I ended up revisiting Seventh Star and Fused this week, and it is insane how much the Iommi/Hughes chemistry evolved over the years. You can tell on Seventh Star that while they have a lot of respect for each other, they aren’t quite able to meet at the middle creatively or really bring their best strengths to the table. Hughes’s vocals aren’t as soulful as they are in other eras and sound almost confused by the heavy metal aesthetic on something like In For The Kill. On the flip side, Iommi is writing in a bluesy AOR style that his signature guitar playing feels almost too heavy for, giving rise to the almost power metal elements that the Martin era would more naturally develop. That’s not even going into the implications of this being rebranded as a Black Sabbath album at the last minute. I love this album a lot but the whole thing is a comedy of errors.

In contrast, Fused sees their chemistry just about perfectly aligned. The years of experience work in their respective favors, making for more confident performances and their strengths being used in unique ways. Iommi’s emphasis on slower and grungier riffs has much more weight and Hughes’s soulfulness is much more authentic, making for a soul-doom that’s unlike anything else out there but so natural. I think Marlette’s production helped give the pairing a solid foundation to work with and the tighter songwriting makes for rock-solid tracks. I Go Insane is one of the greatest Iommi riff sets ever and I’ve always wondered why it’s not streaming.

Headless Cross took me a long time to get into. Like a whole two months of listening. About the songs still have terrible lyrics for me. Satan this and satan that. Yikes. Still the riffs are solid and When Death Calls is real good. So is the title track as well.

What do you think of the DEP sessions LP?

Huh, I think listening to the deeper songwriting IS listening to the music... not archaeology, I wouldn't say...

It’s been a while since I’d listened to this one so getting a revisit in now! It definitely leans more on the Fused side of the Iommi/Hughes formula, albeit with more of the expected grunge overcast considering when it was recorded. It doesn’t quite grab me as much as Fused or Seventh Star, but it still does a great job of playing to both performers’ strengths.