Black Sabbath – Never Say Die! Review

Albums of reconciliation are often an interesting listen. Much like The Police tour where the energy was off but the band rallied anyway, Black Sabbath’s return to the studio after the drug-heavy Technical Ecstasy tour is a fascinating listen. You can hear the fear of a blowout swelling up in this misguided bit of rock work from Ozzy Osbourne and the band. It’s what makes it even more interesting to hear. Tensions rising and the band trying to recapture what it had successfully offered to audiences just a few years ago. Navigating the pitfalls of Technical Ecstasy, too, was crucial. It was an inoffensive album that never struck as all that interesting. Never Say Die!, has an eerie quality to it. Those fighter pilots have an uncanny valley appeal to them that begins seeping into the work at hand. Whether that’s the intention or just the scribbles of a band on the brink of collapse, who knows for sure? 

That upbeat Tony Iommi guitar riff is well-placed for the title track but it feels a bit standard for the genre. Pair that with an Osbourne vocal lead that doesn’t sound all that great, a bit whiny and unable to give the lyrics the representation they deserve, and Never Say Die! begins as it intends to go on, with thudding simplicity. Later in the album is the instrumental mess of Over to You, which you’ll hear right after if you’ve left your streaming service shuffle button on by mistake. That mess of pianos can be left for later. Johnny Blade has Black Sabbath adapt and experiment with the synth that would dominate the 1980s. What they do here, which so many did not in the years to follow, is use it with some precision and reservation. It’s a little tool rather than the point of the song. That thudding percussion, the steadier tempo that gives Osbourne a moment to breathe between lines, is found here. Much, much better than the dud of an opener and a chance to hear some welcome, stronger work.  

Never Say Die! suffers the same problems as Technical Ecstasy. There’s a few decent moments within but given the high standard set by the band on earlier releases, it’s hard to rally all that much confidence in the band. Solid instrumental work, relatively unnoticeable vocal performances from Osbourne, songs like A Hard Road just plod along in the hopes of recapturing the Black Sabbath energy without trying all that hard. Suddenly, and it does happen out of the blue, but Black Sabbath puts together one of their best-ever songs on Never Say Die!, with the beautiful Air Dance connecting with the most important part of the band’s sound. They can recognise the softer moments that come with Osbourne’s songwriting, with the delicate guitar work Iommi has presided over for years. It’s a magnificent instrumental occasion and a song that borders on concept-level depths at times. A fascinating inclusion given that nothing of the sort happens again on Never Say Die! 

Some would go on to deem this the worst Black Sabbath album. Far from it. Thanks to Air Dance alone it stands out from the plodding Technical Ecstasy. Make no mistake though, Never Say Die!, is well below par. Bill Ward is instrumental in making this work. Songs like Breakout depend on his percussion and the moody backdrop he provides the out-there instrumental additions. That saxophone works well, and it’s the instrumental spirit which is spotlighted here. Osbourne feels like a tertiary member of his own band and doesn’t offer all that much in the way of interesting commentary. Leaving it a little too late to put all these pieces together, it does mark another example of Black Sabbath doing the best they can with the tools at hand. A fractured relationship with one another and not quite resolved, but it sounds as though they rallied as well as can be for Never Say Die!