Headless Cross

Infobox Album
Name = Headless Cross
Type = studio
Artist = Black Sabbath


Released = April 1, 1989
Recorded = August - November 1988
Genre = Heavy metal
Length = 40:24
Label = I.R.S.
Producer = Tony Iommi, Cozy Powell
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:rtduak8k5m3p link]
Last album = "The Eternal Idol"
(1987)
This album = "Headless Cross"
(1989)
Next album = "Tyr"
(1990)

"Headless Cross" is the fourteenth album by heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1989.

This is the band's second album to feature singer Tony Martin and the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell.

Album information

Laurence Cottle played bass on the recording but was never made an official band member. Cottle did appear in the video for the title track but was not featured in any promotional photos.

"Headless Cross" was praised among critics and fans, being considered the best Sabbath album in years and is an album that both Martin and Tony Iommi are very proud of.Fact|date=August 2008 The lyrics on the album have predominantly Satanic and occult elements, the only time in the band's career where an entire album is based on such ideals rather than select songs. Sales-wise, the album and tour did very well in the UK and Europe.Fact|date=August 2008 Sales in the US were low leading to the curtailment of the tour. In interviews the band cited lack of promotion of the live dates to have been the problem.Fact|date=August 2008

The track "When Death Calls" has a guitar solo by Queen guitarist Brian May.

The song "Call of the Wild" was originally going to be titled "Hero", but when Ozzy Osbourne used that title on his album "No Rest for the Wicked" Tony Iommi opted to change its title.Fact|date=August 2008 "Devil & Daughter" also had the original title "Devil's Daughter", but was changed for the same reason.Fact|date=August 2008

"Call of the Wild" and "Devil & Daughter" are also the only songs that don't end slowly fading out with Tony Martin ad-libbing (though "Nightwing" has only the band performing fading out with no ad-libbing on Martin's part)

For the live show in support of this album, "Ave Satani", the main theme from Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning soundtrack for "The Omen", was used as the intro tape, beginning as the house lights went down. This would then segue into a taped recording of "The Gates Of Hell" before the band would begin the show with "Headless Cross". This intro-tape of "Ave Satani"/ "The Gates Of Hell" was used as many times during various tours over the years up until the "Reunion" shows. "Headless Cross" would be played on all subsequent tours when Tony Martin was in the band but the only other track from the "Headless Cross" album to last beyond that tour was "When Death Calls".

"Headless Cross" yielded two radio singles; an edit of the title track and "Devil & Daughter"

The first recording of "Black Moon" was a B-side to a single of "The Eternal Idol", performed in a different key.

"Headless Cross" is about a part of a town south of Sabbath's native Birmingham, Headless Cross in Redditch, and is reportedly named after all the church crosses were defaced during the plague that struck the town's inhabitants centuries earlier.Fact|date=February 2007 (See: Districts of Redditch)

Track listing

All songs were written by Black Sabbath, except where noted.

ide one

#"The Gates of Hell" – 1:06
#"Headless Cross" (Tony Martin, Tony Iommi, Cozy Powell) – 6:29
#"Devil & Daughter" (Martin, Iommi, Powell) – 4:44
#"When Death Calls" – 6:55

ide two

#"Kill in the Spirit World" – 5:11
#"Call of the Wild" – 5:18
#"Black Moon" – 4:06
#"Nightwing" – 6:35

Bonus tracks

#

"Cloak & Dagger" (picture disc only) - 4:37

Personnel

*Tony Martin – Vocals
*Tony Iommi – guitar
*Geoff Nicholls – keyboard
*Laurence Cottle – bass guitar
*Cozy Powell – drums
*Brian May – guitar solo on "When Death Calls"

References

External links

* [http://www.black-sabbath.com/discog/headlesscross.html Album information and lyrics]