Cross Purposes
Studio album by Black Sabbath
Released	February 8, 1994
Recorded	???
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	46:53
Label	IRS Records
Producer(s)	Black Sabbath
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Black Sabbath chronology
Dehumanizer (1992)	Cross Purposes (1994)	Cross Purposes Live (1995)

Cross Purposes was released by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1994. It is the follow-up to their 1992 release, Dehumanizer. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (702x702, 87 KB)Cross Purposes This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the music or artwork... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1969 and 1974,[1] mixed blues and rock music to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... I.R.S. Records was started in the US in 1979 by Miles Copeland (the older brother of Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 3_stars. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... Dehumanizer is an album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath released in 1992. ... Cross Purposes Live is an album recorded by the British rock band Black Sabbath. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... Dehumanizer is an album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath released in 1992. ...

Dehumanizer saw the reunion of Mob Rules-era Black Sabbath, but after the tour, Ronnie James Dio (vocals) and Vinny Appice (drums) departed. They were replaced by former Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin and former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Eddie Van Halen is the un-credited co-author of the song "Evil Eye"; contractual obligations prevent him from getting credit. Originally he was to play on the song, but scheduling conflicts prevented this. Mob Rules is Black Sabbaths tenth studio album, released in 1981 following the success of Heaven and Hell. ... Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona on June 10, 1942[1] in Cortland, New York) is a heavy metal vocalist who has performed with Black Sabbath, Ritchie Blackmores Rainbow, and his own band Dio. ... Vinny Appice is the drummer of the hard rock band DIO on Holy Diver, The Last in line and Sacred heart. ... Tony Martin (born April 19, 1957) was the seventh and final vocalist for the legendary rock band Black Sabbath before the eventual reunion of their original lineup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Drummer for Blue Öyster Cult, Doro and Rainbow. ... Edward (Eddie) Lodewijk Van Halen, born Eduard Lodewijk van Halen on January 26, 1955[1] in Nijmegen, Netherlands, is a professional guitarist, most famous for being a co-founder of the hard rock band, Van Halen. ...

The song "Cardinal Sin" was originally intended to be titled "Sin Cardinal Sin" (or "Sin, Cardinal Sin") but a printing error on the album sleeve caused the first word to be removed. Sabbath simply adopted the title "Cardinal Sin" as the name of the song.

Musically, this is as close to a "classic" Sabbath sound as they would get in their IRS years; some even consider this album a "lost classic". There was a rumour floating around that during the writing process of Cross Purposes, Geezer Butler came up with material that was heavier than some of the first couple of songs, but Tony Martin absolutely refused to allow it, even going so far as saying it "sounds like Pantera" (Tony flat-out denies this). The production is crystal clear, allowing all instruments to be heard, and some reviews state than while the band itself is very tight and focused, the duo of Iommi and Butler are probably the tightest and best displayed. Terence Michael Joseph Geezer Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the founding bassist for heavy metal legends Black Sabbath. ... Tony Martin (born April 19, 1957) was the seventh and final vocalist for the legendary rock band Black Sabbath before the eventual reunion of their original lineup. ...

Lyrically, this is almost like a combination of Headless Cross (some lyrics having Satanic connotations) and future album Forbidden (other lyrics exploring social awareness).

"What's the Use?" was released on the Japanese edition of Cross Purposes only.

Track listing

1. "I Witness" – 4:56
2. "Cross of Thorns" – 4:32
3. "Psychophobia" – 3:15
4. "Virtual Death" – 5:49
5. "Immaculate Deception" – 4:15
6. "Dying for Love" – 5:53
7. "Back to Eden" – 3:57
8. "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" – 4:30
9. "Cardinal Sin" – 4:21
10. "Evil Eye" – (Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Tony Martin, Edward Van Halen) 5:58
11. "What's the Use?" (Japanese bonus track) – 3:03

All songs were written by Butler/Iommi/Martin.

Except as indicated

Credits

• Tony Martin - vocals
• Tony Iommi - guitars
• Geoff Nicholls - keyboards
• Geezer Butler - bass
• Bobby Rondinelli - drums

Tony Martin (born April 19, 1957) was the seventh and final vocalist for the legendary rock band Black Sabbath before the eventual reunion of their original lineup. ... Frank Anthony Tony Iommi (born February 19, 1948) is a guitarist from Birmingham, England, who is best known as a member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. ... Geoff Nicholls is a keyboardist who is best known as the longtime sideman for the metal legends Black Sabbath. ... Terence Michael Joseph Geezer Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the founding bassist for heavy metal legends Black Sabbath. ... Drummer for Blue Öyster Cult, Doro and Rainbow. ...

External Links

• Cross Purposes at Black Sabbath Online