​HEADLESS CROSS BY MARK CASSELL

by Mark Cassell

Perhaps if I’d been a little older – not just a 12-year-old-developing-metalhead – I would’ve at least added one more ticket sale to a London show.

 
1989, a year to almost mark the 20th anniversary of Black Sabbath’s inception, and US label Warner Bros and UK label Vertigo dropped them. After recruiting vocalist Tony Martin for their previous release, The Eternal Idol, the band’s future was in serious question.
 
Tony Iommi himself elected to produce their fourteenth studio album, Headless Cross, and it hit the shelves to a frowning audience that was still plugged in to the Ozzy and Dio eras. Don’t get me wrong, with Ozzy there were many fine tunes – now classics, of course – and after that we had Dio who claimed some fine Sabbath territory. But with Martin, and I know some would hate me for saying this, his voice reflects Dio’s. Only cleaner, bringing the band into the 90’s where Grunge was about to leak from our speakers.
 
Among the fans’ lack of enthusiasm, worldwide distribution issues and below-par marketing added to a possible downward spiral. The Headless Cross tour, with supporters Kingdom Come and Silent Rage, was cancelled due to poor ticket sales… after only eight shows.
 
Perhaps if I’d been a little older – not just a 12-year-old-developing-metalhead – I would’ve at least added one more ticket sale to a London show.
 
                                                                      “I believe that Satan lives…” 

It wasn’t until several years later, probably the late-90’s, when I truly appreciated the power of Sabbath. And to this day, I constantly hit the play button for Headless Cross. Of all their albums, it is recognised this has the cheesiest lyrics with direct references to Satan. But it’s all harmless fun, right? After all, I’m a horror author and much of my work turns demonology on its head. To get me in that occult-groove, I’ll often tune in to Sabbath while I write. No matter which era.
 
With a duration of 40:24 Headless Cross contains eight tracks and, back when I nabbed a copy of my dad’s CD, the album fit on one side of a TDK D90. Incidentally, the other side consisted of Sabbath’s follow-up album Tyr (1990).
 
                                                            “Misguided mortals, you’ll burn with me.” 

The album opens with “The Gates of Hell”, a short intro with haunting atmospherics reminiscent of old-school Sabbath… then blasts straight into the title track “Headless Cross”. Newcomer-drummer-boy Cozy Powell stomps with us into a typical Iommi riff, all the while Martin’s vocals borderline power metal. Personally, this track is one of my favourite Sabbath tunes.
 
Next up, “Devil & Daughter” – renamed from “Devil’s Daughter” because a guy called Ozzy wrote a song with the same name. Here, Iommi stuns us with some excellent riffs and astounding soloing. After this, we have “When Death Calls”, one of those tunes with a steady-pace that comes at us in waves; melodic and ferocious, pounding with a superb chorus. Atop this, we have Queen’s Brian May to give us a sneaky solo. Talent all round.
 
“Kill in the Spirit World” takes us halfway through the album and with this track, you can’t help but nod your head. It also has some fine demonic riffage going on. Following this, “Call of the Wild” begins with one of those stuttering drum intros that I’m always fond of – I’ve no idea the technical term for it, but I think it’s cool. Again, this is another that had to be retitled (from “Hero”) because Ozzy already released a track with the same name.
 
To wrap up the album, there are another two great tracks, the kind that belong together; you know, those that somehow complement each other superbly. Both are a powerful finale to an already fantastic album. With “Black Moon”, the two Tonys, along with keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, bassist Laurence Cottle, and drummer Cozy Powell give us a pulsating melody straight out of an unashamed 80’s rock textbook. Finally to sign off, “Nightwing” proves a darker track, which again highlights all the musical talent laid down in a time when Sabbath was supposedly in trouble.
 
“Fear of the Devil.” 
In 2005, the album ranked number 403 in Rock Hard magazine’s book, The 500 Rock and Metal Albums of All Time. For me, it ranks high in my all-time favourite albums. While writing and revising this article for the Summer of Sabbath, I’ve listened to the album over and over and…
 
And, I’ll leave you with the closing verse from the track “Nightwing”:
 
So tell every creature of the night
The kill is around the bend
Listen my friend
Nightwing flies again

Mark Cassell lives in a rural part of the UK where he often dreams of dystopian futures, peculiar creatures, and flitting shadows. Primarily a horror writer, his steampunk, dark fantasy, and SF stories have featured in numerous anthologies and ezines. His best-selling debut novel THE SHADOW FABRIC is closely followed by the popular short story collection SINISTER STITCHES and are both only a fraction of an expanding mythos of demons, devices, and deceit.
 
Mark’s 2017 release HELL CAT OF THE HOLT further explores the Shadow Fabric mythos with ghosts, a black cat legend, and a gruesome demon.
 
Stepping aside from the supernatural, his dystopian sci-fi collection CHAOS HALO 1.0: APLHA BETA GAMMA KILL is in association with Future Chronicles Photography where he works closely with their models and cosplayers.
 
His work has been compared with British horror authors such as James Herbert, Clive Barker, Dennis Wheatley, and Brian Lumley. Also, his influences spread over to the US where he admits to having been first inspired by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, and H P Lovecraft.
 
For more about Mark, visit www.theshadowfabric.co.uk
 
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