There’s something quite fitting about sitting here writing this while the wind and rain howl outside as the first named storm of the year hits. Perfect weather for metal, really. The darkness and atmosphere become even more acute when you consider that I’m a couple of miles from where Black Sabbath called it a day at last year’s Back To The Beginning gig.
Around here, you can almost smell the metal in the air.
We’re also close to where a young factory worker suffered an accident that changed the way he played guitar and, consequently, changed music forever. Tony Iommi’s response to losing his fingertips helped shape a sound that generations have spent their lives trying to recreate. That’s some legacy to carry into a new record.
Appropriately enough, the last song on From The Dark is called “Legacy”. You suspect Iommi understands the weight of that word better than most. Yet what strikes you throughout these eight tracks is the sheer enjoyment he seems to get from playing this music. There’s a freedom here, a sense that the riffs are arriving because he still loves making them.
He’s chosen his collaborators superbly. Jorn Lande handles the vocals and shares writing credits on every song, with Becky Baldwin on bass and Karl Brazil on drums. Iommi co-produces alongside Mike Exeter, his longstanding creative partner and co-writer. Together, they’ve made something that sounds absolutely enormous.
Lande, in particular, is an inspired choice. He’s got one of those tremendous metal voices that can meet an Iommi riff head-on, with something of Ronnie James Dio in the drama and delivery. There are moments of bombast that bring Glenn Hughes to mind, too, but he puts his own stamp on these songs. Frankly, you couldn’t have picked a better singer if you’d tried.
“Over The Violent Sun” makes that clear immediately. The striking thing about the opener is how modern it sounds. The guitar is unmistakable, of course, but there’s an urgency to this music that makes it feel very much of the present.
“Black Times” lets that Sabbath spirit loose, and there’s an apocalyptic feel hanging over proceedings. The darkness suits them. Iommi has always understood that heaviness is as much about atmosphere as volume, and the sense of something ominous approaching is all over this record.
Then there’s “World Alone”. The first single is pretty much perfect modern metal: classic enough to remind you exactly who’s playing the guitar, fresh enough to sound completely alive. It’s a brilliant song, delivered with the assurance of someone who helped write the rules and still knows how to move things forward.
The doom settles heavily over “Beyond The Dead”, its sheer scale making the title feel entirely appropriate. “Death Wake”, meanwhile, is another highlight, with Lande again demonstrating just how naturally his voice fits this music. He gives the songs the presence they demand without ever losing sight of what makes them work.
And through the brilliant “Return Of The Arbalist”, you can hear that pleasure in playing metal again. After more than 50 years, Iommi still finds something thrilling in a great riff. That comes across in every note.
By the time “Legacy” arrives, its declaration of “I’ve never lost my power” feels thoroughly earned.
Iommi didn’t need to make this album. His place in music was secure decades ago. The fact he has made it, and made it this well, is quite incredible.
From The Dark deserves all the light we can throw on it. Without question, it’s one of the metal albums of the year.
A copper-bottomed classic.
Rating: 9.5/10
