Producer Rick Rubin keeps Osbourne’s delivery taut throughout 13, digitally masking the toll that substance abuse and age have taken on his voice, though the singer’s cringeworthy cackles and tired phrases of “Oh, yeah” and “All right now” remain unimpeded. And while tracks like “Loner” and “Zeitgeist” are leaner, they try too hard to emulate Sabbath’s early sound, the former mimicking the toe-tapping rhythm of fan favorite “N.I.B.,” and the latter rehashing the plucked guitar and distorted vocals of slow-burner “Planet Caravan.” At over eight minutes apiece, however, the songs tend to feel a bit bloated.
The opening tracks-“End of the Beginning” and “God Is Dead?”-exhibit classic Sabbath traits: slow-building arpeggios heavy, sustained chords and simple, morbid rhymes (“The blood runs free, the rain turns red/Give me the wine, you keep the bread”) in perfect sync with the bleak subject matter. 13 is the band’s first studio album since 1978 to feature three founding members (frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, and bassist Geezer Butler, with drummer Bill Ward declining due to a contractual dispute), attempting to recapture some of the audacious spirit of their heyday. While Black Sabbath helped pioneer heavy metal over 40 years ago by melding distortion with lyrical themes exploring war, religion, and the occult, just to name a few, the band’s legacy was tarnished by a revolving-door lineup that resulted in several albums devoid of Sabbath’s signature bite.
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