Struggling to stay afloat through addiction and the erratic behaviour of Ozzy Osbourne (booted out of the band soon afterwards), Sabbath released this underrated LP. Ronnie James Dio was waiting in the wings.

Bill Ward says:

“Never Say Die was the most difficult Sabbath LP. The band was tired, and we were starting to fall apart. It was a horrible time, but I like what I did on the album. There’s a real nice drum sound on Hard Road and the title track has some good double bass drums on it.”

“There are a lot of drum parts on that record that I’m pleased with actually, but I was in the grip of a progressive illness, and I had to drink every day: I had no choice. Still, the drums came through, regardless of my condition.”

“We made a very good album, but our circumstances as a band and individuals were beginning to change. It’s easy to do good things when everything’s going great, but it’s hard to make something good when everything is falling to pieces – and that shows the victory and the power of this band.”

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Buy Never Say Die here: Amazon UK | Play.com | HMV