Born Again

Black Sabbath: Ian Gillan (vocals); Tommy Iommi (guitar, flute); Geezer Butler (bass); Bill Ward (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Geoff Nicholls (keyboards).
Personnel: Ian Gillan (vocals); Tony Iommi (guitar, flute); Geoff Nicholls (keyboards); Bill Ward (drums, percussion).
Audio Remasterers: Matt Wortham; Andy Pearce.
Liner Note Author: Alexander Milas.
Recording information: The Manor Studio, Shipton, Cherwell Oxfordshire, Englan (08/27/1983); The Reading Festival (08/27/1983).
Photographer: Ross Halfin.
BORN AGAIN is probably the most underrated album in the Sabbath catalog. Featuring the classic lineup with vocalist Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) standing in for Ozzy, BORN is a balls-to-the-wall metal album made in an era when Dexy's Midnight Runners and Debarge dominated the charts.
"Trashed" races by with Gillan's hair-raising shrieks. It's said the man sang the album naked in the studio for maximum power and grittiness, and he seems to have achieved it. Sounding nothing like Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio, Gillan nonetheless fits the Sabbath sound to a T. "Zero The Hero" features a wicked bass line from Geezer Butler, while "Digital Bitch" contains classic metal soloing from Tony Iommi. The title track is a power ballad that fit that label before bands like Firehouse and Warrant distorted it. If you're a fan of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, or hard rock in general, don't let BORN AGAIN be the one that got away.