The Eternal Idol

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The Eternal Idol
Black Sabbath studio album

Publication
(s)

November 1, 1987

Label (s)

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Heavy metal

Title (number)

9/11 + 8 (deluxe edition)

running time

42:42

occupation
  • Tony Martin - vocals (on the original version (disc 1))
  • Ray Gillen - Vocals (2010 Deluxe Edition Disc 2 only)

production

Jeff Glixman , Vic Coppersmith-Heaven , Chris Tsangarides

Studio (s)

Air Studios, Montserrat & Battery Studios, London

chronology
Seventh Star
(1986) 		The Eternal Idol Headless Cross
(1989)

The Eternal Idol is the 13th studio album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath . It was released in November 1987.

Emergence

For the first time Tony Martin sang on a Black Sabbath album. Ray Gillen had left the band shortly after the beginning of the recording sessions at Air Studios on Montserrat with producer Jeff Glixman . So the vocals were reproduced shortly before the end of the recordings by Martin, who helped save the album project. Other guest musicians and producers were also involved in the chaotic, often interrupted recording process, including Bev Bevan for some cymbal overdubs . Instead of the specified Dave Spitz , Bob Daisley played bass.

The album cover shows a replica of Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The Eternal Idol" ( French L'Éternelle idole ) from 1889. Since the rights to use a photograph of the original could not be acquired, the pose of the two figures was recreated with two photo models .

In 2010 the album was re-released as a double CD. The second CD contained a recording session of the album with Ray Gillen.

reception

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
The Eternal Idol
  UK 66 11/28/1987 (1 week)
  US 168 January 16, 1988 (6 weeks)

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described The Eternal Idol as "perhaps Black Sabbath's most underrated work and the best without Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio on the microphone." It awarded three out of five stars.

Track list

Side one

  1. The Shining - 6:00
  2. Ancient Warrior - 5:28
  3. Hard Life to Love - 5:00
  4. Glory Ride - 4:49

Side two

  2. Born to Lose - 3:43
  3. Nightmare - 5:19
  4. Scarlet Pimpernel (instrumental) - 2:05
  5. Lost Forever - 4:03
  6. Eternal Idol - 6:33

2010 Deluxe Edition, Disc 1, Bonus Track

  2. Black Moon (single B-side)
  3. Some Kind of Woman (Single B-Side)

Deluxe Edition 2010, CD 2

This album session was recorded with Ray Gillen .

  1. Glory ride
  2. Born to Lose
  3. Lost Forever
  4. Eternal idol
  5. The Shining
  6. Hard life to love
  7. Nightmare
  8. Ancient warrior

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Eduardo Rivadavia: Review at Allmusic (accessed on March 3, 2012)
  2. ↑ British Charts (accessed March 12, 2012)
  3. ↑ Billboard.com: The Eternal Idol (Retrieved March 12, 2012)
Black Sabbath
Bill Ward  • Ronnie James Dio  • Vinny Appice  • Geoff Nicholls • Tony Martin  • Ian Gillan  • Glenn Hughes  • Ray Gillen  • Cozy Powell  • Neil Murray  • Bev Bevan  • Jo Burt • Terry Chimes  • Bob Daisley  • Bobby Rondinelli  • Eric Singer  • Dave Pointed • Dave Walker


Studio albums

Black Sabbath (1970) • Paranoid (1970) • Master of Reality (1971) • Volume 4 (1972) • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) • Sabotage (1975) • Technical Ecstasy (1976) • Never Say Die! (1978) • Heaven and Hell (1980) • Mob Rules (1981) • Born Again (1983) • Seventh Star (1986) • The Eternal Idol (1987) • Headless Cross (1989) • Tyr (1990) • Dehumanizer (1992 ) • Cross Purposes (1994) • Forbidden (1995) • 13 (2013)

Live albums

Live at Last (1980) • Live Evil (1982) • Cross Purposes Live (1995) • Reunion (1998) • Black Sabbath - Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007)

Compilation albums

We Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll (1976) • The Best of Black Sabbath (2000) • Greatest Hits 1970–1978 (2007) • Black Sabbath: The Dio Years (2007) •

Singles

Black Sabbath (1970) • Evil Woman (1970) • NIB • Paranoid (1970) • The Wizard (1970) • Iron Man (1971) • War Pigs (1971) • Fairies Wear Boots (1971) • Sweat Leaf (1971) • Children of the Grave (1971) • After Forever (1972) • Snowblind (1972) • Tomorrow's Dream (1972) • Supernaut (1973) • Changes (1973) • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) • Sabbra Cadabra (1974) • Am I Going Insane (1975) • Hole in the Sky (1975) • Symptom of the Universe (1975) • Rock'Roll Doctor (1976) • Never Say Die (1978) • Hard Road (1978) • Dirty Woman (1979) • Neon Knights (1980) • The Young (1980) • Mob Rules (1981) • Turn Up the Night (1982) • Voodoo (1982) • Trashed (1983) • No Stranger to Love (1986) • The Shining (1987) • Headless Cross (1989) • Devil and Daughter (1989) • Feels Good to Me (1990) • TV Crimes (1992) • The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1994) • Psycho Man (1998) • Selling My Soul (1999) • The Devil Cried (2007) • God is Dead? (2013) • End of the Beginning (2013) • The Loner (2013)