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Cross Purposes

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Cross Purposes
Studio album by
Black Sabbath
Released31 January 1994
Recorded1993
StudioMonnow Valley Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales
GenreHeavy metal
Length47:27
LabelI.R.S.
ProducerLeif Mases, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath chronology
Dehumanizer
(1992) 		Cross Purposes
(1994) 		Forbidden
(1995)

Cross Purposes is the seventeenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released through I.R.S. Records on 31 January 1994. The album marked the return of Tony Martin as the band's lead vocalist, after the second departure of Ronnie James Dio.

Background and recording

Dehumanizer saw the reunion of Mob Rules-era Black Sabbath, but, after the tour, Ronnie James Dio (vocals) and Vinny Appice (drums) departed. They were replaced by former Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin and former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Geezer Butler remained with the group, although he would depart later in the year again before the recording of the Forbidden album. Rondinelli left the recording sessions for Quiet Riot's album Terrified to join Black Sabbath. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley Studio, in Wales.[1]

Songs

Tony Martin explained during the show at Roseland in NYC on February 12, 1995 that "Psychophobia" was about David Koresh, and the Waco, Texas incident.[2]

A promo video in black-and-white was shot for the song "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle". Tony Martin explained in a 2011 interview with Martin Popoff that he wrote this song about Beverly Allitt, a children's hospital nurse in England who was convicted of serial infanticide in 1993. The video features a young girl, assumably in reference to this.[3]

The song "Cardinal Sin" was originally intended to be titled "Sin Cardinal Sin" (or "Sin, Cardinal Sin") but a printing error on the album sleeve caused the first word to be removed. Sabbath simply adopted the title "Cardinal Sin" as the name of the song.

"What's the Use?" was released only on the Japanese edition of Cross Purposes, which also contained a free sticker of the artwork. A nearly identical version of the "burning angel" image was featured on a Scorpions single three years earlier.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyD[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

The album peaked at number 122 on the US Billboard 200 charts but made it to number 41 on the UK album charts.[7] In both Finland and Sweden, the album hit #9.

Bradley Torreano of AllMusic rated the album 3 stars out of 5, praising it for bridging various aspects of the band's different eras. He said it was "the first album since Born Again that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record" and "probably the best thing they'd released since The Mob Rules, even with the filler tracks and keyboards."[4] In July 2014, Guitar World magazine ranked Cross Purposes at number six in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Tony Martin, except "Evil Eye" written by Butler, Iommi, Martin, and Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen was uncredited due to restrictions from his record label, Warner Bros. Records)

Stanard Edition
No.TitleLength
1."I Witness"4:56
2."Cross of Thorns"4:32
3."Psychophobia"3:16
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"4:31
9."Cardinal Sin"4:20
10."Evil Eye"5:58
Japanese Edition Bonus Track
No.TitleLength
11."What's the Use?"3:03

Personnel

Black Sabbath
Production
  • Leif Mases – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Darren Galer – assistant engineer
  • Dave Somers – assistant engineer
  • Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 85
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 32
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 41
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 41
US Billboard 200[16] 122

References

  1. ^ Stolz, Nolan (2017). Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener’s Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 173. ISBN 9781442256910.
  2. ^ Live recording February 15, 1994 Youtube.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (2011). Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History. Da Capo Press.
  4. ^ a b Bradley Torreano (8 February 1994). "Cross Purposes - Black Sabbath | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  5. ^ Frost, Deborah (11 February 1994). "Cross Purposes Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Billboard album chart history-Black Sabbath". Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  12. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. ^ "Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Black Sabbath | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
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