Cross Purposes

Cross Purposes
Black Sabbath studio album
Publication (s)	January 31, 1994
admission	1993
Label (s)	IRS Records
Format (s)	LP, CD
Genre (s)	Heavy metal
Title (number)	10/11 (Japan version)
running time	46:53
occupation	Tony Martin - vocals Tony Iommi - guitar Geezer Butler - bass Bobby Rondinelli - drums Geoff Nicholls - keyboard
production	Black Sabbath
Studio (s)	Monnow Valley Studios, Wales
chronology Dehumanizer (1992) Cross Purposes Forbidden (1995)

Cross Purposes is the 17th studio album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath . It was released in January 1994

Origin and style

After the tour to Dehumanizer , the line-up of the Mob Rules era split up again, Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice left the band. For that met Tony Martin and former drummer for Rainbow and Blue Öyster Cult , Bobby Rondinelli , added. Musically, the album offered a mixture of heavy metal and power metal with elements of stoner rock .

reception

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Cross Purposes   UK 41 02/12/1994 (1 week)   US 122 02/26/1994 (2 weeks)   DE 32 02/14/1994 (9 weeks)   AT 23 02/27/1994 (6 weeks)   CH 41 02/13/1994 (3 weeks)

The heavy metal music magazine Rock Hard , established in Germany, published a review of the album in issue number 81 in 1994, in which the return of Tony Martin as a singer is described as a big plus. In the opinion of the reviewer Frank Albrecht, his timbre would fit better with the more modern sound of Sabbath, which at the time of publication is described as powerfully interpreted and massively produced. Sometimes there are also parallels to the Seattle sound at the beginning of the 1990s. On the whole the album is "rock solid" and "routine", but doesn't come close to works like " Headless Cross " and "TYR". "Cross Purposes" receives 8 out of 10 points.

Allmusic's Bradley Torreano wrote that Cross Purposes could have become the ultimate Black Sabbath album, given the line-up that mixed the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The album begins with some filler pieces, the better material can be found in the second half. After all, it is the first album since Born Again that sounds like a Black Sabbath album. It awarded three out of five stars.

The online platform of Guitar World magazine names "Cross Purposes" as one of the "iconic" 50 albums that defined 1994.

Track list

All pieces were composed by Tony Iommi , Tony Martin and Geezer Butler , unless otherwise stated.

1. I Witness - 4:56
2. Cross of Thorns - 4:32
3. Psychophobia - 3:15
4. Virtual Death - 5:49
5. Immaculate Deception - 4:15
6. Dying for Love - 5:53
7. Back to Eden - 3:57
8. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle - 4:30
9. Cardinal Sin - 4:21
10. Evil Eye - 5:58 (Tony Iommi, Tony Martin, Geezer Butler, Eddie Van Halen )

Bonus title

1. What's the use? - 3:03 (bonus track from the Japanese version)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} James Chrispell: Review at Allmusic (accessed on March 26, 2012).
2. ↑ Sources chart placements: DE / AT / CH
3. ↑ Frank Albrecht: BLACK SABBATH - Cross Purposes. Accessed March 31, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Jackson Maxwell 2014-07-16T08: 52: 54Z Feature: Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994. Retrieved March 31, 2019 .