The Eternal Idol
by Black Sabbath
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Black Sabbath bestography
The Eternal Idol is ranked 17th best out of 47 albums by Black Sabbath on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Black Sabbath is Paranoid which is ranked number 50 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 18,772.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Listen to The Eternal Idol on YouTube
The Eternal Idol track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 74 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Eternal Idol rankings
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The Eternal Idol ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 104 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 11/12/2025 11:34 | platus | 5,844 | 74/100 |
| ! | 07/22/2025 18:50 | LosWochos | 46,656 | 75/100 |
| ! | 06/27/2025 15:38 | steve397 | 462 | 75/100 |
| ! | 04/22/2025 11:44 |  doombringer | 2,168 | 76/100 |
| ! | 03/26/2025 13:00 | PurplePiePete | 1,729 | 80/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album has a Bayesian average rating of 67.0/100, a mean average of 64.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 66.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.5.
The Eternal Idol favourites
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The Eternal Idol comments
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doombringer 04/22/2025 11:54 | #308673
A so-so album . Tony Martin definitely has a great voice , but the songs are just average at best.
For Collectors only ....
Right off the bat, I'm not a huge fan of Tony Martin's voice. HOWEVER, even if you despise his voice and the production that hurts the late 80's Sabbath records, I implore you to listen to tracks like "The Shining", "Nightmare", "Ancient Warrior", and the title track - all of which boast some absolutely monstrous Tony Iommi riffs. Seriously, the songwriting here can be outstanding at times, so don't let the singer and the production ruin it for you.
EDIT - Martin's voice has really grown on me. He's no Ozzy or Dio, but he's got a good voice that fits the music with the right production. Luckily, it works out pretty well on this record.
jeremy9 08/29/2019 15:03 | #241886
Tony Martin rules
Fischman 12/15/2016 16:50 | #180232
Not a bad album. It turns out Tony Martin has a fine voice for Sabbath and this is a somewhat underrated part of the Sabbath catalog.
Record with Ray Gillen rules (Delux edition)
The Eternal Idol is one of the best albums in Sabbath's catalog - it is totally underrated by most Sabbath fans (in large part because of the turmoil within the band and the constant turnover of the band's line-up at the time). The songs and performances are excellent, and that's the only thing that really counts.
musicmanstu 07/24/2012 10:34 | #47148
Wonderful album!
Captain_Dude 07/02/2011 16:04 | #23831
Very underrated album by Black Sabbath. No, it's not Ozzy...no, it's not Dio...no, it's not even Gilliam. But, what this album is...is some damn fine performances. The Black Sabbath name hurts this record because it isn't "Paranoid" or "Heaven and Hell."
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