Seventh Star
1986 studio album by Black Sabbath
title: "Seventh Star" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1986-albums", "albums-produced-by-jeff-glixman", "black-sabbath-albums", "glenn-hughes-albums", "vertigo-records-albums", "warner-records-albums"] description: "1986 studio album by Black Sabbath" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_Star" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1986 studio album by Black Sabbath ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Seventh Star |
| type | studio |
| artist | Black Sabbath |
| cover | Black-Sabbath-seventh-star.jpg |
| released | |
| recorded | June–August 1985 |
| genre | * Hard rock |
| * heavy metal{{Cite web | title |
| length | 35:00 |
| label | * Vertigo (Europe) |
| producer | Jeff Glixman |
| prev_title | The Sabbath Collection |
| prev_year | 1985 |
| next_title | The Eternal Idol |
| next_year | 1987 |
| misc | {{Singles |
| name | Seventh Star |
| type | Studio |
| single1 | No Stranger to Love |
| single1date | 1986 (EU) |
| :: |
| name = Seventh Star | type = studio | artist = Black Sabbath | cover = Black-Sabbath-seventh-star.jpg | alt = | released = | recorded = June–August 1985 | studio =
- Cherokee (Los Angeles)
- Cheshire Sound (Atlanta) | genre = * Hard rock
- heavy metal | length = 35:00 | label = * Vertigo (Europe)
- Warner Bros. (US) | producer = Jeff Glixman | prev_title = The Sabbath Collection | prev_year = 1985 | next_title = The Eternal Idol | next_year = 1987 | misc = {{Singles | name = Seventh Star | type = Studio | single1 = No Stranger to Love | single1date = 1986 (EU)
Seventh Star is the twelfth studio album by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released on 28 January 1986 in the United States and on 21 February 1986 in the United Kingdom, it features founding guitarist Tony Iommi alongside musicians Geoff Nicholls, Eric Singer, and Dave Spitz, playing keyboards, drums, and bass, respectively, and Glenn Hughes, ex-Deep Purple and ex-Trapeze vocalist, as lead singer. The album was the group's first release without bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler, who left the band in 1984 after the Born Again tour. It was originally written, recorded, and intended to be the first solo album by Iommi. Because of the pressures from Warner Bros. Records and the prompting of band manager Don Arden, the record was billed as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi. Despite the issues behind the release's production, it earned moderate commercial success, reaching in the UK and on the Billboard 200 chart.
Album information
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.
"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."
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.
Hughes has performed "No Stranger to Love", "Seventh Star" and "Heart Like a Wheel" at some of his live concerts. "I really like Seventh Star," Tony Martin told Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross, "mainly because I admire Glenn Hughes' voice."
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 one.
Reviews and reception
| rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = | rev4 = (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | rev4Score = | rev2 = Classic Rock | rev2Score = 5/10 | rev3 =Martin Popoff | rev3Score = 7/10 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.
Track listing
Standard edition
| headline = Side A | all_writing = Tony Iommi; additional lyrics by Jeff Glixman, Geoff Nicholls and Glenn Hughes | all_music = Tony Iommi | 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 | 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
| headline = 2010 Deluxe Edition Disc one - bonus track | title10 = No Stranger to Love | note10 = Single remix | length10 = 4:00 | headline = 2010 Deluxe Edition Disc two | 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
Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London on 2 June 1986, featuring Ray Gillen performing vocals.
South Korean edition
| 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
| headline = Side B | title4 = Heart Like a Wheel | length4 = 6:35 | title5 = Angry Heart | length5 = 3:06 | title6 = In Memory... | length6 = 2:34
Personnel
Personnel taken from Seventh Star liner notes.
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"
Production
- Jeff Glixman – production, engineering
- Scott Church – engineering assistance
- Greg Fulginiti – mastering
- Steve J. Gerdes – art direction, design
- Kevin Stapleton – photography
Release history
::data[format=table]
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United States | January 1986 | Warner Bros. Records |
| Canada | January 1986 | Warner Bros. Records |
| Europe | February 1986 | Vertigo Records |
| Japan | March 1986 | Nippon Phonogram |
| South Korea | May 1986 | Vertigo Records |
| United Kingdom | 1996 | Castle Communications |
| United Kingdom | 2004 | Sanctuary Records |
| United Kingdom | 2010 | Sanctuary Records/Universal Music Group |
| :: |
Charts
::data[format=table] | Chart (1986) | Peak position | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | European Albums Chart | Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) | |---|---|---|---|---| | 88 | | | | | | 31 | | | | | | 10 | | | | | ::
References
References
- (28 January 2020). "Allmusic Releases".
- Iommi, Tony. (2012). "Iron Man". Simon&Schuster UK.
- (9 March 2017). "Ranking: Every Black Sabbath Album from Worst to Best".
- "Black Sabbath - Seventh Star".
- "Music Week".
- "Iommi with Glenn Hughes: ''The 1996 DEP Sessions''". melodicrock.com.
- Schroer, Ron. (May 1998). "Bill Ward & The Hand Of Doom – Part IV: Living Naked".
- ''Southern Cross'' (ISSN 0966-5064), No.10, May 1993
- Siegler, Joe. (15 September 2010). "Gillen Eternal Idol to be released – FOR REAL!". black-sabbath.com.
- {{AllMusic. Rivadavida. Eduardo
- (2004). "(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
- (January 2011). "Classic Rock". [[Future plc]].
- (1 November 2005). "The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties". [[Collector's Guide Publishing]].
- ''Kerrang!'', January, 1986 issue
- (1986). "Seventh Star".
- Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
- (March 8, 1986). "European Top 100 Albums".
- Pennanen, Timo. (2006). "Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972". Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
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