A PALPABLE level of excitement has surrounded Tony Iommi’s new album.
After all, it has been more than two decades since the last release under his own name, and legions of fans have waited in anticipation to learn if heavy metal’s earliest and pre-eminent riff lord still has what it takes.
As Iommi’s massive guitar sound fills the air and the huge signature riffs crash down like waves of destruction, the answer is more of a “Yes, but…” than a resounding affirmative.
The first two singles are more than enough evidence that, even as he reaches his eighth decade, Tony Iommi can wring out a classic metal riff like few who’ve come after him. The unusual stop-start chug of “World Alone” evokes distant memories of Sabotage, reflecting his best work. “Stormwatcher” allows vocalist Jørn Lande to take the helm as he bellows across a sparser, simpler but nonetheless powerful riff.
The guitarist could hardly have chosen a more fitting vocal accomplice. His dark resonance fills each song, recalling the more theatrical excesses of his most obvious influence, Ronnie James Dio. Lande’s histrionic style fits Iommi’s doom-ridden melodramatic approach like a glove.
Yet his delivery almost completely lacks any nuance. Lande sings most of the eight songs here with either exaggerated gusto or an affected Dio-like croon, with little in between. It tends to make the songs blend into one another.
It’s not a problem limited to the singing.
From the Dark is a surprisingly one-note, or, perhaps more accurately, two-note effort. Where one track trudges at a mid-trot, the next slows to a glacial pace, the formula repeating throughout.
“Over the Violent Sun” is a solid opener, a mid-paced eighties-sounding track underpinned by some fine bass playing from Becky Baldwin. “Black Times” slows to a virtual crawl with a feel and execution reminiscent of early Candlemass, but ends with one of the album’s few change-ups as it chugs toward “World Alone”, one of the stand-outs here. Brian May steps in to add a little spice to the dirge-like “Death Wake” and “Return of the Arbalist” turns up the pace, a virtual gallop through true metal territory that breaks the rather formulaic mould of much of From the Dark.
“Legacy” ends things on a high note, giving off “Sign of the Southern Cross” vibes as it sprawls across seven minutes. Acknowledging Iommi’s heritage and impact with a track that calls back to his early eighties era better than any other, he throws down a huge descending riff over which Lande pulls off perhaps the most Dio-esque performance of his entire career.
It’s a perfect ending to an imperfect album. There’s good songs but not enough really memorable ones to keep it in the forefront. From the Dark is a nice footnote to an astonishing career but it doesn’t really do enough to make it a classic. There isn’t anything truly bad here, but it is somewhat bereft of ideas.
