Scream

There was a 13-year break between Tony Martin's solo albums, 1992's Back Where I Belong and 2005's Scream (during which time Martin signed on for another go-around with Black Sabbath, before being replaced by none other than Ozzy Osbourne). As a result, if you listen to both of Martin's solo albums back to back, you could very well be fooled into believing you're listening to two separate artists -- one a mainstream '80s-esque rocker (Back Where I Belong) and the other a heavy metallist who leans toward the Sabbath side of things (Scream). In fact, the only similar element between the two recordings is that former Sabbath keyboardist Geoff Nichols makes a return appearance. Things are certainly toughened up throughout Scream, as evidenced by such headbangers as "Bitter Sweet," "Faith in Madness," and "Field of Lies," all of which would have fit snugly on any of the Sabbath albums that Martin sang on back in the day. Another track, the album-opening "Raising Hell," contains parts that bear a resemblance to Rainbow's "All Night Long," and also features the late great Cozy Powell on drums (Cozy's drumming parts were utilized from an unused song Nichols penned earlier for Sabbath). Scream is certainly a stronger effort than its predecessor, and contains the heavy metal style that you would associate with a former singer of Black Sabbath. ~ Greg Prato|