Accountable Beasts

Whether 2015’s Accountable Beasts was supposed to be Bill Ward’s third solo album or the debut of a new band, it was released under unusual circumstances. It seemed to come out of nowhere, completely sidelining the Beyond Ashton album that Ward had been working on for the better part of a decade and seemingly leaving it to rot in development hell. The fact that the album came out just two years after Black Sabbath’s 13 also suggests that he felt the need to prove himself after getting snubbed in that final reunion.

Such determination would certainly explain why Accountable Beasts is much heavier than any of Ward’s previous releases. I wouldn’t quite call this a doom album but there is a dark overcast throughout and the guitar seems to be taking Iommi cues with the sharper chugs and draw out phrasings. The intrusive keyboards, breathy vocals, and disjointed song structures further flesh things out and drive in an incredibly paranoid (No pun intended) mood. The drums find themselves often buried in the mix but

Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t translate to any particularly memorable songs. Songs like the opening “Leaf Killers” and “Katastrophic World” sustain the ominous vibe decently enough, but the ideas aren’t as developed as they could be and the structuring feels more weird for the sake of weird than done with any outright purpose. That said, there are solid sequences as “D.O.T.H.” uses its synths to more symphonic ends and “Ashes” puts in a more active chug.

Accountable Beasts isn’t a bad album, but its rushed nature is pretty apparent. Despite a unique mood centered around dark disorientation, the musicians don’t quite have the performing or songwriting chops to fully see it through. Perhaps it could be of interest to eccentrically minded Sabbath fans, but it would’ve benefitted from some extra finetuning and charm. Hopefully Bill Ward has it in him to release an album better serviced to his legacy.

Highlights:
“D.O.T.H.”
“Ashes”