Instruct: Classify a given review as either positive or negative.
Query: Just a shell of it's former self

I remember when Black Sabbath was cutting edge and daring. When a new album came out, it was a mini-event. But after a series of forgettable albums, the band has lost all of it's edge. When I first heard Forbidden, I thought I was listening to some lame band who was obviously influenced by Sabbath, but didn't have the knack to write the songs. When I found out it really was Black Sabbath, I picked up a copy of the disk to give it another try. Sadly, this is just awful. The Ice-T appearance does not help or hurt this disk, simply because his rap is buried in "Illusion of Power", an unlistenable song that does not sound like Black Sabbath. The riffs are repetitive, the drum work is generic and lyrics are awful. The only bright spot on the disk is the tune "Rusty Angel" which hints at this bands former greatness, but can't hold a candle to their 70's & 80's material. Only buy this thing if you are a die-hard fan who needs every album.