Of all the stellar Black Sabbath albums with Tony Martin, Cross Purposes is my personal favorite. After the reunion talks between Ozzy and the rest of Sabbath stalled in 1993, I was disappointed, as both had just released stellar albums. When Cross Purposes was released, I bought it because I had money to spend but no expectations. After putting the CD on, I was thankful the Ozzy reunion did not happen at that point in time. To this day, Cross Purposes remains one of my favorite albums. If only IRS Records had promoted it. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle should be a song we have spent the last 30 years talking about. To have the Tony Martin studio albums with Sabbath on iTunes is admittedly a strange but pleasant experience. Definitely give Cross Purposes a chance. Instead of going on and on about it, I recommend you listen for yourself, but thanking me will not be necessary.

You can't have a black sabbath without our dark lord. The prince of darkness. OZZY IS GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can hear how their first outing with Dio left an impression on their lyrics, and despite nay sayers Martin was/is a solid vocalist. Like Dio he has chrystal clear diction, every word rings like a bell. Ozzy could not or could never sing this type of music. This album also contains my all time favorite guitar solo from Tony. The intro for "DYING FOR LOVE" will leave you speechless. All in all this album is beautiful, heavy, intelligent and solid.

Another fantastic album from the Tony Martin era