Album
Cross Purposes
Cross Purposes is Black Sabbath's seventeenth studio album, released on I.R.S. Records on 26 January 1994. It followed Dehumanizer, after Ronnie James Dio left the band for a second time, and brought Tony Martin back as lead vocalist. It is a heavy metal record, and it sits between Dehumanizer and 1995's Forbidden in the group's catalogue.
For anyone tracing the band's story through the late 1980s and early 1990s, it is the record that puts Martin back at the microphone. A live album, Cross Purposes Live, was recorded on the tour that followed and came out in 1995. The studio album was remastered in 2024 for the box set Anno Domini 1989–1995, its first official reissue, and then appeared as a stand-alone CD on 15 November 2024 with the Japanese bonus track "What's the Use?"
Cross Purposes: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 47:32Tracklist
- 1I WitnessButler, Iommi, Martin4:59
- 2Cross of ThornsButler, Iommi, Martin4:34
- 3PsychophobiaButler, Iommi, Martin3:15
- 4Virtual DeathButler, Iommi, Martin5:49
- 5Immaculate DeceptionButler, Iommi, Martin4:15
- 6Dying for LoveButler, Iommi, Martin5:54
- 7Back to EdenButler, Iommi, Martin3:57
- 8The Hand That Rocks the CradleButler, Iommi, Martin4:30
- 9Cardinal SinButler, Iommi, Martin4:21
- 10Evil EyeButler, Iommi, Martin5:57
- Produced by
- Black Sabbath, Leif Mases
- Recorded at
- Monnow Valley Studios (Rockfield, Wales)
- Recorded
- 1993
- Mixed by
- Leif Mases
- Mixed at
- The Wool Hall
- Engineered by
- Leif Mases
- Label
- I.R.S. Records
- Length
- 47:32
Line-up
- Geezer Butler · bass guitar
- Tony Iommi · guitar
- Geoff Nicholls · keyboard
- Bob Rondinelli · drums (drum set)
- Tony Martin · lead vocals
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1994 | 41 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1994 | 122 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1994 | 9 |
| Swedish Albums · 1994 | 9 |
| Austrian Albums · 1994 | 23 |
| German Albums · 1994 | 32 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1994 | 32 |
| European Albums Chart · 1994 | 38 |
| Swiss Albums · 1994 | 41 |
| French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP) · 2026 | 75 |
All 13 charts
| Dutch Albums · 1994 | 85 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1994 | 173 |
| French Physical Albums (SNEP) · 2026 | 189 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
55.6
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Released the same week
More from Black Sabbath
Full discography →
Black Sabbath
1970
Paranoid
1970
Master of Reality
1971
Vol 4
1972
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1973
We Sold Our Soul for Rock ’n’ Roll
1975
Sabotage
1975
Technical Ecstasy
1976
Never Say Die!
1978
Heaven and Hell
1980
Live at Last
1980
Mob Rules
1981
Live Evil
1982
Born Again
1983
The Sabbath Collection
1985
Seventh Star
1986
The Eternal Idol
1987
Headless Cross
1989
TYR
1990
The Ozzy Osbourne Years
1991
Dehumanizer
1992
Cross Purposes – Live
1995
Forbidden
1995
The Sabbath Stones
1996
Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970–1987
1996
Reunion
1998
The Collection
1999
Black Mass
1999
The Best of Black Sabbath
2000
Past Lives
2002
Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2002
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2004
Greatest Hits 1970–1978
2006
The Dio Years
2007
Live at Hammersmith Odeon
2007
The Rules of Hell
2008
Greatest Hits
2009
13
2013
Live… Gathered in Their Masses
2013
The End
2016
The Ultimate Collection
2016
The End
2017
Anno Domini: 1989–1995
2024
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More on I.R.S. Records
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1994-01-31 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 January 1994 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 January 1994 | |
| Wikidata | 31 January 1994 | |
| US release | 8 February 1994 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 31 January 1994 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | CA | I.R.S. Records | 777499019188 | other |
| 26 January 1994 | JP | I.R.S. Records | 4988006699243 | original |
| 31 January 1994 | GB | I.R.S. Records | 077771322211 | other |
| 31 January 1994 | XE | I.R.S. Records | 077771322228 | other |
| 8 February 1994 | US | I.R.S. Records | 724353041328 | other |
| 8 February 1994 | CA | I.R.S. Records | 0208314750204 | other |
| 2024 | XW | BMG | 4099964117912 | other |
| 31 May 2024 | — | BMG Rights Management | 4050538972610 | remaster |
| 15 November 2024 | CA | Warner Records | 603497820207 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 953×953 | upscaled |