Cross Purposes

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Template:Short description Template:DMCA Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Cross Purposes is the seventeenth studio album by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, first released through I.R.S. Records on 26 January 1994 in Japan,[1] and on 31 January 1994 internationally.[2][3] The album marked the return of Tony Martin as the band's lead vocalist, after the second departure of Ronnie James Dio.

A live album Cross Purposes Live, which was recorded during the tour for the album, was released in 1995. 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. The CD edition of the album contains the Japanese bonus track "What's the Use?".[4] A stand alone remastered CD with bonus track was released on 15 November 2024.[5]

Background and recording

Dehumanizer saw the reunion of Mob Rules-era Black Sabbath, but, after the tour, Ronnie James Dio (vocals) and Vinny Appice (drums) departed. They were replaced by former Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin and former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Geezer Butler remained with the group, although he would depart later in the year again before the recording of the Forbidden album. Rondinelli left the recording sessions for Quiet Riot's album Terrified to join Black Sabbath. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley Studio, in Wales.[6]

Songs

Tony Martin explained during the show at Roseland in NYC on 12 February 1995, that "Psychophobia" was about David Koresh, and the Waco, Texas, incident.[7]

A promo video in black-and-white was shot for the song "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle". Tony Martin explained in a 2011 interview with Martin Popoff that he wrote this song about Beverly Allitt, a children's hospital nurse in England who was convicted of serial infanticide in 1993. The video features a young girl, assumably in reference to this.[8]

The song "Cardinal Sin" was originally intended to be titled "Sin Cardinal Sin" (or "Sin, Cardinal Sin") but a printing error on the album sleeve caused the first word to be removed. Sabbath simply adopted the title "Cardinal Sin" as the name of the song.

"What's the Use?" was released only on the Japanese edition of Cross Purposes, which also contained a free sticker of the artwork. A nearly identical version of the "burning angel" image was featured on the Scorpions single Send Me an Angel three years earlier.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[9]
Entertainment WeeklyD[10]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStar[11]
SelectStar[12]

Bradley Torreano of AllMusic rated the album 3 stars out of 5, praising it for bridging various aspects of the band's different eras. He said it was "the first album since Born Again that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record" and "probably the best thing they'd released since The Mob Rules, even with the filler tracks and keyboards."[9] In July 2014, Guitar World magazine ranked Cross Purposes at number six in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[13]

Sales

The album peaked at number 122 on the US Billboard 200 charts but made it to number 41 on the UK album charts.[14] In both Finland and Sweden, the album hit #9.

Track listing

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Personnel

Black Sabbath
Technical personnel
  • Leif Mases – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Darren Galer – assistant engineer
  • Dave Somers – assistant engineer
  • Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

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Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 173
European Albums Chart[16] 38
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[17] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 32
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[19] 64
Chart (2026) Peak
position
French Physical Albums (SNEP)[20] 189
French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP)[21] 75

Notes

The angel artwork depicted on the cover originally appeared on the 1990 single Send Me An Angel by the German hard rock band Scorpions.

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  1. ^ Nicholls is uncredited on the original release of the album but is credited on the 2024 box set Anno Domini 1989–1995
  2. ^ Van Halen is uncredited as a co-writer due to restrictions from his label, Warner Bros. Records

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cross Purposes (Japanese Release) (booklet). Black Sabbath. I.R.S. Records, EMI. 26 January 1994. TOCP-8128.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cross Purposes – Black Sabbath Online". Black-sabbath.com. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cross Purposes (press advertisement). I.R.S. Records. 1994. Retrieved 5 November 2023.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.wookubus (25 October 2024). "Black Sabbath's Tony Martin Albums Set For Remastered/Re-Mixed Vinyl & CD Reissues". Theprp.com. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stolz, Nolan (2017). Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener’s Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 173. ISBN 9781442256910.
  7. ^ Live recording February 15, 1994, Youtube.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Popoff, Martin (2011). Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History. Da Capo Press.
  9. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bradley Torreano (8 February 1994). "Cross Purposes - Black Sabbath | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Frost, Deborah (11 February 1994). "Cross Purposes Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Select Magazine Website". Selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/ "Billboard album chart history-Black Sabbath". Retrieved 15 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Black Sabbath ARIA chart history 1988 to July 2025". ARIA. Retrieved 16 August 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 10. 5 March 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in suomi) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in 日本語). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 01/2025)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Albums Physiques (Semaine du 27 mars 2026)" (in français). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Rock & Metal Albums (Semaine du 27 mars 2026)" (in français). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 30 March 2026.

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