"Black Sabbath gets the Renaissance treatment, and it works. This album shows a real affection for the original songs. Rondellus unearths a beauty in this stuff that wasn't readily apparent. The Gregorian/madrigal style reminds me of Dead Can Dance's "Aion."When "War Pigs" starts, you might giggle. After about fifteen seconds, it works its magic on you. "Planet Caravan" is another really good one, and more mysterious than Pantera's rendition. Veikko Kliver's tenor meshes perfectly with the female harmonies.Another cool feature is the reprinting of all the lyrics...in Latin. (It helps to have heard the original versions first.) Rondellus hails from Tallinn, Estonia. Maria Staak's vocals are truly beautiful, and the musicianship of this band rivals that of hard-core medieval band Corvus Corax.Genre-hopping doesn't always work; just read some of the reviews for Pat Boone's "In A Metal Mood." In this case, Rondellus puts a classy spin on hard rock. If they played this on "The Osbournes," Ozzy would probably look at the ceiling and ask, "Sharon, is that how we did the songs? Man, those were crazy days. Crazy, crazy days.""
Sheer Genuis!!!!
Rolling.68 | canada | 01/05/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a sabbath fan and I got this album more as a joke than anything. I put the CD on and the first track "War Pigs" or to give it its Latin name, "Verres Militares" made my hair stand up on end. I though this album was going to be more of a spoof than a serious effort (like a Weird Al kind of thing) but I soon realized that even if you had never heard the original recordings, this album would stand on its own.
Amazing and original, Rondellus deserves high praise for having the vision to think of something like this and the sheer talent to pull it off so well. Do yourself a favour and check this out!!"
Outstanding
R. Roy | New York City, NY USA | 02/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My wife HATES Sabbath, and I love 'em. We both enjoy Classical, though, and this is popular in our house (my 3 year old thinks it's a bit weird).The songs are in LATIN (not OE as a negative reviewer said), as was the norm in medieval traditional music. And they all translate well. "A National Acrobat" works beautifully, and is my favorite. As might be expected, "Solitude" sounds almost like its original, because the original used medieval-sounding instrumentation. And "The Wizard", being a very bluesy original, is nearly unrecognizable to me, but good nonetheless. "Planet Caravan" is beautifully rendered with an outstanding female voice."War Pigs", being so recognizable and catchy, does sound a little odd at first (as another reviewer noted), but that sense quickly faded for me when I understood the word "centuriones" to be "generals" in the original.I commend Rondellus for their obvious appreciation of the source material and their meticulous re-creation of the songs into a new (old) form.You probably have to like medieval, sacred, and/or folk music to enjoy this CD. I find this music very inspirational in my work and calming in my home.I also noted that Bill Ward sent Rondellus a positive word. It's posted on their website."
Would BLACK SABBATH Have Rocked In Medieval Times? YES!!!
Nathaniel Merritt | USA | 03/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rondellus is a group of classically trained musicians who specialize in bringing medieval music to life, using authentic period instruments and arrangements. They're darn good, and not just on this CD. Normally they perform religious music of a Christian nature, so this CD is a delicious surprise.
Rondellus has taken twelve of the best Black Sabbath songs, translated the lyrics into Latin, and played each song with medieval instruments. That description falls utterly flat in trying to convey the mysterious nature of this music. "Haunting" is a cliche' but it's as close as I can come. I love to get relaxed and let this CD transport me effortlessly elsewhere and elsewhen.
If, like me, you love Black Sabbath and Ozzy, this is a must-have CD. Listen spellbound to Verres Militates, and suddenly realize you're listening to War Pigs! Rondellus sings each song in Latin, and it's good fun learning to match the Latin with English. Post Aeternitatem, or "After Forever" is my personal favorite, but every cut on this CD has been perfectly chosen for the medieval conversion, and it's a downright magical experience...IF you're a Black Sabbath fan or a medieval music fan. If, like me, you love both, you'll be wishing Rondellus would serve up some more Medieval Magic.
NJM
Author of I WAS A TEENAGE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS and JEHOVAH UNMASKED.