Martin, Tony: Thorns

Former Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin released his new album entitled Thorns earlier this month. Whilst Ozzy and Dio rightly get the plaudits for their work in Sabbath, Martin’s vocal ability and contribution to the band (and therefore Hard Rock music generally) should never be underestimated. The Headless Cross album is perhaps the best reminder of this. His previous Solo works are notable, and it’s been well over a decade since we last heard from him, so I was keen to check out Thorns.

My first impression of Thorns is that Martin’s vocal abilities are still very strong. It is bordering on obscene that his voice is still this clear and powerful as this at his age. Whilst Martin rightly takes the limelight on the release he is well supported- Danny Needham (Venom), Magnus Rosen (HammerFall), Scott McClellan and Greg Smith (Alice Cooper, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult) all make strong contributions to the release. Scott McClellan’s contribution is arguably the strongest of the supporting cast as along side the guitar work he is also the principal song writer on the album, contributing the vast majority of the riffs. Whilst McClellan isn’t a household name yet he will have enhanced his standing with his efforts on this release. My only critique on McClellan’s input is that I’d have liked to have seen a few more solos throughout the album.

The song writing on this release is varied, touching on a range of hard rock and metal styles over the course of the 11 tracks. Despite the variation form track to track, the common theme is that the songs allow Martin to showcase his vocal talents.

Elaborating on the mix of styles on Thorns a little; "As the World Burns" & "Run Like the Devil" have a distinctive metallic edge. "Black Widow Angel" & "No Shame at All" are hard rocking tracks with an almost Ozzy era Sabbath style swagger in the riffing. The Title track "Thorns", and "Book of Shadows" are more epic in their composition. The only track that I’m not totally sold on is "This Is Your Damnation" which has a different vibe to the rest of the release -I’d almost go so far to say that it’s almost a hard rock take on ‘the Devil Went down to Georgia’. Not terrible but I don’t think the album would lose much if it had been omitted from the final track listing.

All in all, this album is a very solid release, enhanced by the vocal talents of Tony Martin. If you’re a fan of traditional Hard Rock / Heavy Metal then I’d recommend checking it out. Die-hard Sabbath fans will want to hear this for sure to see how Tony is sounding in 2022. Who knows, perhaps Martin’s performance will give oxygen to a potential Martin/Iommi collaboration in the coming years.

Track Listing:

1. As The World Burns
2. Black Widow Angel
3. Book Of Shadows
4. Crying Wolf
5. Damned By You
6. No Shame At All
7. No Where To Fly
8. Passion Killer
9. Run Like The Devil
10. This Is Your Damnation
11. Thorns

Added: January 3rd 2023
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
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Language: english

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