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Tyr (album)

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For other uses, see Tyr (disambiguation).

Tyr
Studio album by
Black Sabbath
Released20 August 1990
RecordedFebruary–June 1990
Studio
GenreHeavy metal
Length39:10
LabelI.R.S.
ProducerTony Iommi, Cozy Powell
Black Sabbath chronology
Headless Cross
(1989) 		Tyr
(1990) 		Dehumanizer
(1992)
Singles from Tyr
  1. "Feels Good to Me"
    Released: 10 September 1990[1]
  2. "Anno Mundi"
    Released: 22 March 2024[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Tyr (/ˈtɪər/)[5] (stylized as ᛏᛉᚱ) is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 20 August 1990 by I.R.S. Records.

The album title, and several song titles, allude to Norse mythology, which led many to call Tyr a concept album, although bassist Neil Murray dispelled that in 2005, stating that while many of the songs may seem loosely related, very little of the album has to do with mythology and it was not intended to be a concept recording.[6]

In 2024, a remaster of the album was announced as part of the box set Anno Domini 1989–1995, marking the first time the album has been officially reissued.[7]

Album information

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The album’s departure from the darker lyrics of Headless Cross was discussed by Tony Iommi in his 2012 autobiography Iron Man: “For our next album, Tyr, we went back to the Woodcray Studios in February 1990, with me and Cozy producing it again. On Headless Cross, Tony Martin had just come into the band and he assumed, oh, Black Sabbath, it’s all about the Devil, so his lyrics were full of the Devil and Satan. It was too much in your face. We told him to be a bit more subtle about it, so for Tyr he did all these lyrics about Nordic gods and whatnot. It took me a while to get my head around that.”[8] The album was originally intended to be titled Satanic Verses but Tyr was chosen instead to disassociate it from the dark themes of the previous album.

This album represents possibly the most dramatic departure from Black Sabbath’s traditional sound, with only traces of it found in the occasional riff. The production has been criticised by some (who claim Cozy Powell’s drums drown out most of the other instruments) and praised by others, who note that this is one of Sabbath’s heaviest albums and perhaps the most prominently reliant on keyboards by the perennial fifth member, Geoff Nicholls.[9]

The band have stated that while they do not disown or regret the song “Feels Good to Me”, it was put on the album solely to be released as a single and does not fit in musically with the rest of the record.[10] The Tyr tour never made it beyond UK & Europe and consisted of around 50 shows total.[11]

Geezer Butler, Ian Gillan and Brian May made guest appearances on the European leg of the Tyr tour; Butler and May appearing during the encore of the show performed on 8 September 1990 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.[12]

In Norse mythology, Týr is the god of single combat and heroic glory, and the son of Odin. The runes on the cover, ᛏ, ᛉ, and ᚱ are taken from the Rök runestone in Sweden.[13] The middle rune, algiz, is transcribed as the modern letter x or z, not y.

Legacy

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The only track to feature on post-Tyr tours was “Anno Mundi”, e.g. on the Cross Purposes Live VHS/DVD. Tony Martin re-recorded “Jerusalem” for his 1992 solo album Back Where I Belong. The Black Sabbath line-up that recorded Tyr would reunite to record their eighteenth studio album, Forbidden, in 1995. Frontman Heri Joensen of Viking metal band Týr claims to have been influenced by the album cover when designing his own band’s logo.

Track listing

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All music is composed by Tony Iommi, Tony Martin, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Geoff Nicholls

Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Anno Mundi"6:12
2."The Law Maker"3:53
3."Jerusalem"3:59
4."The Sabbath Stones"6:46
5."The Battle of Tyr" (instrumental)1:08
6."Odin’s Court"2:42
7."Valhalla"4:41
8."Feels Good to Me"5:44
9."Heaven in Black"4:05
Total length:39:10
“Feels Good to Me” maxi single track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Feels Good to Me (Edit)"4:41
2."Heaven and Hell (Live)"9:44
3."Paranoid (Live)"4:13

The live tracks on this single were recorded at the Olimpiski Hall in Moscow, Soviet Union, in November 1989.[14]

Personnel

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Black Sabbath
Additional musician
Technical personnel
  • Sean Lynch – engineering
  • Leif Mases – mixing
  • Tony Cousins – mastering

Release history

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1990: IRS EIRSA-1038, UK, vinyl
1990: IRS EIRSACV1038, UK, picture disc
1990: IRS 1C-064-24-1070-1, EU, vinyl
1990: IRS 24-1070-2, UK / EU, CD
1990: IRS X2-13049, US, CD
1999: EMI 07243-5-21298-2-9, EU, CD

Charts

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Chart (1990) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 77
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[17] 15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 12
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 24

References

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  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 37.
  2. ^ "Black Sabbath Finally Reissues Their Tony Martin-Era Material". metalinjection.net. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  3. ^ Chrispell, James. "TYR – Black Sabbath". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Definition of TYR". www.merriam-webster.com. 15 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Black Sabbath Online Forums: Tyr". Black Sabbath Online. 27 December 2001. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. ^ Blabbermouth (21 March 2024). "BLACK SABBATH: Box Set Of TONY MARTIN-Era Recordings, 'Anno Domini 1989-1995', To Arrive In May". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Blabbermouth. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  8. ^ Iommi, Tony; Lammers, T. J. (11 December 2012). "Tyr and tired". Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306821455.
  9. ^ "Black Sabbath Online Forums". Black Sabbath Online. 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Questions and Answers". Tony Martin Official Website. Archived from the original on 9 April 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Search for setlists: tour:(Tyr) | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  12. ^ MattCake. "Black Sabbath Online: Tyr – Tour Dates 1990". Black-sabbath.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Black Sabbath Online: Tyr". Black-sabbath.com. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  14. ^ "None".
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Black Sabbath – Tyr" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Black Sabbath – Tyr" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Sabbath – Tyr" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Black Sabbath – Tyr". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Sabbath – Tyr". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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