I was talking to a friend recently who had ignored everything after "Born Again" (1984-1995). I pointed out that he skipped almost 50% of Sabbath's recording career, time-wise (1970-1995).
@@geezerbill Yeah me too, it's simple mate , the Martin era blows, shows u how desperate Sabbath were, & it was the least Sabbath of ANY era, they could of at least stop using the Sabbath name, it was a disgrace & disaster & turn me off them for life.
Dio was more constant in live situations and he is among my top vocal heroes, but I honestly have to say I absolutely love Tony Martin. His albums Headless cross and TYR are my favorite Sabbath albums and his studio performances are out of this world. To me, he always sounded like a slightly cleaner and more melodic version of Dio. Tony Martin is the most underrated rock/metal singer of all time and he should be up there with Dickinson, Halford, Dio, etc. in my opinion.
Headless Cross is a top five metal album of all time in my book. Tyr is amazing, as was Cross Purposes. Though I believe cross purposes was his last hurrah. I didn’t feel that Forbidden was anything to get excited about and not just because of the singing. And of course we cannot forget the eternal idol, which sadly was pretty much Tony just being the voice for things already written
Dio has more power than Martin, and has a darker tone to his voice. He is also more endurant and consistent during the live show. For Tony it depends. On the Headless Cross and Tyr tour he was great. Unfortunately on the cross purposes tour he got sick and for the official recorded gig he gave a merely OK performance and on a lot of gigs from this time he was clearly not at his usual level. On the forbidden tour he was OK but not like the headless cross and Tyr tours. For the eternal idol tour he has some good performances but I think he was not yet fully comfortable with the songs and for the eternal idol songs they were written for Ray Gillen, and Ray has a higher vocal style he was not really comfortable with. But as Ken said, he was professional, I showed the cross purposes live show to semi professional singers, and despite the fact they told me it is visible he was sick, they told me he managed to pull a professional rendition and that it's not up to anyone to do what he did.
You know that was a great album. I remember our band tried to cover some tracks from that. The vocals on that album are very difficult to replicate. Also interesting that Brian may played on a track on that album.
I love Headless Cross. It's in my top 3 of BEST Black Sabbath's albums. But the best time was with Ronnie James DIO, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are The Best Sabbath's albums IMHO.
Headless Cross is a masterpiece in every aspect: composition, sound, instrumentalists, production. Iommi guitars are incredible, Cozy Powell and Laurence Cottle were the best musicians for that sound
Tony Iommi said recently, " People were so hung up on Ozzy, and Dio, they didn't realize how good the later records were, now sometime later, they listen and say, those are some really strong recordings"
Plus he was the only Sabbath vocalist who would perform across all the bands eras so for me he was my favourite of the singers. Plus Tony is from home town, well all the original band were.
The late, legendary drummer, Cozy Powel said: "I've worked with every singer Black Sabbath ever had and Tony Martin was the best." My humble opinion, for what it's worth: Tony Martin is the most underrated vocalist in the history of Heavy Metal. Sure, he didn't sound as well live as in the studio; but how many people do? Listen to the studio version of "Call of the Wild" and "Anno Mundi." Amazing. Tony Martin was an OUTSTANDING singer! So underrated. Just my opinion.
I wouldn't say Martin was THE BEST, as they each brought something great to their respective albums, but damn Anno Mundi rivals anything by any singer...an underrated masterpiece.
Tony Martin comes from Birmingham like the rest of Sabbath. In my opinion this is a very X Factor, because Tony has a great sensibility for the typical Sabbath topics and lyrics. And he has an incredible voice still today!! The best!!
Hands down favorite Sabbath album is with Tony Martin, 'The Headless Cross', that being said I have to agree, each front man in Sabbath's discography is like a different flavor of ice cream, not better or worse necessarily, just different.
I love headless cross I'm in the minority but my favorite is dehumanizer I'm a huge Ronnie James Dio fan. But I believe Tony Martin is one of the most underrated singers of all time. I hear there's a version of dehumanizer with Tony Martin I would love and kill to hear it..
@@jerryhensley6255not a minority to me, I LOVE Dehumanizer. It's honestly hard to pick a fav Sabbath album. I love many of them in different ways, but the ones I listen to consistently the most, are the Tony ones and Dio ones a close second.
Even when Tony Martin's voice started to change around 93-94 it still sounded amazing. While the Ozzy stuff was a bit tricky, he could sing his and Dio's stuff really well live even during the Forbidden era
Dio was definitely the best singer in Sabbath. Dio and Ray Gillen were amazing talented singers. They both had incredible vocal ranges and very powerful voices. Ozzy has always had that unique sound in his singing voice that I always love. ❤ The Dio era Sabbath is my all-time favorite Sabbath era.🤘👍❤
Tony Martin, hands down. Also, Sabbath's follow up singers we're not simply replacements for Ozzy, but brought a character that marked a distinct era of the band!
Hands down Ronnie James Dio even tho Ozzy had a unique style that fit the early songs however, Ronnie James Dio had the voice and the Best voice in Metal
I gotta go with the one singer not on the list: Ian Gillan. I love the Born Again album and Ian's vocals are incredible on it. Songs like Disturbing The Priest, Trashed, Zero The Hero... Love it. Wish his time in the band was longer.
I was just going to bring this up, no need to make a new post. Ozzy is my favourite Sabbath singer, when you think of Sabbath you think of the sound Ozzy brings. That being said Trashed is my favourite Sabbath song, with Ian Gillian
@@MikeHart72 Ozzy is definitely my favorite Sabbath singer but this video is about replacements. Not sure why Ken even listed Ozzy as he's the original singer.
The fun thing was that Tony could pull off Ozzy or Dio material. Lucky enough to see Tony twice and DIO three times. I'm hoping that Headless and Tyr get the remix/expanded versions soon!
Tony I think was a good singer but sang in a bad way.... by 1995 he killed his voice, never reached the high notes live, but I don´t blame him, I guess it was just Iommi forcing him to sing out of his range, still I like his style, but the live performances were not as great as the studio recordings
@@NEbluefire he got aids and sleept with women after and knowingly spreeding it thats why you can't get the Badlands albums the lable owns them and won't release them .
With all, all, all due respect to everyone and my love for Tony Martin - Ray Gillen is the absolute beast here. Thanks for pointing out his singing sharp, I love it so much!
Ray melted my face when I heard Badlands at 14 in 1989, I was like who IS this guy! Dio I knew was already great. When I heard Tony Martin do Headless Cross (song) and Annu Mundi (song) from the albums, whoa! He was just a phenomenal studio vocalist as you said. Live, he seemed to struggle a lot with higher ranges, also he lost his voice due to being ill, which I didn't know either. So yeah, agreed on all. But as a full band there's only ONE Sabbath, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. Also Ozzy's vocal range went way up later in his career, via Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Snowblind etc. Thanks for the video!! Enjoyed it.
This video came up by accident, I am one of very few people who really like Tony Martin Sabbath. Didn’t know Gillian, but that sounded great. I thought your opinions were spot on. Good job. I’m a lousy singer but I will watch your videos and try to get better.
Ray was a gift! The beautiful vocals, the hard rocking ….so sad he left so soon. I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with him after a Badlands show. So sweet, lots of fun and very kind. You should do an episode on his time in Badlands! Please!
It's got to be Tony Martin for me. Absolutely LOVE his vocals on the Sabbath albums in the late 80s and early 90s. Dio is obviously Dio but I always preferred his solo band over his work in Black Sabbath. Maybe it's because I was just a tiny bit too young to be around when he replaced Ozzy. Holy Diver was what put Ronnie on the map for me. Absolutely epic, of course.
Too young? Dio? You’re kidding of course. He’d been singing professionally throughout the 1960s. His band Elf was on tour supporting Deep Purple from 1972 to 1975. He and Blackmore put Rainbow together… and if you don’t think Kill the King, Gates of Babylon etc are not epic you need to re-listen to them. Many contend that it was the first three Rainbow albums (Rising in particular, and the live album of course) that established prog-metal. It was also Dio who lifted a drugged-out, nearly moribund Sabbath from oblivion. Did it so well in fact that Sabbath essentially became TWO bands (Heaven and Hell)!! What other singer ever took a major headlining act and made it his own backing band?
@@matsnilson7727 agree. Except it was viv Campbell that was the success behind holy diver. He put DIO on the map. Dio still owes him money for that. " The less that you give, you're a taker" comes to mind.
Best vocalist? RJD 2nd to none. Ozzy? Best front man. Ray, Ian, Tony and Glenn were all awesome vocalists and their contributions to the history of Sabbath are unforgettable.
I don't agree with Ozzy being a better front man than Dio. Ozzy hid behind the microphone while singing then became animated when no vocals were required. Dio was very animated with visual emotion when he was singing. Definitely more convincing delivering the lyrics more than Ozzy. Maybe because Dio was singing lyrics he wrote and Ozzy wasn't.
Great video Ken! there are too many aspects to consider in a vocalist/singer that is impossible to pin down watching a few videos for each individual : 1. Originality / Uniqueness - ( I think in that category I would pick Ozzy and Ronnie on the top of the list, in fact, Ozzy, in particular, have a very distinctive and accessible voice compared to all Sabbath singers, a more pedestrian feel and presence to voice that most casual listeners could sort of relating to. 2. Melodies - (Now this is where Ozzy and Dio really separate from the rest, I believe both are two of the greatest ever when it comes down to vocal melodies, in fact, I think that was Ozzy's secret weapon with Sabbath, in particular, his melodies are very accessible sort of having that pop-ish Beatlesque feel to them (no wonder since they're one of his biggest influences), and while the first 3 records he seemed to follow through Iommi's main riffs (ex. Iron man, NIB etc..) it's on Vol.4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage where he comes with some of his finest and beautiful vocal melodies. Dio also was extremely talented with melodies and his vocal lines were so versatile and diverse. That was one of the major issues with Ray Gillen, a fantastic singer but he wasn't that good at coming up with his original lines and melodies. 3. Phrasing - (there are a lot of singers out there that could really hit very high notes or have a powerful voice but to me, there are very few that do actually phrase the words with great articulation and feel both live and in the studio, in that category, Ronnie definitely comes on top, whether with Rainbow, Sabbath or Dio, Ronnie's phrasing was always on top form, he truly meant every word he sang live and his articulation of words was always crystal clear to my ears, he lets the words open up and resonate, I've seen Sabbath and Dio live around 80+ times and Ronnie always made you feel he was singing just for you (whether its a club, sold-out arena or in front of a massive summer festival), Ozzy was brilliant in the studio with Sabbath but live wasn't as consistent or expressive in my humble opinion ( not to Ronnie's level and that goes to Tony Martin as well). 4. Consistency and Longevity - No one touches Ronnie in that category, I've never ever heard or seen Ronnie have a night off, he actually never cancelled a show in his whole career even when he was very sick (he was just recovering from a throat infection on the 'Holy Diver live' and 'Radio City Music Hall' with Sabbath when he recorded both shows) , Ronnie was always in tune and top form, his voice always very powerful and even as he got older his level of performances was bar to none, Ronnie passed away when he was 67 years and if you listen to his voice and live performances towards the end they're on a completely different level to the likes of Ozzy , Dickinson , Gillan , Coverdale , Halford and Tony Martin as they got older, Tony Martin, in particular, struggled really hard with replicating some of his finest vocals live on stage (Headless Cross as a prime example), on the other hand, Ronnie's live performances rivalled his studio performances! one thing I've noticed with Ronnie in his later years as well was how his sense of timing was really quite exceptional, he also never sang very differently from one night to the other , meaning that each and every song was performed in tune and very consistent technical wise, but the way he phrased (or told the story) varied from one night to the other. Also and unlike many other singers, Ronnie's mic was always extremely dry, with no effects whatsoever. On a side note, I would really love to see you Ken dig deep into the following : 1. Ronnie's vocals performances through the years, how and what changed, developed and all the subtleties of his technique from Rainbow to Sabbath , Dio etc. 2. Ozzy isn't well known for either his technique or vocal range but on Sabbath's finest hours 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Sabotage' he breaks into a completely different range and vocal realm that is even very technically very difficult to sing by anyone, I would really love to hear you dig deep into songs like 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' ( the last part of the song in particular), 'Hole In the Sky', 'Symptom Of The Universe', 'The Writ' and 'Spiral Architect' and sort of break down in terms of technique and explain how could they possibly be approach ( Ozzy rarely performed any of the songs from those particular records cause they simply blew his voice on tour not to mention not being able to sing that high as he became older). Thanks again for all your wonderful videos!
Considering the criteria, Dio all the way. Although Ray, Ian, and Glenn are absolutely at the top of the list for my all-time favorite singers, the Sabbath precedent for the powerhouse and melodic vocal was set by Dio.
Hello Professor🤷♀️I’m Proud our comment🎶IAN is great singer, but just One album with Sabbaths.... because discord Purple/Blackmore‼️. Sabbaths is not Bester, Lommi discord with all’s, musicians, singers🤷♀️and just BAD with TONY no considering 👎just the LIFEBUOY 😪So wonderful singer, 5albums, disgracing ‼️bye, good Weekend 🤷♀️
Tony Martin was epic on Headless Cross, and to be fair, no one else could sing those songs as well as he did. Just as no one can replicate Dio on Heaven and Hell and such. Ray Gillen was awesome in his own right, and no one can touch his Badlands performances, but he's more of a blues/ rock guy. I have his version of Eternal Idol and while good, Tony Martin was spot on for that one. They all have their place.
Freaking love your channel. An amazing analysis of some of the most iconic singers of all time, in any genre. Kudos to you sir. Instant sub, and I have much to listen to before I will comment again. No favs here. All those fine gentlemen are metal super heroes.. okay Dio is the best.. lol
Of course Dio is the huge winner here for me, no if ands or buts. Hands down he had them all beat. Now, if I had to choose who was the better singer here in order after Dio, it would be Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, and then Ozzy. Once again Dio for me, because he mastered his vocals!! No one could even come close to this man! RIP Ronnie James Dio and Ray Gillen. Peace! ✌🏼
i like the new series! Great idea! i would love to see an episode on Rainbow with all its great singers (Dio, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, and Doogie White)
Tony Martin got me into Sabbath. Gillen was insane with Badlands. Dio has such breadth with Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio, I love them all. Ozzy is the OZ Man, the only singer I've ever seen with Sabbath live. But Tony Martin is the keystone for me.
Ray Gillen forever ❤️ I listen every week almost , and always my jaw is dropped , even though I know every song by heart . What a beautiful impressive voice ! Thanks for mentioning him, his incredible talent is worth it 💪💪💪 I know lots of live recordings when he sings songs from Dio , Hughes and Ozzy era . So so mind-blowing ...
I agree with your comments about each singer. Ozzy was more stage presence, Gillen had the clear high range, Martin was limited live but awesome on studio recordings. My all time favorite is Dio hands down. Up until he passed, he still sang flawless and I don't think he ever had a bad vocal performance.
Dio, was the ultimate professional- his relationships with the band and the fans.. and his imagery on stage was ground breaking. He brought things he learned from bands our grandpa loved and pulled it into rock and metal- the hand motions, true professional performances and maturity that Frank Sinatra gave through the 60's
Ken I had no idea you even did comparison vids. In my opinion Tony Martin era was the strongest material from a writing perspective. Though Ozzy is a very good singer he is out of his league compared to any of these guys! I think technically Gillan had the most range and Tony Martin to me had the tone as well as Dio. I love em all really.
Man, Ray was so underatted, you can hear that when he sing there’s absolutely zero fatigue ! I love Tony Martin from studio but his live performances was a bit disappointing..
Awesome video Ken but I wish u showcased ozzys live singing around 75 era? When his voice was really soaring..songs like The Thrill Of It All, the Sabbath bloody Sabbath album, technical ecstasy..those albums are fire for me, vol. 4 too...great video though
Great to see some well deserved Ray Gillen appreciation here! When I tell people he's my favorite Sabbath vocalist, followed by Tony Martin, people give me a look like I've just insulted their mother or something. And I agree with you too on that I prefer Martin in the studio than live. Nothing against Ozzy or Dio though, love them both (and Dio's performance in Rainbow's Stargazer is my all-time favorite vocal performance), but I just happen to like the other two better. Glen Hughes was (and still is) great too, but I've never been a big fan of Ian Gillan though, be it solo, Purple or Sabbath.
Dio is just my favorite metal vocalist, and I feel like Dio really gave Black Sabbath that darker and heavier sound . I also think some of the darkest songs lyrically came from Dio.
It seems like Tony used similar vocal inflections as Dio, but Dio, in my book, was the best! Part of my opinion is based on something he did outside of BS. When he collaborated with Kerry Livgren on Mask of the Great Deceiver, I was blown away! One of the least recognized but most awesome vocal performances ever! (I have never been a great Ozzy fan. He seems lazy in his efforts).
Always been a Sabbath fan of all eras, except Born Again. Never could get into that album. Dio has always been the epitome of metal singing for me, but I really like Tony Martin. Imo, Tony Martin handled the Ozzy and Dio eras with great respect and talent. Plus, those albums he is on are very underrated.
I've commented on this video before, specifically regarding Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. Could you please do a video on Ray Gillen and Rumblin' Train from his Badlands days? He uses his voice in such a different way from his other work. It's AWESOME!
I agree on Dio clearly leading the pack. I understand why you like Ray, even if I don't like the being sharp to be honest. Simply sounds off to my ears. Nevertheless, what an amazing singer! I think it is a bit unfair to compare Tony on Ronnies songs. Tony does amazing on his own stuff imho. But I can agree on the order. And of course, in the end it is about the music and not a sports. I love all of them and am thankful for what they created!
Well, what an incredible bunch you've got here, Ken!! Nobody would seriously question that Dio is, by far, the best, not only from a more technical point of view but also because of his power and charisma onstage Not many people (I'm not going to say 'nobody') would say Ozzy is a great singer, but he clearly has a unique personality, and he indelibly marked BS's birth and evolution, and it's not for nothing that he is a legend in hard rock and metal Absolutely agree that it's really a shame that Ray Gillen left us so soon. Some years ago BS released a special edition of The eternal idol album, with the official recording, let's say, with Tony Martin and then a second CD with Gillen's original recording, and it's like.... my goodness!! Truly amazing. In fact, there were a couple of things he did in one or two songs, I cannot remember well now, that Gillen did so good that Tony Martin just couldn't replicate them in his rendition of the songs and they decided to keep Gillen's version And Tony Martin has been unfairly treated. On one hand, when he first came in, he limited himself to copying exactly what Ray had done, and he did a tremendous job. From The eternal idol on (Headless cross, Tyr... some pretty nice stuff in all those albums) he has able to develop his own thing, but always with the 'shadow' of Dio over him, as if he had been merely an imitator. In this sense, it would have been good if you had shown Tony Martin singing his songs with BS, not only Dio songs, fantastic as they are. Unquestionably, Dio's mega-influence is there, but there's much more than mere copy to what Tony Martin did. Once his Sabbath years were over, he's continued to do solo stuff, but I would say not many people are paying attention to what he's doing, and he really deserves more attention Anyway, Ken, thank you so much for sharing your insight on all theses matters and for your advice
met ray in pittsburgh on a black sabbath tour 85 or 86, invited me in his room to listen to some of his recent shows, man he was one of the nicest and most down to earth guys I ever met. RIP Ray, you'll never be forgotten......
Props to Tony Iommi for working with so many great vocalists. It confirms that a vocalist is a very important person but the central figure is a composer.
Hey Ken, you described Ray Gillen as a super-high Paul Rodgers in a previous video and i think that perfectly describes his vocal style. You can really hear the Free/Bad Company influence in his phrasing. It always amazed me how he could sing so high while retaining the soulfulness. RIP Ray
Holy cow!!! That's a tough one. Vocally all different. And I love them all. Tony Martin deserves a lot of respect as well a Ray Gillen who is awesome. I love Martin era albums a lot. Bit Dio is my no.1 🤘🤘🤘 But you forgot Ian Gillan. Born again was a heck of a great dark doomy album. 🤘🤘🤘
Big fan of Ray Gillen. Glad to see Ray given a bigger spotlight in Black Sabbath's history, even if he was only in the band for 5 minutes. I personally prefer his version of the Eternal Idol album, though I like Tony Martin, especially on the Headless Cross. I'm glad when they replaced Ray, they kept his demos for posterity. Until they turned up as bootlegs and the official european release of the 2 disc edition of Eternal Idol, I thought Ray's vocals were lost forever.
After hearing this, I also would say that Ray is technically the best. But I think all singers of Sabbath (except Ian Gillan) were perfect for the time period they were in Sabbath. Tony Martin has always been underrated, and Dio was the best for combining stage presence and singing.
The great thing about Ozzy, RJD, Ray and Tony is they all had/wrote a lot of brilliant songs for us to listen to and for them to excel on. p.s. I saw Tony at a special Cozy Powell birthday bash a couple of years ago, the first time since the Forbidden tour, and his volume was twice that of any other vocalist, even with a terrible cold. That lad has some pipes.
it's amazing how much of Gillen and Dio's influence are in Tony Martin's original songs on the later Sabbath . kind of cool he really proves he has his own core sound on the originals. the 2022 THORNS release is really good
I enjoy all of the Black Sabbath singers for what they brought to the band in the time period they sang in. Even Ian Gillan (Born Again is a KILLER album)! But the Dio material is my absolute favorite, he had such a terrific stage persona as well as the vocal chops.
I love that the Ray Gillen versions are available on youtube, and I enjoy comparing his tracks with Tony Martin's. However, Dio's performances are sublime... in my humble opinion.
Dio is the obvious champion here. No matter what band he's in Elf, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Dio he's always been amazing.
Agreed.
I figure it's either Dio or Martin.
@@TheRealMediaMan technically on studio Martin was far superior,, but live Dio .
Deep Purple
Dio literally the God of Metal.
Dio couldn't do Ozzy songs justice just as Ozzy would never do Dio justice but original singers rarely ever do went they go back to a band they left.
I feel so sorry for the people ignoring Tony's Black Sabbath era. They are missing a lot of great music
I was talking to a friend recently who had ignored everything after "Born Again" (1984-1995). I pointed out that he skipped almost 50% of Sabbath's recording career, time-wise (1970-1995).
@@geezerbill Yeah me too, it's simple mate , the Martin era blows, shows u how desperate Sabbath were, & it was the least Sabbath of ANY era, they could of at least stop using the Sabbath name, it was a disgrace & disaster & turn me off them for life.
Saw the Tyr tour, TM was great
@@mickblack2800 Poser.
Headless Cross is a top 3 Sabbath album. I know what I'm saying when I say this. It's that good.
Dio was more constant in live situations and he is among my top vocal heroes, but I honestly have to say I absolutely love Tony Martin. His albums Headless cross and TYR are my favorite Sabbath albums and his studio performances are out of this world. To me, he always sounded like a slightly cleaner and more melodic version of Dio. Tony Martin is the most underrated rock/metal singer of all time and he should be up there with Dickinson, Halford, Dio, etc. in my opinion.
Headless Cross is a top five metal album of all time in my book. Tyr is amazing, as was Cross Purposes. Though I believe cross purposes was his last hurrah. I didn’t feel that Forbidden was anything to get excited about and not just because of the singing. And of course we cannot forget the eternal idol, which sadly was pretty much Tony just being the voice for things already written
@@ScottRoofwalker I Won't Cry For You is a top song from Forbidden.
Dio has more power than Martin, and has a darker tone to his voice. He is also more endurant and consistent during the live show. For Tony it depends. On the Headless Cross and Tyr tour he was great. Unfortunately on the cross purposes tour he got sick and for the official recorded gig he gave a merely OK performance and on a lot of gigs from this time he was clearly not at his usual level. On the forbidden tour he was OK but not like the headless cross and Tyr tours.
For the eternal idol tour he has some good performances but I think he was not yet fully comfortable with the songs and for the eternal idol songs they were written for Ray Gillen, and Ray has a higher vocal style he was not really comfortable with. But as Ken said, he was professional, I showed the cross purposes live show to semi professional singers, and despite the fact they told me it is visible he was sick, they told me he managed to pull a professional rendition and that it's not up to anyone to do what he did.
Why isn't Eternal Idol mentioned? I think it is the strongest Tony Martin album.
@@henrikg1388 Säger bara: Glory ride....
We all know who became iconic but man, Ray Gillen was from another planet. The only one who could perfectly cover all eras. Enough said. Great video!
Dio
@@joseantoniocaparros3049Martin .
I am an outlier here, but I love Tony Martin's vocals on Headless Cross. That is my favorite Sabbath record.
You know that was a great album. I remember our band tried to cover some tracks from that. The vocals on that album are very difficult to replicate. Also interesting that Brian may played on a track on that album.
I love Headless Cross. It's in my top 3 of BEST Black Sabbath's albums. But the best time was with Ronnie James DIO, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are The Best Sabbath's albums IMHO.
Maybe my favorite Sabbath album! Definitely top 5.
Headless Cross is a masterpiece in every aspect: composition, sound, instrumentalists, production. Iommi guitars are incredible, Cozy Powell and Laurence Cottle were the best musicians for that sound
Same
Tony Iommi said recently, " People were so hung up on Ozzy, and Dio, they didn't realize how good the later records were, now sometime later, they listen and say, those are some really strong recordings"
I love the Tony Martin era. Eternal Idol, Headless Cross and Tyr: Great albums
👍
Don't forget about Forbidden. Some killer tunes on there as well!
Plus he was the only Sabbath vocalist who would perform across all the bands eras so for me he was my favourite of the singers. Plus Tony is from home town, well all the original band were.
I prefer Eternal Idol with Ray on vocals, but Tony performance on Headless Cross and Tyr are incredible.
IMHO, The Eternal Idol is a fantastic album.
Ray Gillen is so underrated. Loved his work with Badlands.
Thank you for doing this video Ken!
God bless! 💯
Thanks for listening!
Yeah, I love Gillen and Badlands ☺️
Ray Gillen on the self-titled Badlands album! Yes. Just amazing…..I think his finest work….
Ray's music with Sun Red Sun was great too.
The late, legendary drummer, Cozy Powel said: "I've worked with every singer Black Sabbath ever had and Tony Martin was the best." My humble opinion, for what it's worth: Tony Martin is the most underrated vocalist in the history of Heavy Metal. Sure, he didn't sound as well live as in the studio; but how many people do? Listen to the studio version of "Call of the Wild" and "Anno Mundi." Amazing. Tony Martin was an OUTSTANDING singer! So underrated. Just my opinion.
I wouldn't say Martin was THE BEST, as they each brought something great to their respective albums, but damn Anno Mundi rivals anything by any singer...an underrated masterpiece.
I love seeing Sabbath live with Cozy Powell on the Tony Martin tours.
I've seen a few very good covers of Anno Mundi on UA-cam, then go back to the original, and they aren't even close. Talk about lightning in a bottle.
Tony Martin comes from Birmingham like the rest of Sabbath. In my opinion this is a very X Factor, because Tony has a great sensibility for the typical Sabbath topics and lyrics. And he has an incredible voice still today!! The best!!
@@garystubbs3011 u r correct. Yes he was the best.
Hands down favorite Sabbath album is with Tony Martin, 'The Headless Cross', that being said I have to agree, each front man in Sabbath's discography is like a different flavor of ice cream, not better or worse necessarily, just different.
I love headless cross
I'm in the minority but my favorite is dehumanizer I'm a huge Ronnie James Dio fan. But I believe Tony Martin is one of the most underrated singers of all time.
I hear there's a version of dehumanizer with Tony Martin I would love and kill to hear it..
@@jerryhensley6255not a minority to me, I LOVE Dehumanizer. It's honestly hard to pick a fav Sabbath album. I love many of them in different ways, but the ones I listen to consistently the most, are the Tony ones and Dio ones a close second.
How could you forget Ian Gillan? C'mon man! Songs like Trashed, Zero The Hero... Born Again was such an underrated album.
I do like Zero the Hero.
For a good laugh, check out the documentary behind the making of _Born Again_ album and the music video.😁
Liked so much the album, but watching Sabbath playing Smoke on the water was embarassing
Yes and live was great too
wrong I love Gillian and thought it'd be a good match but I can't listen to that album. don't know why it didn't work .
Even when Tony Martin's voice started to change around 93-94 it still sounded amazing. While the Ozzy stuff was a bit tricky, he could sing his and Dio's stuff really well live even during the Forbidden era
Dio was definitely the best singer
in Sabbath. Dio and Ray Gillen
were amazing talented singers.
They both had incredible vocal ranges and very powerful voices.
Ozzy has always had that unique
sound in his singing voice that I always love. ❤
The Dio era Sabbath is my all-time
favorite Sabbath era.🤘👍❤
Well said!
War pigs and iron man
Tony Martin, hands down. Also, Sabbath's follow up singers we're not simply replacements for Ozzy, but brought a character that marked a distinct era of the band!
Hands down Ronnie James Dio even tho Ozzy had a unique style that fit the early songs however, Ronnie James Dio had the voice and the Best voice in Metal
Thanks for watching!
For me the best voice belongs to John Michael West(Royal Hunt,Artension,etc.)
@@markfinlayson2160 but he's irrelevant here, since the topic is Black Sabbath.
I also liked how Dio was able to take the older songs and make them sound like his own. The live version of "N.I.B." from Live Evil is a good example.
@@markfinlayson2160 Dio was best rock/metal vocalist off all time.
I've always said that I like Ozzy in Sabbath better, but RJD was one of the best to ever do it.
I gotta go with the one singer not on the list: Ian Gillan. I love the Born Again album and Ian's vocals are incredible on it. Songs like Disturbing The Priest, Trashed, Zero The Hero... Love it. Wish his time in the band was longer.
I was just going to bring this up, no need to make a new post.
Ozzy is my favourite Sabbath singer, when you think of Sabbath you think of the sound Ozzy brings. That being said Trashed is my favourite Sabbath song, with Ian Gillian
Ian Gillan is an awesome singer but... he didn’t fit well with Sabbath. His tone is unique but just wrong for sabbath
@@MikeHart72 Ozzy is definitely my favorite Sabbath singer but this video is about replacements. Not sure why Ken even listed Ozzy as he's the original singer.
I had that CD, zero the hero oh yeah!
I love Born again such a good album
tony is criminally underrated...and to me the one who did better songs in black sabbath
The fun thing was that Tony could pull off Ozzy or Dio material. Lucky enough to see Tony twice and DIO three times. I'm hoping that Headless and Tyr get the remix/expanded versions soon!
Headless Cross is my favorite Sabbath album 🤘😎👍
Tony really shines 🤘😎👍
His songs with BS were great, but his high notes are not the best, even in tours that high notes were playback, Headless Cross is an example
@@yessidmoreno3695 check out Manchester 89 and the first Tyr bootleg, Tony was great and hitting most of the high notes on these recordings.
Tony I think was a good singer but sang in a bad way.... by 1995 he killed his voice, never reached the high notes live, but I don´t blame him, I guess it was just Iommi forcing him to sing out of his range, still I like his style, but the live performances were not as great as the studio recordings
I'm a massive Ray Gillen fan.. The work he did with Badlands was insanely good! Everyone should know how good this guy was!
Of course dude 🔥🔥🔥
His work was great but him as a person not so much.
Ray always, miss ya bro 😢😢😢
@@NEbluefire he got aids and sleept with women after and knowingly spreeding it thats why you can't get the Badlands albums the lable owns them and won't release them .
Greatest singer of all time!
I heard some Black Sabbath demos where Ray Gillen sang a lot more like Dio, and it blew me away. What an amazing singer.
He was absolutely the best 😍
I praise uniqueness and Ozzy’s voice is one of a kind. Easily identifiable.
Love Tony Martin!!! such great albums he sang on, with that said i love em all!
With all, all, all due respect to everyone and my love for Tony Martin - Ray Gillen is the absolute beast here. Thanks for pointing out his singing sharp, I love it so much!
Ray melted my face when I heard Badlands at 14 in 1989, I was like who IS this guy! Dio I knew was already great. When I heard Tony Martin do Headless Cross (song) and Annu Mundi (song) from the albums, whoa! He was just a phenomenal studio vocalist as you said. Live, he seemed to struggle a lot with higher ranges, also he lost his voice due to being ill, which I didn't know either. So yeah, agreed on all. But as a full band there's only ONE Sabbath, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. Also Ozzy's vocal range went way up later in his career, via Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Snowblind etc. Thanks for the video!! Enjoyed it.
Also what do you think of Geoff Tate back in the day? ;o)
I had never seen Ray singing for them… but OMG 😱
Thank you for posting that, as you know he is my absolute favorite singer 🤘🏻
I saw them in Toronto with Ray. Great show. Reminded me a lot of DIO live
This video came up by accident, I am one of very few people who really like Tony Martin Sabbath. Didn’t know Gillian, but that sounded great. I thought your opinions were spot on. Good job. I’m a lousy singer but I will watch your videos and try to get better.
Tony Martin always had the chops to carry everything. I grew up with the Ozzy era, loved tbe Dio albums but for me Tony had it all.
👍
Ray was a gift! The beautiful vocals, the hard rocking ….so sad he left so soon. I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with him after a Badlands show. So sweet, lots of fun and very kind. You should do an episode on his time in Badlands! Please!
Rock on!
Absolutely fair assessment. Wish you could use video from Cross Purposes live, when Tony was at his best with the band.
Great series! You've nailed it again. I saw the Headless Cross tour and TM was spectacular! And Cozy ... man - what a drummer!!
It's got to be Tony Martin for me. Absolutely LOVE his vocals on the Sabbath albums in the late 80s and early 90s. Dio is obviously Dio but I always preferred his solo band over his work in Black Sabbath. Maybe it's because I was just a tiny bit too young to be around when he replaced Ozzy. Holy Diver was what put Ronnie on the map for me. Absolutely epic, of course.
Exactly. #boom
Totally 😁
Too young? Dio? You’re kidding of course. He’d been singing professionally throughout the 1960s. His band Elf was on tour supporting Deep Purple from 1972 to 1975. He and Blackmore put Rainbow together… and if you don’t think Kill the King, Gates of Babylon etc are not epic you need to re-listen to them. Many contend that it was the first three Rainbow albums (Rising in particular, and the live album of course) that established prog-metal.
It was also Dio who lifted a drugged-out, nearly moribund Sabbath from oblivion. Did it so well in fact that Sabbath essentially became TWO bands (Heaven and Hell)!! What other singer ever took a major headlining act and made it his own backing band?
@@matsnilson7727 agree. Except it was viv Campbell that was the success behind holy diver. He put DIO on the map. Dio still owes him money for that. " The less that you give, you're a taker" comes to mind.
This guy is pretty cool! Great teacher and obviously a great singer. Very informative and good personality. 👍😁👍
I worked one of Ray Gillan’s shows with Badlands as stage crew a million years ago. Down to earth guy who was good to us peons. Gone too soon.
Do you know John Michael West?
Black Sabbath is a great choice. Can't go wrong there. That was my favorite band and I saw them in concert a few times with Ozzy!
Ray Gillen....absolutely amazing. Look for him singing Children of the Sea on UA-cam! Unreal!!!
Well done! Objective and honest... Nice walk down memory lane! Great stuff...
Tony Martin is incredible! I love the Headless Cross album
👍
What an awesome series and another great video. Curious of the others to come (Rainbow, Deep Purple, REO, Lynyrd Skynyrd...).
Best vocalist? RJD 2nd to none.
Ozzy? Best front man.
Ray, Ian, Tony and Glenn were all awesome vocalists and their contributions to the history of Sabbath are unforgettable.
I don't agree with Ozzy being a better front man than Dio. Ozzy hid behind the microphone while singing then became animated when no vocals were required. Dio was very animated with visual emotion when he was singing. Definitely more convincing delivering the lyrics more than Ozzy. Maybe because Dio was singing lyrics he wrote and Ozzy wasn't.
For me John West(Royal Hunt)best singer.
@@randybayle4383 Yeah, Dio really was pretty much the optimal metal frontman that probably inspired most that came after him.
Never heard Tony Martin before. Positively surprised now!
Great video Ken! there are too many aspects to consider in a vocalist/singer that is impossible to pin down watching a few videos for each individual :
1. Originality / Uniqueness - ( I think in that category I would pick Ozzy and Ronnie on the top of the list, in fact, Ozzy, in particular, have a very distinctive and accessible voice compared to all Sabbath singers, a more pedestrian feel and presence to voice that most casual listeners could sort of relating to.
2. Melodies - (Now this is where Ozzy and Dio really separate from the rest, I believe both are two of the greatest ever when it comes down to vocal melodies, in fact, I think that was Ozzy's secret weapon with Sabbath, in particular, his melodies are very accessible sort of having that pop-ish Beatlesque feel to them (no wonder since they're one of his biggest influences), and while the first 3 records he seemed to follow through Iommi's main riffs (ex. Iron man, NIB etc..) it's on Vol.4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage where he comes with some of his finest and beautiful vocal melodies. Dio also was extremely talented with melodies and his vocal lines were so versatile and diverse. That was one of the major issues with Ray Gillen, a fantastic singer but he wasn't that good at coming up with his original lines and melodies.
3. Phrasing - (there are a lot of singers out there that could really hit very high notes or have a powerful voice but to me, there are very few that do actually phrase the words with great articulation and feel both live and in the studio, in that category, Ronnie definitely comes on top, whether with Rainbow, Sabbath or Dio, Ronnie's phrasing was always on top form, he truly meant every word he sang live and his articulation of words was always crystal clear to my ears, he lets the words open up and resonate, I've seen Sabbath and Dio live around 80+ times and Ronnie always made you feel he was singing just for you (whether its a club, sold-out arena or in front of a massive summer festival), Ozzy was brilliant in the studio with Sabbath but live wasn't as consistent or expressive in my humble opinion ( not to Ronnie's level and that goes to Tony Martin as well).
4. Consistency and Longevity - No one touches Ronnie in that category, I've never ever heard or seen Ronnie have a night off, he actually never cancelled a show in his whole career even when he was very sick (he was just recovering from a throat infection on the 'Holy Diver live' and 'Radio City Music Hall' with Sabbath when he recorded both shows) , Ronnie was always in tune and top form, his voice always very powerful and even as he got older his level of performances was bar to none, Ronnie passed away when he was 67 years and if you listen to his voice and live performances towards the end they're on a completely different level to the likes of Ozzy , Dickinson , Gillan , Coverdale , Halford and Tony Martin as they got older, Tony Martin, in particular, struggled really hard with replicating some of his finest vocals live on stage (Headless Cross as a prime example), on the other hand, Ronnie's live performances rivalled his studio performances! one thing I've noticed with Ronnie in his later years as well was how his sense of timing was really quite exceptional, he also never sang very differently from one night to the other , meaning that each and every song was performed in tune and very consistent technical wise, but the way he phrased (or told the story) varied from one night to the other. Also and unlike many other singers, Ronnie's mic was always extremely dry, with no effects whatsoever.
On a side note, I would really love to see you Ken dig deep into the following :
1. Ronnie's vocals performances through the years, how and what changed, developed and all the subtleties of his technique from Rainbow to Sabbath , Dio etc.
2. Ozzy isn't well known for either his technique or vocal range but on Sabbath's finest hours 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Sabotage' he breaks into a completely different range and vocal realm that is even very technically very difficult to sing by anyone, I would really love to hear you dig deep into songs like 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' ( the last part of the song in particular), 'Hole In the Sky', 'Symptom Of The Universe', 'The Writ' and 'Spiral Architect' and sort of break down in terms of technique and explain how could they possibly be approach ( Ozzy rarely performed any of the songs from those particular records cause they simply blew his voice on tour not to mention not being able to sing that high as he became older).
Thanks again for all your wonderful videos!
Fantastic series of videos, well done Ken, superb
Considering the criteria, Dio all the way. Although Ray, Ian, and Glenn are absolutely at the top of the list for my all-time favorite singers, the Sabbath precedent for the powerhouse and melodic vocal was set by Dio.
Hello Professor🤷♀️I’m Proud our comment🎶IAN is great singer, but just One album with Sabbaths.... because discord Purple/Blackmore‼️. Sabbaths is not Bester, Lommi discord with all’s, musicians, singers🤷♀️and just BAD with TONY no considering 👎just the LIFEBUOY 😪So wonderful singer, 5albums, disgracing ‼️bye, good Weekend 🤷♀️
P.S,, Great Review... really well done.. i love all of Sabbaths Singers.
Tony Martin was epic on Headless Cross, and to be fair, no one else could sing those songs as well as he did. Just as no one can replicate Dio on Heaven and Hell and such. Ray Gillen was awesome in his own right, and no one can touch his Badlands performances, but he's more of a blues/ rock guy. I have his version of Eternal Idol and while good, Tony Martin was spot on for that one. They all have their place.
I don't know if you have done an analysis of Warrell Dane. But please PLEASE do! Love you.
I always loved Ray's vocals, but after watching this analysis. I appreciate him so much more. This was great to watch all around. Thank you !!!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Freaking love your channel. An amazing analysis of some of the most iconic singers of all time, in any genre. Kudos to you sir. Instant sub, and I have much to listen to before I will comment again. No favs here. All those fine gentlemen are metal super heroes.. okay Dio is the best.. lol
Of course Dio is the huge winner here for me, no if ands or buts. Hands down he had them all beat. Now, if I had to choose who was the better singer here in order after Dio, it would be Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, and then Ozzy. Once again Dio for me, because he mastered his vocals!! No one could even come close to this man! RIP Ronnie James Dio and Ray Gillen. Peace! ✌🏼
i like the new series! Great idea! i would love to see an episode on Rainbow with all its great singers (Dio, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, and Doogie White)
And Ronnie Romero.
Ronnie James Dio hands down! Mad respect to Ray Gillen and Tony Martin is the unsung hero here!
Hi Ken ! Love this series. I'd like to recommend some bands: ANGRA, VISION DIVINE, MALMSTEEN. Peace out!
Dio was the best actual singer they ever had. He's probably the best metal singer of all all-time. But Ozzy was definitely their most popular.
For me best metal singer John West(Royal Hunt).
I never knew there was live stuff of Ray with sabs , I’m off to hunt for it , awesome, ps , I love this new vlog ken. Brilliant
Glad you enjoyed it!
Tony Martin got me into Sabbath. Gillen was insane with Badlands. Dio has such breadth with Elf, Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio, I love them all. Ozzy is the OZ Man, the only singer I've ever seen with Sabbath live. But Tony Martin is the keystone for me.
I just stumbled on your channel....youre awesome!
Ray Gillen forever ❤️ I listen every week almost , and always my jaw is dropped , even though I know every song by heart . What a beautiful impressive voice ! Thanks for mentioning him, his incredible talent is worth it 💪💪💪 I know lots of live recordings when he sings songs from Dio , Hughes and Ozzy era . So so mind-blowing ...
I enjoy it a lot! This is what we can call a real video reaction with professional analysis. Nice!
Dio was the next level for Black Sabbath
Awesome video. Really like the fact you included the lesser known but very talented vocalists as well. Great series overall!
I agree with your comments about each singer. Ozzy was more stage presence, Gillen had the clear high range, Martin was limited live but awesome on studio recordings. My all time favorite is Dio hands down. Up until he passed, he still sang flawless and I don't think he ever had a bad vocal performance.
Dio, was the ultimate professional- his relationships with the band and the fans.. and his imagery on stage was ground breaking. He brought things he learned from bands our grandpa loved and pulled it into rock and metal- the hand motions, true professional performances and maturity that Frank Sinatra gave through the 60's
Ken I had no idea you even did comparison vids. In my opinion Tony Martin era was the strongest material from a writing perspective. Though Ozzy is a very good singer he is out of his league compared to any of these guys! I think technically Gillan had the most range and Tony Martin to me had the tone as well as Dio. I love em all really.
Badlands was such a great band before Ray passed. I suggest everyone listen to them.
It's been a long time I haven't watched your videos glad to be back
.
Man, Ray was so underatted, you can hear that when he sing there’s absolutely zero fatigue !
I love Tony Martin from studio but his live performances was a bit disappointing..
Awesome video Ken but I wish u showcased ozzys live singing around 75 era? When his voice was really soaring..songs like The Thrill Of It All, the Sabbath bloody Sabbath album, technical ecstasy..those albums are fire for me, vol. 4 too...great video though
Great to see some well deserved Ray Gillen appreciation here! When I tell people he's my favorite Sabbath vocalist, followed by Tony Martin, people give me a look like I've just insulted their mother or something. And I agree with you too on that I prefer Martin in the studio than live. Nothing against Ozzy or Dio though, love them both (and Dio's performance in Rainbow's Stargazer is my all-time favorite vocal performance), but I just happen to like the other two better. Glen Hughes was (and still is) great too, but I've never been a big fan of Ian Gillan though, be it solo, Purple or Sabbath.
Dude you are literally the only person who gets the difference...outstanding
I agree on Dio and Ray. It is insane how the voice flows out of Ray.
Saw Ray G with them in London, blew me away
Dio is just my favorite metal vocalist, and I feel like Dio really gave Black Sabbath that darker and heavier sound . I also think some of the darkest songs lyrically came from Dio.
It seems like Tony used similar vocal inflections as Dio, but Dio, in my book, was the best! Part of my opinion is based on something he did outside of BS. When he collaborated with Kerry Livgren on Mask of the Great Deceiver, I was blown away! One of the least recognized but most awesome vocal performances ever! (I have never been a great Ozzy fan. He seems lazy in his efforts).
Always been a Sabbath fan of all eras, except Born Again. Never could get into that album. Dio has always been the epitome of metal singing for me, but I really like Tony Martin. Imo, Tony Martin handled the Ozzy and Dio eras with great respect and talent. Plus, those albums he is on are very underrated.
I've commented on this video before, specifically regarding Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. Could you please do a video on Ray Gillen and Rumblin' Train from his Badlands days? He uses his voice in such a different way from his other work. It's AWESOME!
I agree on Dio clearly leading the pack. I understand why you like Ray, even if I don't like the being sharp to be honest. Simply sounds off to my ears. Nevertheless, what an amazing singer! I think it is a bit unfair to compare Tony on Ronnies songs. Tony does amazing on his own stuff imho. But I can agree on the order. And of course, in the end it is about the music and not a sports. I love all of them and am thankful for what they created!
Saw Ray Guillen with Badlands first tour at Dallas City Limits in 1989. Wow, what an amazing talent.
Well, what an incredible bunch you've got here, Ken!!
Nobody would seriously question that Dio is, by far, the best, not only from a more technical point of view but also because of his power and charisma onstage
Not many people (I'm not going to say 'nobody') would say Ozzy is a great singer, but he clearly has a unique personality, and he indelibly marked BS's birth and evolution, and it's not for nothing that he is a legend in hard rock and metal
Absolutely agree that it's really a shame that Ray Gillen left us so soon. Some years ago BS released a special edition of The eternal idol album, with the official recording, let's say, with Tony Martin and then a second CD with Gillen's original recording, and it's like.... my goodness!! Truly amazing. In fact, there were a couple of things he did in one or two songs, I cannot remember well now, that Gillen did so good that Tony Martin just couldn't replicate them in his rendition of the songs and they decided to keep Gillen's version
And Tony Martin has been unfairly treated. On one hand, when he first came in, he limited himself to copying exactly what Ray had done, and he did a tremendous job. From The eternal idol on (Headless cross, Tyr... some pretty nice stuff in all those albums) he has able to develop his own thing, but always with the 'shadow' of Dio over him, as if he had been merely an imitator. In this sense, it would have been good if you had shown Tony Martin singing his songs with BS, not only Dio songs, fantastic as they are. Unquestionably, Dio's mega-influence is there, but there's much more than mere copy to what Tony Martin did. Once his Sabbath years were over, he's continued to do solo stuff, but I would say not many people are paying attention to what he's doing, and he really deserves more attention
Anyway, Ken, thank you so much for sharing your insight on all theses matters and for your advice
met ray in pittsburgh on a black sabbath tour 85 or 86, invited me in his room to listen to some of his recent shows, man he was one of the nicest and most down to earth guys I ever met. RIP Ray, you'll never be forgotten......
I'm amazed at the HUGE singing voice that came from Ronnie James Dio. He was only like 5'4 inches tall yet had that powerful voice. Amazing.
Best part of all of these series is watching you match their vocals, very impressive!
Props to Tony Iommi for working with so many great vocalists. It confirms that a vocalist is a very important person but the central figure is a composer.
Hey Ken, you described Ray Gillen as a super-high Paul Rodgers in a previous video and i think that perfectly describes his vocal style. You can really hear the Free/Bad Company influence in his phrasing. It always amazed me how he could sing so high while retaining the soulfulness. RIP Ray
Holy cow!!! That's a tough one.
Vocally all different. And I love them all. Tony Martin deserves a lot of respect as well a Ray Gillen who is awesome. I love Martin era albums a lot.
Bit Dio is my no.1 🤘🤘🤘
But you forgot Ian Gillan. Born again was a heck of a great dark doomy album. 🤘🤘🤘
Oh man, I didn't even know about Ray! Thanks! Imma actually check out more of his stuff now, he's impressive. Such a shame his career ended so soon.
Big fan of Ray Gillen. Glad to see Ray given a bigger spotlight in Black Sabbath's history, even if he was only in the band for 5 minutes. I personally prefer his version of the Eternal Idol album, though I like Tony Martin, especially on the Headless Cross. I'm glad when they replaced Ray, they kept his demos for posterity. Until they turned up as bootlegs and the official european release of the 2 disc edition of Eternal Idol, I thought Ray's vocals were lost forever.
I love Eternal Idol with Ray . Master !
I'm huge fan.
Great video ❤
Ray Gillen gets my vote....the best!
wow.. i have learned so much here. i never realized sabbath had so many lead vocals. i knew about dio and ozzy but not the others.
After hearing this, I also would say that Ray is technically the best. But I think all singers of Sabbath (except Ian Gillan) were perfect for the time period they were in Sabbath. Tony Martin has always been underrated, and Dio was the best for combining stage presence and singing.
Dio is technically superior, Ray one the my favorites singers too.
Amazing video! I love the control you have over your voice! Cheers!
Tony Martin was an absolute badass
Great videos ken! you are on fire these days!
I appreciate that!
As much as I love Dio, they’re very very best work was with Tony Martin. Hopefully someday we can hear you do some more on him.
Great suggestion!
Tony Martin on disc one last song of Eternal Idol.Oh my God!!!
The great thing about Ozzy, RJD, Ray and Tony is they all had/wrote a lot of brilliant songs for us to listen to and for them to excel on.
p.s. I saw Tony at a special Cozy Powell birthday bash a couple of years ago, the first time since the Forbidden tour, and his volume was twice that of any other vocalist, even with a terrible cold. That lad has some pipes.
Great concept for the vid keep them coming
More to come!
Ray Gillen and Dio are the only two singers I liked in Sabbath.
it's amazing how much of Gillen and Dio's influence are in Tony Martin's original songs on the later Sabbath .
kind of cool he really proves he has his own core sound on the originals.
the 2022 THORNS release is really good
I enjoy all of the Black Sabbath singers for what they brought to the band in the time period they sang in. Even Ian Gillan (Born Again is a KILLER album)! But the Dio material is my absolute favorite, he had such a terrific stage persona as well as the vocal chops.
I love that the Ray Gillen versions are available on youtube, and I enjoy comparing his tracks with Tony Martin's.
However, Dio's performances are sublime... in my humble opinion.