"Glory Ride" (Ray Gillen Vocals, Mastered version)
Hot off of the platform heels of "Seventh Star", which was supposedly the Iommi solo album retitled as another Sabbath record, future Badlands singer Ray Gillen was passed the torch to sing for the underdog fathers of Heavy Metal. Ray has the power and conviction of Martin but probably just not enough character and personality to match an Ozzy or a Dio. Still, this is an encredibly moving performance and worth mentioning. Thank Glenn Hughes' reckless behavior for having to sit this one out. --Josh Greer



"Danger Zone" (Seventh Star)
Is it a Sabbath album? According to Iomni it is, the label says solo record. Regardless Hughes nails these cuts and delivers one of Sabbath's best career tracks. He has such range and really brings a melodic AOR feel to a heavy cut. --Eric Compton



"Ancient Warrior" (The Eternal Idol)
Great intro riff that leads into some powerful and melodic churning almost Dio style. All the parts seem to work harmoniously from Singer's on point drumming to Martin's shining vocals. Parts of the song almost recall a Pink Floyd vibe. --Troy Cole



"Lost Forever" (The Eternal Idol)
One of Black Sabbaths' faster tracks with aggressive riffs and Tony Martin really soars on vocals and staying in the high register for a majority of the song. --David Loveless



"Hard Life to Love" (The Eternal Idol)
There are so many great tracks on this record. This is classic mid-era Sabbath with one of the best hooks on record. Martin seems to have leather lungs when he belts out those runs and the whole thing has a Zeppelin feel to it. --Eric Compton



"Shining, The" (The Eternal Idol)
Martin's smooth barritone is exceptionally paired with Iommi's ominous main riff. There's a fairly soulful solo in it also. It's not exactly the scariest or spookiest BS tune, but every time I hear the lyrics "No one laughed as madness came out to play it's game / If you stay too long you'll finally go insane...RISE UP to the shining!" I wanna throw in the Kubrick film and synch it up to Jack running around with his axe --Frank Hill



"Master Of Insanity" (Original Version-Geezer Butler`s Band)
Crushing right into this track with a bass lick that only Geezer could supply, this track was originally a solo song that our friendly yet gloomy Brit bassist conducted. Carl Sentance does an excellent job here displaying that you can start off in Persian Risk and hold your own with the Geez in the late 80's, no problem. A true contender for the original album track --Josh Greer



"When Death Calls" (Headless Cross)
A heavy and brooding song with a climactic verse chorus structure. Tony Martin pierces your ears with his wails over backing vocals chanting the song title. Brian May nails a godlike solo to make this a personal favorite of mine. --Troy Cole



"Valhalla" (Tyr)
Although this album is generally left out of Sabbath conversation it does have some decent cuts. "Valhalla" is one of my favorites of Tony Martin's catalog, a simple mid-tempo cut that lyrically paints Vikings, frosty shores and long ships. --Eric Compton



"Cardinal Sin" (Cross Purposes)
Opening half contains an orchestral feel while maintaining a Sabbath vibe that gets combined with Led Zeppelin like riffing. Second part of the song picks up the speed with more of the hard rock sound that permeates the album. --Troy Cole



"Immaculate Deception" (Cross Purposes)
Even though the mix is rough on this album the underlying bass line on this track gets me everytime and Martin's range is on showcase here. One of the faster songs on the album with some nice breakdowns. --Troy Cole



"Junior's Eyes" (Dave Walker vocals)
Savoy Brown's very own Dave Walker briefly filled the shoes of Ozzy Osbourne before Never Say Die was recorded and completed. While the album version of "Junior's Eyes" will always be one of the most underrated vocally emotional Sabbath tracks of all time, you can feel the sweat and pouring soul from this performance. The different arrangement and harmonica becon the call of "The Wizard" and add an unknown dimension to this underrated tune. --Josh Greer






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