Out of My Mind / Holy Water - Single

Album Review

Who Cares, also billed as Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi & Friends, is a one-off heavy metal supergroup organized to make this benefit recording for Armenian earthquake relief. In addition to the former Deep Purple singer Gillan and Black Sabbath guitarist Iommi, the friends include Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, and former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. The songs "Out of My Mind" and "Holy Water" do not comment specifically on the charity purpose; rather, they are well-conceived hard rock/heavy metal anthems with a distinct '70s feel, typical of a mixing of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, with Gillan's sonorous vocals expressing disorientation and loss ("I got no sense of purpose," he confesses in "Holy Water"), while Iommi takes characteristic screaming leads. It would be easy to imagine this unit becoming a permanent outfit, or at least making a full-length album. [The digital release features only the two audio tracks; the physical release includes a video of "Out of My Mind" and a documentary about the group.]