13. Never Say Die! (1978)

Never Say Die! was the least of the albums featuring the original four, often flat and uninspired. Like its predecessor Technical Ecstasy, Never Say Die! works best when Sabbath strips it down on songs like on “Johnny Blade.”The keyboards, however, had become a commodity on this release. Iommi still has it; even on lesser material, he spins riff after riff that other players would be happy to create. Nonetheless, Never Say Die! is the nadir of Sabbath’s original period,an album that has fans but also detractors.