Comments

1. Dave Ward says

   January 18, 2012 at 3:02 pm

   I think Tony’s solos on Zero the Hero and Born Again are some of his best ever. I just wish a better tape to remaster would turn up!

   I think this album is very underated and Ian Gillan shines brilliantly on it.

   Whatever you may think about the album, It is certainly a unique moment in Sabbath’s amazing history!

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2. Philippe Warda says

   January 26, 2012 at 10:32 am

   Everyone here already knows it, but between the album cover intrigue with Depeche Mode, the presence of Ian Gillan, the playing of SOTW, the arrival of Bev Bevan, the Spinal Tab influence, the dwarf (Ozzy’s Ron anyone!?!) and the loving pull on GNR’s Paradise City, this has got to be one of the most significant/influencial Sabbath recordings of them all.

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3. K-Man says

   February 5, 2013 at 7:39 am

   Do you have any plans to include the lyrics for ‘The Fallen’ now it’s seen official release?

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4. K-Man says

   February 5, 2013 at 8:13 am

   Just another quick comment to say that there appears to be a glitch on the source tape during the track ‘Black Sabbath’.

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5. Michel LeGrisbi says

   June 7, 2013 at 3:46 am

   Of the live recordings available of “War Pigs”, the versions with Gillan are the most exciting IMO.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyzdzRKkcFc

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   • Steve Armourae says

     January 4, 2016 at 7:54 pm

     Glad you like it, but for me it sounds wrong except for Gillian’s screams, & ‘Amelia’? The trouble is War Pigs sounds best when it’s a spoken declaration, the way Ozzy did it in Sabbath, dark and serious.

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6. Mason says

   September 9, 2013 at 8:41 pm

   A raw, dirty rock album. I love this album. The production sucks, but the songs are great.

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7. Shaun Ferguson says

   April 6, 2014 at 2:02 am

   In Born Again we have the greatest Sabbath album ever made, which unfortunately as far as I’m concerned was never given a proper release. For on thing, the best order in which to listen to these tracks are as follows: Fallen, Trashed, Hot Line, Zero The Hero (with The Dark depending on what mix you have. Personally I don’t feel this intro adds much, I much prefer to hear the start of this song from the chuggingof the main riff), Digital Bitch, Stone Henge (preferably THE REAL VERSION, the LONG ONE), Born Again, Disturbing The Priest, Keep It Warm, Smoke On The Water,and then all the other live stuff you have. Every official release of this has the tracks ordered SO BADLY. That’s the first problem. I have not heard the 2011 Release all the way through but from what I’ve heard so far it shows serious promise. I just haven’t had the money for it or 13 yet, so when it comes to BA I have the bootlegs and out of print 1996 reissue instead. So here’s a review, song by song, of both mixes: The Fallen is a great track despite being way too rough around the edges, any version you find of this is good. There are 3 studio versions of Trashed, these are all great too, but my fave is the one from 2006 with Iommi, Gillan, Paice, and Glover.Hotline sounds great on both mixes, one has keyboard, the other doesn’t. The demo version sounds better overall. Zero The Hero on the demo version is 9 minutes long and the third verse is missing. HOWEVER, the released version has an unnessasary intro and is shortened, and up until 2011 was DROWNED to a large extent in reverb. Thankfully in 2011 this was sorted out to a large extent, revealing some previously unheard lead guitar around the end of the 7th minute, and it sounds decent. But nothing will compare to the tone of the demo, and this pretty much goes of the whole album, at least in terms of what I’ve heard of all versions so far (Demo, 96 remaster, some of the 2011 remaster). Digital Bitch is a great song on both mixes. The demo version is great for the tone, and the other version is interesting for the high pitched keyboards. Unfortunately now we are getting to the point where the demo is superior to the 96 remaster. Stonehenge, the original version, is nearly 5 minutes long and is a beautiful epic from start to finish. The “full studio” version is well worth how much it’s been made fun of over the years, and sounds like trippy garbage. Thankfully the longer version, along with The Fallen, were put out on the 2011 Remaster. Why they didn’t just try to put together the demo version completely with the remastered 2011 mixes I will never know. I will make it my personal mission to do that myself when I have my own studio equipment as well as the whole 2011 version in my grip. The demo version of Born Again, the title track, is one of the greatest metal ballads every recorded by anybody and in my view is noticeably better then even any Pink Floyd angry ballad, both lyrically and instrumentally. The version that existed before 2011 in print was only good to hear the flute overdubs, other then that, again it’s garbage compared to the demo, which doesn’t really sound like a demo actually. When I put the 1983 demo together with then 2011 remaster, I’m guessing the flute parts will be the only pieces of the in print version I will save, even then. The demo version of Disturbing The Priest is perfection itself, Gillain’s screams, Tony’s riffs, Geezer’s Bass, Bill’s drums, all couldn’t be better if they tried. The problem is that they did try, and the version that existed in print at least before 2011, is, again, garbage by comparison, being drowned in reverb and I think even having the key to the song changed. The only thing the non demo version I’ve heard so far has to offer is perhaps some screams around the end that are not on the demo. That’s it. Other then that the pre 2011 non demo version is worthless form start to finished. No wonder Gillan puked at this mix. Thankfully both versions of Keep It Warm sound more or less equally good, and I’m not picky about either of them. One has piano and a little reverb on the guitar, the other doesn’t. Other then that they are identical. The demo version sounds like Nirvana’s Nevermind album, and I mean the in print mix of Nevermind, only better. The guitar is just the right amount of heaviness, and the solos are a bit sloppy but their spontaniousness makes up for it completely, especially since the tone has just the right amount of bass and treble. The riffs are a near perfect combo of lots of new with a little bit of old. The only riff I wish sounded more now was the first one from Keep It Warm, but that’s little to nothing to complain about. Geezer’s work here is some of the best he’s ever done, and I don’t say that lightly, possibly the best work he’s done other then that bass solo he wrote for NIB or all those fills on Master Of Reality, which sound just as good as this, not better, especially on Disturbing The Priest, Hot Line, Zero The Hero, and Born Again. Bill’s drums if I had to compare them with Dave Grohl on Nevermind, I’d say Dave is better, but not by too much. The jazzy swing, the brute force, the speed, the rhythm changes, it’s all here. The only drum track I think could have been better maybe was Zero The Hero, because even on the 2011 remaster of it, which I have, the drums are too slow and too high on the mix, granted, it is a slowish song, but there’s more then enough room to slowly cram more notes in there. My band and I recorded a cover of this song so I know what I’m talking about. However, in order to cram all the notes inside this song for drums, first my brother did a track with a whole kit, and then when he missed those VITAL little fills at the chorus, I took his snare drum and overdubbed the whole thing with my bare hands in one take, and the fills were there and the beat had many more notes on top. It should be noted that it took 1.5 people playing drums on this song to do this with ease in 2 takes (I did not use my legs, because I can’t, so six limbs were used to play drums on this song in my band). This song so far is the last song my band has finished thus far, done last year in 2013. But enough about that. Other then Zero The Hero Bill’s drums for all intensive purpose on this album are perfect. And then there’s Ian Gillan……. EASILY THE BEST SINGER SABBATH EVER HAD IN THE STUDIO, EVEN BETTER THEN RONNIE JAMES DIO. This was Gillan in his prime and then some, having to stretch his vocals father then ever before in the studio to accomidate what Sabbath’s music stood for….. listen to the demo and you’ll know what I mean. This is easily the most underated and greatest singing Gillan has ever done, except maybe Deep Purple’s Made In Japan. He’s like Kurt Cobain only much better minus Cobain’s guitar (I say this despite loving the music of Kurt Cobain), and then there’s Geoff Nicholls at his best, doing more tracks I think here then any other album (other then Stonehenge, Born Again, and Disturbing The Priest, everything he did as well on the 96 remaster sounds great to me.). The lyrics are perfect too. I can’t say enough good things about this album, but you must hear it a very specfic way to get the whole thing (or at least most of it in my memory because I haven’t heard all of the 2011 version yet) heard right. Black Sabbath has made many wonderful albums over the years. This one towers above the rest. The only two I’ve heard that are nearly this good are 13 and Master Of Reality. Buy this thing, the 2011 version if you do, or find the demo on the internet, right now. If you claim to love Sabbath you owe it to yourself to do this, and even Ozzy now has to consider this and Heaven And Hell a real Sabbath album now because 13 was done with only 3 original members left in the band as well. All live recordings from this tour I’ve heard so far are great too except Gillan forgetting lyrics here and there and not singing Neon Knights as well as Dio. That is all. Goodnight.

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8. gustavodreier says

   May 24, 2014 at 4:15 pm

   Why this album is not certificated neither in the uk (debut at number 4) and us. Must have nealy 500000 units sold by now.

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9. Shaun Ferguson says

   July 4, 2014 at 11:41 pm

   I have heard the deluxe version so let me give you a short review: IT IS ALL GOOD AND BETTER THEN THE OTHER OFFICIAL RELEASES TO ONE EXTENT OR ANOTHER EXCEPT THE REMASTER OF THE STONEHENGE DEMO, WHICH IS CRAP BECAUSE IT’S TOO QUIET. I still recommend the demo version as a companion and the tracks of the studio work are still ordered badly, but other then that this is still the best Sab album ever and the remix is still really good, and the concert is great too despite not having the following: Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell, Children Of The Grave, Supernaut/Drum Solo/Rock And Roll Doctor, and more Born Again songs, ALL OF THESE WERE PLAYED LIVE ON THE TOUR AS FAR AS I KNOW. BOOTLEGS PEOPLE! The best boot for the Tour is Born In Hell and the best version of Neon Knights was played I believe at Long Island in early 1984. That is all!

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10. Gary says

    July 19, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    Ah, Born Again…definitely in my top 5 metal albums off all time. Too bad the master tapes have mysteriously disappeared…it was supposed to get an all new remix by Iommi himself if I’m not mistaken. At one time I had every bootleg from this tour (around 35 shows), and one thing I noticed is that Gillan gave his best performances in Spain and Germany. He’s on fire at the San Sebastian show (the bootleg I had ran a tad too fast) and Offenbach and Munich are worth seeking out. By the time the band reached Paris his voice was beginning to crack a lot, especially at the Canadian shows. The U.S. shows were hit and miss (Worcester is good and San Francisco has the best version of Neon Knights). Dallas 1984 is a high energy show but mediocre sounding bootleg. By the end of the tour Gillan is really struggling; his voice pretty much shot (as evidenced by the Dayton and Toledo recordings). He still gave it his all, considering his doctor had told him to take a year long break from singing in 1982. (He blew his voice at Reading Festival ’82 and his singing is noticeably rough on his “Magic” album from the same year). Not an easy job at all singing for Black Sabbath!

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11. Eric says

    June 20, 2015 at 11:09 am

    Back in the Summer of 1984, there was a late-night TV broadcast of Black Sabbath on the Born Again tour. Somebody, somewhere must have a VHS copy of the TV broadcast. And NO, it wasn’t the lip-synched Rock Palace video or the audience footage from Montreal, it was close-up, on-stage video. During their interview on MTV, Iommi, Gillan, and Butler state that the concert footage used in the Trashed and Zero The Hero videos was taken from filming of a live performance in Canada. And finally, I CANNOT BELIEVE that the hottest concert on the planet, during heavy metal’s most popular time, wouldn’t have ANY video documenting it! Seriously???

    RELEASE THE LIVE CONCERT FOOTAGE FROM THIS TOUR AND REMIND THE WORLD JUST HOW GREAT BLACK SABBATH WAS AT THIS TIME!

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12. Matt Dennett says

    June 21, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Born Again fucking rocks like a bastard! I love it, always have, from day one of hearing it. It is such a heavy album, heavy as a black hole, and the “crap sound” and “crap cover” just make it more iconic to me. Gillan is ridiculously good on this, such a shame it gets dismissed by so many, criminal in fact!

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13. James says

    November 11, 2015 at 12:45 am

    Although I didn’t like the production of the album, that doesn’t change the fact that Born Again songwise is a masterpiece. Zero The Hero, Digital Bitch, Disturbing the Priest, Stonehenge, and Hot Line are all amazing songs. Born Again is another sadly under rated album and it deserves more attention than what it gets. I don’t think I will have a chance to hear Born Again songs live but I’m glad I had the honor of seeing Ian Gillan in Deep Purple in 2002. Zero The Hero is one of the songs I enjoy playing as I drive down the Interstate on a cloudy and rainy day and I also enjoy listening to it when I travel to other cities in China as I pass through traditional small towns. Although I’ve heard Born Again many times here in China, hearing it again twenty years later has the same magic as hearing it for the first time as I did twenty years ago, like all of Black Sabbath’s albums.

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14. Steve Armourae says

    January 4, 2016 at 11:43 am

    There is a fantastic live recording of the Born Again tour, far better than the Reading Festival bootleg, called ‘Born In Hell’ with a painting by a Symbolist painter on the cover. It’s on Youtube, Highlight is Iron Man preceded by Stonehenge, yes part of Stonehenge live!

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15. Steve Armourae says

    January 4, 2016 at 7:45 pm

    Stonehenge is one of THE most outstanding songs by Sabbath! Are there any Sabbath instrumentals which are not amoung the highlights of an album, with the exception of FX? It has an ambiance similar but superior to Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross.
    To see why I love this track try this: spring/summer time sit under a star filled sky preferably in the countryside and put this song on loop. Be blown away

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16. Steve Armourae says

    January 9, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    Anyone know what keyboards Geoff Nicholls used on Stonehenge

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17. elsabbathero says

    January 22, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    I’am a big Deep Purple fan (and a big Black Sabbath fan, of course) and i decided to listen to the Ian Gillan discography besides this bands. I was really surprised when i found out in the 1977 ‘Scarabus’ album by Ian Gillan Band that the title song it’s pretty similar to ‘Disturbing the Priest’.

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18. Eric Vysther says

    January 15, 2022 at 9:31 am

    Ahhhhh yes….Born Again…the first Sabbath album I purchased and saw the subsequent tour with…and the last one until 1992, I might add!

    A major stylistic departure from Mob Rules – we went from slick sophisticated aggression – Dio’s influence/flourishes – to a much looser, raw, harsher rock and roll beast here with more than a few nods to Deep purple’s stylings…

    It was still definitely Sabbath – with Tony and Geezer at the helm, how else could it not be? – but a much more classic rock ‘n’ roll vibe was to be found here as well.

    Me being 16 at the time of it’s release, I was painfully naively settled to the ideal that this was what Sabbath were going to stomp on into the night like for the next decade or so….ahh, the follies of youth!

    AMAZING tour, btw – I read tons of slagging about Stonehenge, but, let tell you, at the age I was at then, and this was my first real concert with huge production behind it? Had a BIG influence.

    The album itself ranks in my Top Five for the Sabbs, along with Volume 4, Heaven anf Hell, Dehumanizer, and Mob Rules…

    Just food for thought – I always thought Zero the Hero would’ve been a fantastic fir on one of the newer Godzilla flicks soundtracks from Legendary in the past few years….can’t ya just See the Big G stomping away to that riff…?

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19. Jack Holloway says

    July 30, 2023 at 1:02 pm

    Has Steve Joule shed any light on the concept behind the Black Sabbath logo on the back of the album? As far as I can tell, this is the only album it appears on. I’m wondering about the significance of the symbolism and lettering.

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    • Joe says

      July 30, 2023 at 6:17 pm

      Good question. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a discussion of that tell you the truth. If I had to guess, it was just a font/art choice by Krusher.

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20. looking for today says

    September 18, 2023 at 8:34 pm

    im as big a sabbath fan than anybody. i know all their songs like the back of my hand. i’ve seen all versions of sabbath. when you heard all the classic songs 10000 times. ian gillan destroyed dallas,tx 1983 hearing disturbing the priest live unfiltered was mindblowing. he brought the screams i never heard again . ian never brought so much to deep purple as born again tour. if theres a good recording of dallas 83. i would like to relive that concert.

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21. Josh Hefner says

    October 19, 2024 at 7:14 pm

    Tony Iommi has he is planning to put out a new edition of Born Again next year so we have that now to look forward to.

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    • Joe says

      October 19, 2024 at 7:47 pm

      Tony has said he’d be interested in doing a remix of the album. He most assuredly DID NOT say that it would be next year. I wouldn’t look for that for a few years down the line.

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      • Josh Hefner says

        October 20, 2024 at 3:27 pm

        You are correct I listened to Eddie Trunk again and after he played Zero the Hero he talked about it and yes Tony didn’t say next year my bad.

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