Cross Purposes
| Black Sabbath
Cross Purposes
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. 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. A promo video in black-and-white was shot for the song "Hand That Rocks the Cradle". "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.-"Wikipedia"
Critic Reviews
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Metal Archives
The combination of dark grinding metal with fast-paced rock, combined with Geezer Butler's contributions, really helps put to rest the whole "Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath isn't real Black Sabbath" argument to rest. And that's not to say that any of the Tony Martin albums weren't true Black Sabbath albums either. But Cross Purposes is what reminds fans of the older days by bringing all eras of Sabbath into one awesome album.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
The album could have been a lot worse, but that's little consolation to fans.
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Sputnik Music
The bands that just about eliminated the guitar solo’s, couldn’t reach Black Sabbath of course. But in a realistic view, this doesn’t really match the classics, those are invincible. The order of the songs could have been a lot better and it’s really sad they released Forbidden after a great album like this.
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All Music
Cross Purposes is the first album since Born Again that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record. And it is probably the best thing they'd released since The Mob Rules, even with the filler tracks and keyboards. Of course, the lineup completely dissolved as Iommi perpetuated the band's downward spiral, but for a brief moment it seemed like Sabbath could have really shaped up into something special.
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Metal Express Radio
Sabbath still maintains its magic from the past and keeps the flame burning with exciting, yet morbid and doomy songs that won’t leave the mind to rest. The music is still flowing through the same line as always bit with a much heavier approach.
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