The Sabbath Stones: Reviewing the Anno Domini 1989-1995 Box Set

[@gavinbruce-thegreyrunner5581]

It’s wonderful seeing Tony Martin getting some love. A great body of work during trying times.

[@Mrs.Foster1719]

👍🤘🤘

[@DarkVegetaman]

Forbidden sounds so great now. Listened to it six times so far in the past week. So glad this era got its day in the sun!

[@VampireJack10]

The 2 Tony's should reform as Headless Cross and give us more music damnit! Headless Cross was my first Sabbath album, and still one of my favourites. Tyr and Eternal Idol are bangers too.

[@mikekeeler6362]

I think a lot of it is health reasons why they don't do that

[@skolsaw1080]

Hopefully he does do Born Again next and adds The Fallen to it. Couldn’t imagine how great it would be to add that gem of a song to my favorite Sabbath album.

[@franciscotalavera1045]

Forbidden sounds like a new record. Love it. I won’t cry for you and Loser gets it all sound amazing. Fan from Nicaragua

[@sergiodavila5269]

LOVE this era of Sabbath 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽

[@ericdinse5047]

Love the show ! AND let's get that "Born Again" re-mix !!!

[@Mark-bi5dk]

I love the remix of FORBIDDEN

[@Brian-qg8dg]

I wished Cross Purposes had this sound. It is so strange- even when Cross Purposes came out, that big slick sound was already over.. This new vinyl boxset is fun... Yes, Forbidden is rocking! Tony and Tony should try and do one last deal, and tour a little. wow!!!

[@boris29122000]

Kind of becoming one of my favourite Sabbath albums now. I love how fresh and new it sounds now

[@MegaPalesz]

My favorite album🤘

[@independenceltd.]

@@Brian-qg8dg Call the band "Headless Cross".

[@skoorb1]

You're right, it sounds frickin' great.

[@DesmondAmbrose-xg9ot]

I ABSOLUTELY loved this show! Thank You! "Forbidden" to me, is a whole new record, a whole new experience, many songs I either didn't like or thought were "OK" earlier, I love now. Love! Its now my third fav of teh Martin records behind Eternal Idol and Headless Cross, above Cross Purposes and Tyr. I think the sound and richness of the mix TRULY shines, and who knew there was such a diamond in that rough.

[@barbaradraft3038]

I was a stubborn Black Sabbath ended when Ozzy left person. Until a few years ago while watching Sea of tranquility, seeing the passion and love that you and chris had for Sabbath. Along with your opinion, of if you like the black Sabbath sound and Iommi's guitar, than think of it as Iommi's Black Sabbath new band with different singer's. Give it a chance. So I did give it a listen with a open mind. I was amazed at how good most of the discography was and then Glenn Hughes was a singer ( love Deep Purple) It was fun discovering old new music to me. I bought the box set not only to hear Tony Martin but to complete my Sabbath discography . I couldn't get Cross purposes, T Y R and Forbidden they weren't available or over priced. I wasn't disappointed.

[@logancollins7097]

Glad you guys are covering this! Might get a lot of shit for this but ive had Forbidden in my truck for the last couple days and wow does that remix make that album sound better than ever before!

[@tacowomansandyravage]

Dude, there's a video on KZbin where they do a side by side comparison of the Forbidden 1995 mix and the 2024 mix, and it's unbelievable that Tony Iommi was able to pull that off.

[@logancollins7097]

@@tacowomansandyravage Was just watching that yesterday man. Night and day difference

[@neuroisis85]

Sure it sounds better, but the songs are still crap.

[@NavelOrangeGazer]

Not since Rush's Vapor Trails and Let it Be Naked has a remix/reimagining breathed new life into an album the way Iommi did for Forbidden.

[@MrSomadude]

As someone who was not alive when half of these albums came out and as someone who couldn’t find copies of them in the ensuing years, it’s so awesome to have a great package that has all of them. I really like this era of the band and all of these albums sound great! Loved the show as usual, guys!

[@StephenBaird-cp1fc]

From New Zealand it's fantastic Tony is finally getting his due

[@martymartin2894]

Wonder if he's getting it financially, I bet Sharon is getting a bigger cut than tony martin.

[@prosperoeaton8201]

I love this box set. It's leading me to reassess the Tony Martin era. The remix of Forbidden is fantastic.

[@brennonwolfe4060]

I love the tony Martin era

[@Countravendark]

This set is fucking awesome, my copy arrived yesterday and even though I own the originals I so happy with Anno Domini. Hope that more releases are coming soon like Cross Purposes Live or other unreleased songs from the Tony Martin era. Headless Cross was my first encounter with Black Sabbath and this album is also my most favorite in their entire discography!!!

[@vinnynatale3733]

Pete, Chris I’m so glad you guys did this it’s a great video and it’s crazy how many people are loving this and it makes me so happy I love that Tony Martin years

[@tmc1054]

Of all of the shows on SoT, the Sabbath Stones is the most essential. Thank you, gentlemen. Pete, perhaps a show with Uncle Phil, the Deep Dive or Purple Protocol???

[@jimmyandersson59]

I got the CD Boxset. I love it! Great show guys. Sabbath Rules. :)❤😊

[@PatKennedydon]

It's 110 euros for a CD box set here in Europe, I'm waiting for the vinyl to return.

[@KingLizard616]

Yeah, too much! I have them all so for this price no way I am gonna buy box set.

[@markbro4427]

​@@KingLizard616I'm in the UK, bought the USA cd set from a UK eBay seller for £50.49 delivered which was good and bought the vinyl from Amazon UK for £89.99

[@SteveSmith-md1fl]

Got mine Monday and loving it. All four discs have pretty much been in continuous play.

[@donnybrookdetritus]

Pete I hope one day you do a Black Sabbath album ranking redux to see how things have moved around as well as including the Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know album in it. Thanks for all the great content!

[@griphfunk]

I've always thought you could this Pete, like Pardo's Sabbath album ranking remastered w/ bonus content. (Adding The Devil You Know and maybe a few live albums. Just an idea.)

[@garyh.238]

Tony The Cat Martin is so criminally underrated in the Black Sabbath canon. Am happy that he is finally getting some recognition by way of this box set. I saw Sabbath with Tony Martin, Cozy & Neil Murray, and of course with Mr. Iommi in 1990 on the Tyr tour.......mammoth, thunderous sound - great concert. Tony Martin did all the big songs just right, plus a great job on the new stuff.

[@strangeways75]

Great box set. I still have all the originals, but was thrilled that this is back out there.

[@joesantiago9062]

Got into the Martin albums a few years ago thanks to this channel. Though I had managed to track down CDs on eBay I had to have this box set. Loving the Forbidden remix which sounds like an entirely different album to me. Also have had Tyr on repeat all week 🤘🏻Pumped for the Born Again remix

[@Iron_Mladen]

So much injustice towards Mr. Tony Martin over the years, I'm so happy seeing that he's finally getting his due. Phenomenal singer and I love all his albums. New issues sound amazing, and yes - we need this era reunited under whatever name they choose and see them on tour! :)

[@vintagevinylvets1187]

Been waiting for this one! Pete & Chris are the only review that matters to us regarding Black Sabbath. #justsayin #blacksabbath

[@griphfunk]

The Forbidden remix is making me really hope even more for the possible Born Again remix

[@markc5771]

Cross Purposes is my favorite from the Tony Martin era

[@kamranmalik8546]

I AM SO GLAD WE FINALLY GOT THIS!!! The Tony Martin era is overlooked. Still have the original CDs will buy the Anno Domini Box Set this week. I was looking forward to your guys review on the new box set. 🔥🤟🏽

[@jimmypage2843]

Yes I was hoping for this! 🤘🏼

[@jpaleologos1]

My copy is coming in the mail tomorrow. Can't wait!

[@Rmesick-hm6yq]

Love this series. Got my box on Sunday and have been loving it. The book has some nice insight into that period as well. The Forbidden remix is great! The extra tracks are nice too. Iommi NEVER runs out of riffs!

[@Marco_Cadabra]

Great episode. Sabbath, Sandwiches, Pizza and Beer sounds like heaven. Received the box on release day as well. Love it, would have preferred the book to be a hardcover, though, like in the other super deluxe editions.

[@FrenchToast589]

Forbidden was the first Sabbath album I ever owned. I was 12 when it came out in 1995 and someone told me to check out this cool band, Black Sabbath. So I went to the store (Nobody Beats The Wiz in NJ!) and this was the newest release so I figured why not start there? Tony Martin was the first Sabbath singer I ever heard. I didn't even know Ozzy was in the band originally. So I took in all eras of Sabbath equally. When you're 12 and you get only one album every so often, you enjoy it for what it is. I more or less forgot about Forbidden (and the Martin era) almost entirely for the last 30 years. But now this remix gives it so much more life that I'm finding myself smiling from ear to ear while listening in 2024! The whole box set is like a treasure trove of Sabbath, old albums that feel new again because of the lack of attention they've had for so long. I really hope Iommi and Martin can do something new together once more, even if they have to do it under a different name like Heaven & Hell with Dio.

[@HighBeanGrade]

Love the boxset!!! Huge sabbath fan here but ashamed to say completely slept on the Martin era until now the whole headless cross album slowly becoming one of my favourite sabbath records

[@HighBeanGrade]

Also want to add that the album tyr is stellar !! The battle of tyr all the way through to valhalla = 10/10 an absolute epic piece

[@garyjoyce2160]

I hate to miss a live show. Especially this lineup duo. Unfortunately, tonight is Mia’s sports awards dinner ( her final one) and I doubt I’ll be home by premiere time, however I will 💯watch later on. Enjoy SOT 👍💯

[@logancollins7097]

Gary dont eat too much my friend. Got a healthy handful of Iommi riffs at home haha congrats to Mia

[@markjohnson4356]

Real life and family always comes first. Enjoy the show later!

[@Rmesick-hm6yq]

So true. Family first!

[@alabastersmidge4692]

Congratulations to Mia!!! Have fun.🎉

[@garyjoyce2160]

@@alabastersmidge4692 / thank u so much !!

[@patriotpizzaman]

It's the I.R.S. years box set. I think they did a great job on this remaster/remix. Definitely worth checking out. Forbidden may still have some subpar songwriting in places but, at least it doesn't sound St. Angerish anymore!

[@brettsmusicreviews2641]

I bought the LP and CD versions, and I'm completely satisfied with what I got. Tyr is actually my favorite, not for any particular reason other than I just really dig it. That said, and this is echoing you both, Forbidden has risen drastically in my eyes. I can't believe how damn good it sounds now! Even if we only got a handful of shows and a live album, maybe under the name Headless Cross or something similar (I know Tony Martin used it before at one point, but still), to hear these guys perform the songs live would be a thrill.

[@RaiderfanCali]

Thanks for posting ! First one I listened to was Cross Purposes. Now I’m looking forward to listening to. Forbidden

[@kevintremblay1211]

Just got my set today I ordered the Vinyl set. Been waiting for this era for awhile now!

[@Lodgerizer]

Born in '73, my first Sabbath-records were "Headless Cross" and "Greatest Hits" from '77, so I discovered Ozzy and Sabbath separately, because the first Ozzy album I bought was "The Ultimate Sin". And now I own 'em all!!! Love everything Sabbath & Iommi has put out through the years more or less, but it's nice to see people discovering the Tony Martin-era, those albums definitely deserves to be in the spotlight again. I literally just opened my copy of the box set watching this, so down the nostalgia lane we go. Greetings from Sweden! ;)

[@nathanwelbourne116]

I really enjoy the new box set. The remasters of Headless Cross, TYR and Cross Purposes are great! Cross Purposes in particular I find myself really enjoying. But I absolutely love the Tony Martin era of sabbath so to me all the albums are incredible. The Forbidden remix is incredible! It’s like listening to a brand new Sabbath album. A bunch of the songs on that album have now become some of my favorite Sabbath tunes. Guilty As Hell, Shaking Off the Chains, Forbidden and Kiss of Death all kick ass!! Great show as always fellas! Really appreciate you both doing this

[@StarlessBandNJ]

I’ve been checking out this era of Sabbath at SoT’s recommendation and so far I love it. I think Headless Cross is my favorite so far.

[@rhodriowens7744]

Fantastic start to finish

[@denisespainhower2153]

Really enjoying the box set. Sound is much better all around 👍.

[@chrishiggins5400]

Cozy and Geezer played together working on Dehumanizer before Vinny rejoined. Cross Purposes sounds amazing, Bobby Rondinelli sounds incredible. Virtual Death, Immaculate Deception, I Witness sound huge.. most consistent mix of the 4. Tony Martin is on another level on Tyr.. Martin's lyrics on Forbidden sounds rushed. as Chris said. Shaken Off The Chains and Kiss Of Death are my favorites. Saw them in 89 in Boston. Great review guys.

[@richardhincemon]

Cozy Powell Dehumanizer sessions Chris Alo owns a copy he's confused not Geezer Butler 😂

[@richardhincemon]

Cozy Powell had his infamous horse falling on him and was replaced by Vinny Appice also Ronnie James Dio came back after not getting along well with Cozy Powell. Tony Martin actually took part of the Dehumanizer sessions and released Raising Hell on his solo album Scream that was planned for the Dehumanizer album.

[@richardhincemon]

I do offer my apologies to Chris Alo if he's speaking of the Cross Purposes album only ! Cheers 😊

[@chrisalo2989]

@@richardhincemon No apologies needed. I know they did the demo's together, but they didn't work together very long.

[@moviereviews4life]

I was never able to enjoy the Tony Martin era as a kid. I'm sure I heard some songs but I was still young and mostly listening to whatever my parents were. My father was mostly into Ozzy Osbourne and Ozzy era Sabbath, along with Judas Priest and Meat Loaf. Because of that by the time I started to listen to music myself I didn't even think of checking out Black Sabbath outside of Ozzy's era. When I finally did I actually enjoyed Dio a lot more than Ozzy in Sabbath and any album outside of those albums I could never find on CD or cassette. I'm now listening to these albums (I preordered it one week before release as I didn't even know about it) and I am in awe at how great it sounds. Cross Purposes and Headless Cross are my favorites and I've already listened to them 3 times a piece. I do need to get Eternal Idol but in the meantime I listened to that off KZbin and it's another banger. Tony Martin is quickly becoming my favorite Sabbath artist even over Dio (who's still my favorite Rainbow vocalist). I may need to dive into his other stuff. But I'm still in the midst of completing my Meatloaf and Jim Steinman collections as well as now the rest of Black Sabbath. I'm not a hater on Forbidden, I do actually like Rap too and Ice T's band Body Count isn't terrible but it definitely has that early 90's mix to it. Very grunge like in my opinion. Kind of like St Anger for Metallica (which I think is underrated but I can see why many would want a new mix) TYR I do need to listen to more as I've only listened to that album once. I recently got the Sabbath album 13 as well and do find that pretty good too, not great but I do appreciate them trying to go back to their older sounds. Kind of sounded like Ozzmosis era of Ozzy meets the early Black Sabbath era. I do hope the other albums get remixes because I actually do like Born Again another controversial album. The only albums I have are: Black Sabbath Paranoid Master of Reality Sabotage Heaven & Hell Mob Rules 13 (Deluxe Edition) And of course this box set. Have you guys listened to KK's Priest? It's a new album with KK Downing and Tim "Ripper" Owens of Judas Priest. It's fantastic.

[@gypsyfreek]

Got my vinyl version of this set today and it is awesome! My favourite period of Sabbath.

[@ingogeirdal]

After hearing the recent Re-mixes of "Forbidden", "Live Evil" and the title track of "Mob Rules" I´ll have to agree with Chris; Re-mix it all. I´ll buy it all again too. Sonically speaking "Forbidden" is now one of the best sounding albums in the Sabbath catalog. Who would have thought?

[@NickYousoufian]

There is a certain prose that Chris has that augments an already great video.

[@deantaylor1512]

Ahhh sandwiches.. a subject close to my heart .. the question is ..crisps (chips to you guys ). In or out .. definitely in fir me .. love a bit of crunch 😋🤘

[@b2tall239]

Well.....I know what I'm listening to this weekend. Thanks, guys.

[@shakingaspen1526]

For 45 bucks and other reasons I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy this set. I've never had the originals, kinda hard to find, and now I don't need to keep an eye out for them. I've listened to all four and I'm not disappointed in the slightest.

[@thedoomed71]

As the Tony Martin era was my first active contact wih the band (meaning live attendance), I always had a soft spot in my heart for these recordings. And of course I had to preorder the Boxset. I'm glad I did, for the records sound great, the pressings (vinyl edition) are superbe, and the original liner notes including the lyrics are in the softcover book (why not a hard cover, dammit). All in all it's a good purchase. And Geezers base on Cross Purposes does kick some ass. Thank you guys for the great review, I enjoyed it a lot.

[@GordonHeaney]

I have all these CD's already, but you've convinced me to order the box set. Just did it there.

[@lateramae]

I'd love to hear Dave LaGreca's thoughts on the remix version of 'Forbidden,' considering he already likes a few songs from that album! Also, I agree with Chris. I'm so down for a 'Born Again' remix!

[@joshua8632]

Love the box set and Forbidden is massively improved🔥 Cross Purposes my personal favourite!

[@AMCmachine]

I have the originals of all these albums on cassette and also have Eternal Idol and Cross Purposes Live ✝to round out the Martin era. I bought each release new or almost new at the time. This box set is a beautiful package and mine is now in regular rotation in the car. 😈 The summer after graduation one of my good longtime friends and I spent many hours cruising around in his '84 Z/28 blasting TYR ⚔with no particular destination in mind, and we'd end up wherever we ended up. Then news of the impending first Dio reunion broke, and man was I excited for that. Seemed like it took forever for Dehumanizer to finally come out the next year. 🤘🤘

[@daanthing6002]

My pre-order was delayed dammit!…Still waiting. But what i hear on Spotify i really like. Never heard the albums before. Happy that they released it like this with just the albums. Only thing i need and not too overpriced like the deluxe boxsets.

[@michaelhasse2568]

Had to pause your video and order one. Sabbath is far and away my favorite band but never got into anything after mob rules. I'll re listen

[@747jono]

Pleased with box set, the curats egg is definitely the lyrics and bonus track thing. Other reviewers, SOT fans agree. You guys in USA got a great deal @€50 Rhino, BMG here in Europe £88 sterling. Think we have to remember that we have waited so long as Tony said happy to get this he didn't even have the originals!!!. Its still great value as copies on e bay of originals go for stupid money. Great honest review guys.

[@andresferbu]

Great.. Forbidden is the new best of that era! Some great innovative songs. I had the luck to see them live in Santiago, 1994 with Geezer and Bill Ward (1 hour only setlist sadly). Epic.

[@KostasSasmatzoglou]

Excellent box set - blown away by the Forbidden remix!

[@johncampbell3390]

Well, on your last show, I said no amount of remixing will fix Forbidden. I readily admit that I was dead wrong. No longer the cave dweller in my music library. It's still not a great album, but really, really improved. The poster in the box set was a nice touch, a black and white version of it was in a limited edition German pressing of Headless Cross on crappy paper, so nice to have this one.

[@niklaseriksson7569]

Great review. I think you said it all.🤘

[@jcollins1305]

It’s very interesting with big bands. They go through their beginnings, become huge, then there’s a middle period where they’re playing small clubs to survive. Then, finally, they become big legacy acts. The hard part obviously, is the middle, where they’re hanging on for dear life. Sabbath is no exception.

[@Redrum1981]

Great box set.. my favorite TYR never sounded better 🤘

[@johnhenfrey5936]

Really pricey here in the u.k. just managed to get a reasonably priced copy today, looking forward to it dropping through my letterbox.😊🎸

[@Iainmaclennan70]

It's actually cheaper to order from Amazon US. I got mine for £59 delivered!

[@oliverl.5834]

Been waiting for this.

[@MetalAsylumNJ]

Hey guys. Nice job as always

[@peterdunlop7885]

Big Sabbath fan, but like a lot of folk I let Tony Martin era pass me by. But WOW! Iommi’s riffs crush. And Martin has a fantastic set of pipes. Box set well worth it!

[@jimmypage2843]

King Alo you know you're not going to resist getting the vinyl set. 😂🤘🏼 Phil Aston did a great review too like you guys. He does like the plastic sleeves in the CD cases. The lyric sheets/liner notes are actually in the book in the vinyl box set, so no inner sleeves in the jackets though the records do come in poly-lined sleeves.

[@stuartsmith6679]

Phil has recently put up an interview with Tony Martin within the last week. A good watch

[@jimmypage2843]

It definitely was!

[@conspiracionesy]

Man I am surprised how good Forbidden sounds, I love that album now 😅, I love the rest of the albums but I have always loved those, is just that it sounds so much better now

[@LeatherRebel75]

Technically, this could be called "The IRS Years," because all of these albums came out on IRS Records. But, I think that label has been gone for some time, and people would be confused by that name, wondering what the Internal Revenue Service has to do with Black Sabbath. So, the name Anno Domini is good. I really love this box set! By the time I really got into these albums, they were already gone, and used copies had become rare and expensive. So I was really excited to get my hands on this set. While I do have the same issue with the plastic inner sleeves, the rest of the packaging is really cool and looks amazing. The remastering sounds great, and the remix on Forbidden is shocking. This remix turned a total garbage album into a pretty good record. If Tony Iommi does this to Born Again, it will sound absolutely incendiary.

[@iancocks9408]

Born again is okay, I want the remix but it’s not a classic album to me.

[@purplesabbath]

Great show Pete n Chris!

[@leonardpirrello1806]

I remember buying the vinyl of the Martin era on clearance, I think I payed $2 per record. I am glad it's getting the respect it deserves now.

[@thedarkwizardroom]

I will hope tp slide in from the outside as I will be heading out for some music to see indie rock. And I will say that Forbidden I love the remix as its a brand new album with along the remix IMO. about 5-6 songs are alot better and more to the Sabbath catalog of songs to feel for while 4 songs of 10 still are better but weren't good to begin with. Have a good show will catch later.

[@neuroisis85]

Not worth buying for me when I don't like Forbidden or Cross Purposes. I do like the remasters of Headless Cross and Tyr though, so I'll probably download those. Still I'm glad the Tony Martin era is finally getting some recognition.

[@jonathancilley9450]

First listen of Forbidden from this box set. I like this WAY better than Never Say Die!

[@Ryan-F.Y.T.S2006]

cross purposes is my favorite here, glad forbidden is listenable now

[@idjut1080]

Black Sabbath headless cross is a dark one almost satirical of all that's been done before but it was executed masterfully. Tyr takes it to almost White Sabbath territory - experimental and has the balls to have a new sound and identity with familiarity, cross purposes delivers some thunder that was much missed from radio and music in general for some time at that point, stomping clinking clanking metal. Forbidden has American appeal, the same appeal Dio brought. Didn't chart but that's what that is! It feels like an absolute treat to get to buy these albums through a reputable syndicate! Sure you gotta buy them together but it's here now and it's real and in my hands

[@AMCmachine]

I always sort of wondered if the line "it's time to kiss the rainbow goodbye" 😗🌈 in the song "Psychophobia" was a bit of a sly dig at Ronnie after the post-Dehumanizer "second split" with Dio. Of course, little did we know then that the new tracks for The Dio Years compilation and the resulting Heaven & Hell project lay in the not-too-distant future, which would produce Ronnie's swan song in the form of the juggernaut titled "The Devil You Know." Who would have imagined in 1994 that we'd ever get a THIRD go around with RJD?

[@richardhincemon]

If Cozy Powell RIP drums had anything to do with the lyrics definitely yes 😅 he didn't get along well with Ronnie James Dio RIP in Rainbow or the Black Sabbath Dehumanizer sessions.😊

[@paulharris9360]

I saw the cross purposes tour at Hammersmith Apollo,Tony Martin was AMAZING the crowd lapped it up ,how you doing Chris you're the best comedian after trump the orange king.👍

[@gtp1172]

I hated forbidden, now I love it, I've listened to it everyday since it came out.

[@dartholy]

Geezer did play with Cozy Powell. The original sessions for Dehumanizer had Cozy, but they replaced him with Vinnie Appice after Cozy was injured. There are Demos floating around with them together.

[@chrisalo2989]

Yep, I have the demos. But they really didn't work together very long.

[@Cowcodude]

I feel Chris' pain: I've been falling down the rabbit hole of Zappa vinyl bootlegs myself. It's a deep hole, I tell ya what!

[@PatKennedydon]

I bought them when they came out and cross purposes would be my favourite of the four.

[@nilshenrikteigen9215]

The Forbidden tour was infact a long tour. The venues where smaller but anyway the longest tour they had in years. Started summer of 1995 and finished around christmas. Some 80 gigs in 6 months.

[@vinylgoblin2780]

I preordered mine through Rhino Records the day it went on sale back in March. It didnt "ship" until four days after its release. I emailed them and go no answer other than them literally saying "looks like it shipped!" days later. Tracking number still wasn't working, and I figured out its been delayed, whatever that means. Still have no idea when im gonna get mine.

[@oliverl.5834]

So, Chris, did you get both LP and CD? I've avoided the Tony Martin Era for years and years. I knew "Headless Cross" from a Sampler and bought the Album, but I could never warm up to it beyond the Title Track. About a year ago I got the Deluxe of "The Eternal Idol" and enjoyed it quite a bit. So, I bough the Box. "Headless Cross" sound as lot better here. I like "Tyr" for the most part. Last two or three Songs I don't care much for. I feel I kinda like "Forbidden". I've never heard it before, so the Remix is all I know. "Cross Purposes" leaves me kinda indifferent thus far.

[@chrisalo2989]

For this release, no, I only bought the CD set.

[@alanthorne3921]

Great review .Lots of talk on the sounds of the instruments,the remixes,etc but not much on TM’s vocals.I have all of this era on cd/vinyl and I will eventually (or probably now) buy it but as you guys said Forbidden sounds great but a lot the songs are lousy.But no mention of Tony Martin’s vocals which when I first the album he was really struggling.None of the soaring highs and passion from the previous albums.Yes I heard he had problems with his voice but really he didn’t know wether he was coming or going in the band.I have listened to the remix of Forbidden on Spotify and it sounds great but it still sounds half arsed .But more love to the Tony Martin era,I wore out the grooves to Headless Cross and Tyr.

[@psychicvacuum555]

I'd love to get this set but unfortunately I cant seem to get it for less than 100 bucks up here in Canada... Thanks for the cool review anyway.

[@NoShowShattuck]

Weekly Sabbath episodes?? Yes, please 😊

[@classicrockmetalreview8523]

Love it guys you rule!

[@lazarossamaras4427]

Hi guys I got my copy of the boxset three days ago. Surely there was a problem in the distribution of this set. I think they didn't expect the amount of people wanting it. I had a shitty version of Headless cross and Tyr. I never owned Cross Purposes and Forbidden so, this was a no brainer for me since I am a fan of the Tony Martin Sabbath. I love Eternal idol. Anyway, it is true I found a new appreciation for the later albums, especially Cross Purposes. I had never bothered with Forbidden because of one or two tracks I had heard back when it came out. The ICE T connection didn't sit well with a lot of metal fans here in Greece. I have to say that I found some good songs on it. I have just listened to the first version on KZbin and it seems like a demo experiment. The new one much better.

[@chrisalo2989]

Yes, I think the company was not prepared to sell as many units as they did. I am sure they are making more now.

[@dwaynestjohn5324]

I just got my vinyl box set today.

[@michaelivan9066]

The vinyl box set has all of the lyric sheets in the book. The albums are in poly lined sleeves. The pressings sound great.

[@kyleturner1359]

Agree, Pete. I forgot how good Cross Purposes is.

[@michaelabba5150]

Wow I’m loving Forbidden

[@griefforest1870]

I'm much younger than the average SOT viewer, so I got into Sabbath relatively towards the end of their career (yet still within the first two, three years of me being a music fan). I obviously collected the Ozzy and Dio stuff but read Iommis biography relatively early, so I guess I lived with at least the first three roundabout nine to ten years. I never bothered with Forbidden though. My short verdict: I really dig Headless Cross but the glossy 80s production was a bit much and they fixed it Tyr was always my favourite of the bunch and it now sounds massive Cross Purposes was always a tad below the other two but now it rose up, the new version sounds absolutely stellar. Phil Aston compared it to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and I think he's not far off. I never listened to Forbidden because I didn't care for never say die and the snippets I heard weren't promising. (Had a discussion with a NSD-hardcore fan the other day... Just accept that you can't like everything. No, I don't love Sabbath just because of heavy riffs. No, I don't misinterpreted their true intentions, the band themselves disowned that album. No, I don't have a problem because I don't get down to "Air Dance"... Side note rant over.) The remix is great though... Much to my surprise the last three tracks including the bonus track are on par with the weaker tracks on the previous five albums 87-92, so pretty good and stellar in the context of the album. First four songs are alright, the rest is still pretty boring. Therefore an okay album with a stellar sound.