Black Sabbath – 13 (2013)

June 24, 2021

I completely ignored 13 when it came out. I had no interest at all in the reunion, especially after the damage Sharon Osbourne has done to Sabbath over the years, effectively burying the Iommi solo years, and having Heaven And Hell form as a separate band. This is of course, barely the fucking surface of things when it comes to Sharon and her horrendous behaviour, but I digress.

13 is, simply, not very good. The songs are, for the most part, pretty solid, but the super compressed, modern sound didn’t work on Forbidden, so I’m not sure why they thought it work here, sounding even more inorganic and fake, even with Rick Rubin at the helm. Honestly, I have no time for this record. Plus, why is it called 13? Its not the thirteenth album overall or with Ozzy? Maybe Iommi considers this the 13th best Sabbath album? Ha!