GZR

Geezer Butler's influence on heavy metal bass cannot be stressed enough, as his nimble-fingered style influenced countless players from the 1970s through to the modern day. And he also lent a major hand in helping to shape Black Sabbath's style, as he penned the majority of the group's lyrics. Come the '90s -- before the original Sabbath lineup began reuniting every summer for Ozzfest -- Butler was between gigs, and decided to put his unused riffs to work, forming his GZR solo project. His third solo effort overall, 2005's Ohmwork, more or less follows the same formula of his previous efforts. Gone are the sludgy, Tony Iommi-esque detuned riffs and Ozzy Osbourne-esque vocals: in their place are Zakk Wylde-like turbo riffs and modern-day metal vocals (in other words -- a fair amount of angst hollering, courtesy of singer Clark Brown). This style is best sampled on such standouts as the album opener, "Misfit." But there are a few missteps along the way, such as "Prisoner 103," which contains a fair amount of rap-metal vocals. Fans expecting the vintage sounds of Master of Reality may be disappointed, but for better or for worse, Butler refuses to stick closely to the Sabbath blueprint on his solo work, as evidenced throughout Ohmwork. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi