| Cross Purposes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 January 1994[1][2] | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Studio | Monnow Valley Studios (Rockfield, Wales) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 47:27 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Producer | Leif Mases, Black Sabbath | |||
| Black Sabbath chronology | ||||
| ||||
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.
In 2024, a remaster of the album was announced as part of the box set Anno Domini 1989–1995, marking the first time the album has been officially reissued. The CD edition of the album will contain the Japanese bonus track "What's the Use?".[3]
YouTube Encyclopedic
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Black Sabbath Cross Purposes Full Album Original Documentary Anno Domini Tony Martin Boxset
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Black Sabbath - Cross purposes (full album)
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Black Sabbath - I Witness - (from Cross Purposes)
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SEBASTIEN feat. Tony Martin, Roland Grapow and Marthus - "Headless Cross" (BLACK SABBATH cover)
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Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes Live 1995 (Full Concert)
Transcription
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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
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.
Reception
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Select | [10] |
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."[7] In July 2014, Guitar World magazine ranked Cross Purposes at number six in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[11]
Sales
The album peaked at number 122 on the US Billboard 200 charts but made it to number 41 on the UK album charts.[12] In both Finland and Sweden, the album hit #9.
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)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "What's the Use?" | 3:03 |
Personnel
- Black Sabbath
- Tony Martin – vocals
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass
- Geoff Nicholls – keyboards
- Bobby Rondinelli – drums
- Technical personnel
- 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)[13] | 23 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 85 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[15] | 9 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 32 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[17] | 32 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 41 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[20] | 41 |
| US Billboard 200[21] | 122 |
References
- ^ "Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes".
- ^ Cross Purposes (press advertisement). I.R.S. Records. 1994. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Blabbermouth (21 March 2024). "BLACK SABBATH: Box Set Of TONY MARTIN-Era Recordings, 'Anno Domini 1989-1995', To Arrive In May". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Blabbermouth. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Stolz, Nolan (2017). Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener’s Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 173. ISBN 9781442256910.
- ^ Live recording February 15, 1994, Youtube.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2011). Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History. Da Capo Press.
- ^ a b Bradley Torreano (8 February 1994). "Cross Purposes - Black Sabbath | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ Frost, Deborah (11 February 1994). "Cross Purposes Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
- ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
- ^ "Black Sabbath: Cross Purposes Review".
- ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Billboard album chart history-Black Sabbath". Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Sabbath – Cross Purposes". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Black Sabbath Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
External links
- Cross Purposes at Discogs (list of releases)
This page was last edited on 26 March 2024, at 10:54