Seventh Star

As was the case with its predecessor, Born Again, this album was not intended to be a Black Sabbath record. Last-minute pressure from Warner Bros. stemmed from the belief that it was likely to sell more with the famous name. Its sound is a drastic (and intentional) departure from the trademark Sabbath sound. Many of the songs have a very hard rock sound, while some contain a bluesy feel (especially "Heart Like a Wheel"). Seventh Star was the first album to feature long-time keyboardist Geoff Nicholls as an official band member.{{cite web|url=http://www.melodicrock.com/reviews/iommihughes-depsessions.p3|title=Iommi with Glenn Hughes: The 1996 DEP Sessions|publisher=melodicrock.com|access-date=14 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041216172238/http://melodicrock.com/reviews/iommihughes-depsessions.p3|archive-date=16 December 2004|df=dmy-all}}

"It seemed to me like the band was on its last legs and my heart just went out to Tony," recalled former drummer Bill Ward. "I thought, 'God, how much more can he take?' or 'How much more does he want?'… What I saw was a great band I just felt was diminishing."{{cite magazine|first=Ron|last=Schroer|title=Bill Ward & The Hand Of Doom – Part IV: Living Naked|magazine=Southern Cross (Sabbath fanzine) #21|date=May 1998|page=63}}

The promo-single and video version of "No Stranger to Love" had additional harmony vocals added by Hughes to make it more "radio-friendly". Actress Denise Crosby, who would later portray Tasha Yar in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was featured in the video.

A tour for the album featured Hughes only at the first few shows. He was fired five dates into the tour, and replaced by Ray Gillen, who completed the North American and European legs of the tour, though several dates in the US were cancelled. W.A.S.P. and Anthrax were opening acts on the North American tour.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Hughes has performed "No Stranger to Love", "Seventh Star" and "Heart Like a Wheel" at some of his live concerts.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} "I really like Seventh Star," Tony Martin told Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross, "mainly because I admire Glenn Hughes' voice."Southern Cross (ISSN 0966-5064), No.10, May 1993

Seventh Star was rereleased in Europe on 1 November 2010, as a two-disc special edition. Disc 2 includes a concert recorded in 1986, with Gillen on vocals. The single version of No Stranger to Love is a bonus track on disc 1.{{cite web |url=http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2010/09/ray_gillen_eternal_idol_to_be_released.html |title=Gillen Eternal Idol to be released – FOR REAL! |first=Joe |last=Siegler |date=15 September 2010 |publisher=black-sabbath.com |access-date=9 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611134811/http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2010/09/ray_gillen_eternal_idol_to_be_released.html |archive-date=11 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r30742|label="Seventh Star"|last=Rivadavida|first=Eduardo |access-date=11 January 2015}}

| rev4 = (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev4Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book|title=(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/78 78]|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2004|isbn=9780743201698|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/78}}

| rev2 = Classic Rock

| rev2Score = 5/10{{cite book | last1 = Elliott| first1 = Paul | title = Classic Rock | chapter=Black Sabbath – Reissues| volume = 153 | publisher = Future plc | date = January 2011 | location = London, UK | pages = 112 | title-link = Classic Rock (magazine) }}

| rev3 =Martin Popoff

| rev3Score = 7/10{{cite book | last1 = Popoff | first1 = Martin | author-link1 = Martin Popoff | title = The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties | publisher = Collector's Guide Publishing | date = 1 November 2005 | location = Burlington, Ontario, Canada | isbn = 978-1-894959-31-5}}

}}

The album peaked at #78 on the Billboard 200 chart. Some retrospective critical assessments of the album have been negative; for example, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide rated the release only two out of five stars.

However, critic Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave Seventh Star a mixed to positive review, praising what he saw as the "fiery tunefulness" that makes "aggressive hard rockers like 'In for the Kill', 'Turn to Stone', and 'Danger Zone' uncommonly catchy". However, he argued that the songwriting and vocal work fell flat on songs such as the album's title track. He stated generally that he found the release an "often misunderstood and underrated album".

Reviews from the period were more positive. A reviewer for the magazine Kerrang! gave Seventh Star a perfect score of five out of five.Kerrang!, January, 1986 issue

Music by Tony Iommi; lyrics by Tony Iommi, Glenn Hughes, Geoff Nicholls and Jeff Glixman.

{{track listing

|headline = Side A

|title1 = In for the Kill

|length1 = 3:42

|title2 = No Stranger to Love

|length2 = 4:29

|title3 = Turn to Stone

|length3 = 3:30

|title4 = Sphinx (The Guardian)

|length4 = 1:11

|title5 = Seventh Star

|length5 = 5:21

}}

{{track listing

|headline = Side B

|title6 = Danger Zone

|length6 = 4:25

|title7 = Heart Like a Wheel

|length7 = 6:38

|title8 = Angry Heart

|length8 = 3:06

|title9 = In Memory...

|length9 = 2:35

}}

{{track listing

|headline = 2010 Deluxe Edition Disc 1 Bonus Track

|title10 = No Stranger to Love

|note10 = Single remix

|length10 = 4:00

}}

Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London on 2 June 1986, featuring Ray Gillen performing vocals

{{track listing

|title1 = The Mob Rules

|length1 = 2:59

|title2 = Danger Zone

|length2 = 4:44

|title3 = War Pigs

|length3 = 8:10

|title4 = Seventh Star

|length4 = 5:01

|title5 = Die Young

|length5 = 3:58

|title6 = Black Sabbath

|length6 = 9:33

|title7 = N.I.B.

|length7 = 1:37

|title8 = Neon Knights

|length8 = 4:36

|title9 = Paranoid

|length9 = 3:17

}}

A contemporary South Korean release sported a much reduced and reordered track listing.

{{track listing

|headline = Side A

|title1 = Sphinx (The Guardian)

|length1 = 1:21

|title2 = Turn to Stone

|length2 = 3:27

|title3 = No Stranger to Love

|length3 = 4:28

}}

{{track listing

|headline = Side B

|title4 = Heart Like a Wheel

|length4 = 6:35

|title5 = Angry Heart

|length5 = 3:06

|title6 = In Memory...

|length6 = 2:34

}}

Black Sabbath

• Tony Iommi – guitars
• Glenn Hughes – vocals
• Eric Singer – drums
• Dave "The Beast" Spitz – bass
• Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Additional musician

• Gordon Copley – bass on "No Stranger to Love"

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|17086}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725055536/http://www.black-sabbath.com/discog/seventhstar.html Seventh Star entry at black-sabbath.com]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070521172522/http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2006/02/seventh_star_is_20.html 20th Anniversary article about the album]

{{Black Sabbath}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1986 albums

Category:Albums produced by Jeff Glixman

Category:Black Sabbath albums

Category:Glenn Hughes albums

Category:Vertigo Records albums

Category:Warner Records albums