Album
Never Say Die!
Never Say Die! is the eighth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in September 1978 on Vertigo. It closed a chapter for the band: it was the last studio record with the original line-up, and the last with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals until 13 arrived in 2013. It also followed Technical Ecstasy, and Sabbath's next album, Heaven and Hell, would open a very different era.
The record drew mixed reviews, with critics finding it unbalanced and its energy scattered across too many directions. That restlessness is part of its interest, though. It mixes heavy metal, hard rock and blues rock, and it captures a band stretching in several directions at a pivotal moment. It reached Gold status in the US in 1997, and it makes a fascinating listen for anyone tracing how the original Sabbath story came to its end.
Never Say Die!: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 45:41Tracklist
- 1Never Say DieButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward3:47
- 2Johnny BladeButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward6:27
- 3Junior’s EyesButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward6:41
- 4A Hard RoadButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward6:03
- 5Shock WaveButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:13
- 6Air DanceButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:15
- 7Over to YouButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:21
- 8BreakoutButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward2:36
- 9Swinging the ChainButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward4:18
- Produced by
- Black Sabbath
- Recorded at
- Sounds Interchange (Toronto)
- Recorded
- 1978
- Engineered by
- Dave Harris
- Artwork
- Hipgnosis
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 45:41
Line-up
- Don Airey · keyboard · guest
- Geezer Butler · electric bass guitar, background vocals
- Tony Iommi · electric guitar, background vocals
- Bill Ward · percussion, drums (drum set), background vocals, lead vocals
- Ozzy Osbourne · lead vocals, background vocals
- Jon Elstar · harmonica · guest
Singles
- “Never Say Die!” · 19 May 1978
- “Hard Road” · 29 September 1978
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1978 | 12 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1978 | 69 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2023 | 9 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2023 | 20 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1978 | 33 |
| Swedish Albums · 1978 | 37 |
| Scottish Albums · 2023 | 84 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1978 | 90 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
60.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
152k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
835
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 29 September
Every year →
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
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
1994
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
The best of 1978
All of 1978 →
More on Vertigo
The label →
Metallica
Metallica · 1991
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
Death Magnetic
Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Load
Metallica · 1996
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Sabotage
Black Sabbath · 1975
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1978-09-29; musicbrainz + wikidata 1978-09-28 (1 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 28 September 1978 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 September 1978 | |
| Wikidata | 28 September 1978 | |
| US release | 28 September 1978 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 28 September 1978 | earliest UK or European date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992735223 | other |
| 1978 | SE | Vertigo | other | |
| 28 September 1978 | GB | Vertigo | original | |
| 28 September 1978 | US | Warner Bros. Records | original | |
| 28 September 1978 | DE | Phonogram | original | |
| 1988 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992735223 | other |
| 1989 | DE | Vertigo | 042283078925 | other |
| 5 December 1990 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011323867 | other |
| October 1993 | DE | Karussell | 731455013122 | other |
| 29 January 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615832921 | other |
| 21 February 1996 | JP | Castle Communications | 4988004062230 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Castle Music | 5050159103126 | other |
| 7 March 2001 | JP | Victor | 4988002413348 | remaster |
| 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749203823 | other |
| 2004 | US | Rhino | other | |
| 16 September 2009 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 602527165332 | other |
| 21 April 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005606211 | other |
| 2014 | US | Rhino | 603497905171 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Rhino | 081227946593 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227946586 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 2400x2400
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 2400×2400 | native: native 2400x2400 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 280×277 | upscaled |