Did we all miss this, or was it just me?

No, we, all missed it. And I'm a big Sabbath fan. I knew it existed, but not that it had come out yet. I am not on top of things.

I like that it has dynamics, more so than a good lot of modern whatnots.

I actually like Ozzy's voice here more than I have in a long-ass time. Perhaps since the original incarnation of Sabbath. I actually dig this a hell of a lot. Mr. Appice's drumming is not Bill Ward, and this sounds to me more like Dio-era, musically. But there is nothing I can fault here. This, essentially, is the heaviest blues.

Yarr, the lesser drums bring me sadness, particularly as they were cranking some classic sabbath at work yesterday and i was noting the consistently very interesting beats that dood cranked out BITD.

But overall there is a certain solidness to this that at the very least would seem to go against my perception of ozzy as just completely a burnt veg at this point. Is it just that he retains and has retained, some sort of savant ability to keep singing? Or are his handlers just really good at their jobs? Either way, i am impress.

I like the drier vocal treatment, even if there is still the usual Ozzy, Chorused, Eventide Preset thing going on. I suppose being Sabbath they can't dick with him that much; it would be inappropriate given the context. He has zero technical ability and very limited range; he's all about the character. And that's fine. Trying to make someone like that into a pop singer is a waste of time. Really, it's Tony and Geezer's riffs; that is that band. Now: they are Lords And Masters of the Almighty Riff. Which counts for a little. My mom could front that band and they'd be awesome.

The lack of Bill Ward is dissapoint, but Mr. Ward's heart just isn't in it, quite literally, it seems, poor guy. That being said, have you seen the Classic Albums episode on Paranoid and heard Mr. Ward and Mr. Butler soloed? Good goddamn, that is a rhythm section! I still rate it in my top 5 rock records of all time for a reason. It stands a fair chance of making my top 5 fave-o-rite records, period full stop done, on any given day. And most of what I listen to is classical music and old-school jazz, singer-songwriters and electronic music and things that are not rocking so very much.

That being said, Mr. Appice is not a bad drummer by anyone's standards, I don't think. I've heard him live with Sabbath, but I don't have the tapes or the means to play them anymore. (Sabbath fronted by Rob Halford was interesting, if you can find the bootleg.) As a bassist, I cite Mr. Butler as one of my biggest influences, and that is not likely to change; he's awesome. And I like his tone here.

It's not Vinny Appice, it's Brad Wilk.

You are correct. That shows you how much I follow anything. (Read: I don't.) It's not his usual thing stylistically so I assumed Mr. Appice was still with them.