Right off the bat, I want to admit to being a fan of the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath. I realize that there are a lot of people that pan his era because he’s not Ozzy or Dio. But Eternal Idol, Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes, and Forbidden are all-important albums in my record collection.

Yes, there are people out there that will instantly say “but they’re not better than Volume 4, or Heaven And Hell or (insert any other classic Sabbath album).” And my reply is always the same, do they have to be? I always make the food analogies, you don’t say “no way I’m not eating a burger because it comes with a side of fries.” You can enjoy the main course with a complimentary side, why can’t people do the same with music?

I’ll also admit, that when I heard the first single “As The World Burns” I was kind of turned off. I felt as if there was too much going on in the song. The drumming especially felt kind of busy to me. Getting back to what Lemmy once said “Just cos you got the power, that don’t mean you’ve got the right.” Just because you can play a million notes, that doesn’t mean you should! In my opinion, it felt like they were trying too hard.

After hearing the track, I instantly thought about last year’s KK’s Priest album, which to me had either great tracks or songs that did absolutely nothing for me. I tried to get into the album several times. It shows promise for the future but shows that as great of a songwriter KK is, he needs others to help get him over the top.

Back to Thorns, I went into the album with an open mind. I go into every album I listen to wanting to enjoy it, not crap on it. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Thorns is a great mix of various hard rock and metal styles. As much as I didn’t get “As The World Burns” initially, it works in the context of the album. The other thing that caught me off guard is how the acoustic guitar was used on the album. Yes, you have Iommi-like passages, but you also have songs built around non-distorted guitars that just work. You also have a keyboard solo in the middle of a track instead of your standard guitar solo.

If you’re a fan of Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, the title track “Thorns” features Pamela Moore.

The album is great top to bottom, if you’re a fan of Tony Martin’s work in Black Sabbath,  then you’ll more than likely love the album. It leaves me with the question, are these tracks so good because he’s had them in the can all these years? Or are the tracks all fairly new?

It is a January album, hopefully people will remember it when it comes to their end of 2022 lists!