Is Forbidden really that bad for a Sabbath album? Even Iommi kind of disowns it in his autobiography. I really think its valuable and can keep up with the rest of the catalogue.
Itâs not horrible and the remix has improved it. The singer wasnât exactly Mr Charisma, was he? Just singing well doesnât always cut it or John Corabi era Mötley CrĂŒe would have been stunningly successful.
I purchased Forbidden being a loyal âSabbathâ follower. I hesitated at first as I wasnât aware of proceedings and I thought it was a cheap best of when I first picked it up out of the shelf in the record store. You know the type, a garish cartoonish cover etc. They should have pulled the plug after Geezer jumped ship following the Cross Purposes tour, which was successful compared to what followed. Hindsight again eh? Cozy regretted getting involved and Iommi was getting a rap artist or two in for whatever reason? Iommi was most probably contracted for another album, I donât know and he was determined as usual. Tony Martinâs voice was shot big time. The are a couple of decent songs on it, but it sounds like a spent force in more ways than one. A remix and remaster will not save that album. If Uwe thinks I am a âraging or ravingâ Blackmore acolyte, sheesh, that is nothing compared to how loyal I was to Iommi and the 80âs and early 90âs Black Sabbath. Cheers.
Forbidden is the only one I never bought 
I bought it, listened twice and put it on the shelve, all these years agoâŠ
me too, at least Tyr had something interesting and vaguely inspired by the Dio era.
I actually think that Seventh Star was the swan song, but I still have something with the talented Tony Martin
From Dehumanizer onwards it was total oblivion of Sabbath
Oh, another one of their albums I never liked.
I thought the collective howl at the inclusion of a little rap was thinly veiled racism at the time. Itâs not like Sabbath had turned into Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Rock fans can be incredibly small-minded and conservative sometimes.
The same Sabbath crowd was a lot more relaxed when their eternal idols played Sun City, which is somewhat telling. That was any which way you put it at best callous by the band.
Now Herr MacGregor can get all excited again and shout at me a little! 
My three favorite Sabbath albums are Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage & Born Again.
The Dio, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin stuff all has its moments, but it ainât Sabbath in full pterodactyl flight for me.
No order:
Sabbath bloody sabbath
13
Born again
Live at Radio City 2007 ( Heaven and Hell )
Here we got the holy trinity of Rock Voices
Gillan-Dio-Ozzy
I have nothing against rap within hard rock or heavy metal, as long as it makes sense and isnât forced, and above all as long as the songs are interesting.
in an era where there were at least 5-10 rock-rap bands that did their sound well, Tony went and committed musical suicide.
Paradoxically, Gillan could have dared more as a soloist, perhaps in Dreamcatcher, and come across as fresher than Tony, even if it would have sold little or nothing anyway.
âŠwhich gives me the perfect cue to ask our resident journalist @MarceloSoares , is there any truth to the myth that âSabbath Bloody Sabbathâ (the song) was inspired by Brazilian singer Vanusa ?
I would love to know the connection to that. Itâs much closer than Smoke on the Water to Maria Moita or even Burn to Fascinatinâ Rhythm.
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I totally forgot about that South Africa issue in 1987 with Iommi and company. If you scroll down past the image in this story, there is little bit about that faux pas. Unbelievable as it sounds. Cheers.
https://www.black-sabbath.com/1988/01/how-black-was-my-sabbath/
OMG, you have to be very much a BS (is Black Sabbath AND bullshit) fan to even remotely believe that - this song was a hit and widely in the media in 1985:
Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City
Moreover, Queen had played nine shows there in 1984, receiving an enormous amount of flak as a consequence (which actually spawned the Artists United Against Apartheid song).
I think I would have preferred Tony to be a man about it and say: "I have nothing against black people, but if a racist regime pays me well, I take the money - pecunia non olet!" 
His crocodile tears regret about the whole thing did not go as far as to make a sizable donation to the ANC
at the time last I heard. 
Lack of geographical knowledge and political ignorance my ass - the decision was indefensible and he took it knowingly. Where is Mike Nagoda to get excited about things when you need him?
I never knew this at all. The things you learn everyday eh? Sounds far too familiar to be a coincidence though, donât we think?. Four months earlier, did Iommi hear this song somewhere before the England dungeon recording sessions at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, England. The mind boggles. Was it a supernatural force that conveyed the riff to Tony while he was in a state of despair? They say that castle (among many others) was haunted. Thanks Julio for the link. Very interesting. Cheers.
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And she released that before Sabbath?! 
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When I was 5, I was madly in love with her daughter at the same age as me.
I missed it when it came out, and in later life when I tried catching up with latter-day Sabbath, I got to Cross Purposes and thought that this is actually a pretty good record, really underrated and everything. Then I put on Forbidden next, and especially in comparison to Cross Purposes, it was ⊠bad. Itâs definitely not the rap part, but most of it sounds like somebody was given the task to come up with a new Black Sabbath album, but make it sound âcurrentâ. The end result is a record that doesnât sound âcurrentâ or a Black Sabbath album. So I think the main problem is not what heavy metal fans (see what I did there) think about black people or rhythm accented poetry, but the part where someone is trying too hard with too little inspiration.
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As all my BS albums I play it regurlarly and enjoy it. At that time they were playing small venues and I got my first chance to see them live and thatâs why unforgotten (my catch of Rondinelliâs drumstick will prevent this 
). They played âHaus Einheitâ in Chemnitz with a capacity of 1300, a location they would never have played in her better times and meanwhile some kind of lost place ( Urban Exploration Chemnitz Haus Einheit - Lost Places ). I think it was not even sold out .
Nevertheless the atmosphre was great, the band and audience had a good time. An additional highlight was the support act Tiamat, my first contact with them and I will always remember the goosebumps I got with first notes. They were promoting their âWildhoneyâ album and if you are not knowing it, give them a chance. I bought all of their following albums and was never disappointed.
