Quote:
Originally Posted by Surell
The sound is fine for the most part, but I swear they're bringing up some extremely blatant death themes (i.e., "dead," "die," "you die," etc.) more often than they used to on their older stuff, which is pretty nuts, and gets a little old.
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Isn't it fair to consider that death may be a consistent theme on the album because it's on the minds of the band more than it ever was? The band are in their 60s now. Iommi has had a recent brush with death due to his lymphoma. Dio, a prominent figure in Sabbath's history died in 2010. The band are much older, sobered and perhaps expressing their feelings on the fragility of their lives the only way they know how. Iommi stated in an interview about the new album and what direction it would take that "I don't know much happy stuff". The line
"Is this the end of the beginning/
Or the beginning of the end?"
is what sums up the entire album. Their current state of "being a band" is in a terribly precarious position. Iommi's health is uncertain, and lord knows that with Ozzy's history of illness and addiction, his health could take a turn for the worst at any time.
To me, the sound of the bells and the rain at the end of "Dear Father" gives the impression that their story is coming full circle, and that
13 is actually the beginning of the end for Black Sabbath.