End of the Beginning jumps out of the gate with Sabbath pretty much saying: "You like that, we´ve still got it". Doomy, massive riffs with the Iommi trademark, Geezer´s greasy bassline (probably one of the best tones he ever got, and that continues throughout the album). Brad Walk doing a good job keeping it together, and Ozzy´s classic ghostly delivery. It´s like a warm welcome home.
And Dear Father, carrying a disturbing subject matter, gallops and stomps all the way through. The tempo changes, constant riff transitions, all classic Sabbath. The chorus is haunting and faithful to the theme of the song, and of course, there´s the classic bells and rain that brings it all full circle.
Great songs, they really do a good job of opening and ending their last project.
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It should have had Bill Ward and it shouldn't have been made under such forced and clinical conditions. Despite this, I'm still grateful for it.
I always laugh that they hired Brad Wilk because his name is almost a perfect anagram for Bill Ward, and they hoped people wouldn’t notice.
I love Damaged Soul and see it as a nod to their bluesy start as Earth. I also enjoy Zeitgeist as a bookend to Planet Caravan.
I think Damaged Soul is one of Sabbath’s (any incarnation) very best songs. It’s heads and shoulders above the rest of 13, which I feel is a good, but not great, album.
But DS could’ve easily been on one of the original seventies Sabbath albums. I wish 13 had stretched its creative legs a bit more than it did. Could’ve used a couple more Damaged Souls on there.
If only 13 wasn't mixed for old people with hearing loss
The album has “Age Of Reason”. It’s a keeper just for that.