Listened to most of Technical Ecstasy this morning. I have some mixed feelings so far.
I'm a keyboard player, and used properly, I think keys have the potential to add something to the sound of a band. Dream Theater is a good example of a band that is clearly in the Metal vein, but incorporates synthesizers. Deep Purple had Jon Lord and his suped-up Hammond. But with Black Sabbath, I'm having a little trouble. Yeah, it still sounds like Sabbath, and the Moog on the opening track is cool. But by time they start adding piano, especially too much piano, it might sound okay, but it doesn't sound like Black Sabbath anymore. "You Won't Change Me" is a rather weak song anyway, and I can't help but feel that the piano actually helped weaken it. It reminds me of bad Ozzy solo stuff.
I can't fault them for trying to expand their sound - you can't just keep cranking out the same thing over and over - but there's a difference between showing a different side of the band and just plain putting something out there that doesn't sound like anything else you've ever done. Which song was it that had the rockin' piano? "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor"? Again, not a bad song, but if it wasn't Ozzy singing, I would never have guessed it was Sabbath. "It's Alright" is not a bad song. The acoustic guitar work is nice, and Bill Ward's voice is fine. But again, right there you've got two things that make it not sound anything like Black Sabbath.
Oddly enough, I didn't have trouble with the keys on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Probably because they were used more sparingly, and possibly because I'm a Wakeman fanboy and was busy digging what he could do in a very different setting from his usual work with Yes. (I need to listen to that one again too.)
Overall, I can see why die-hards have trouble with this one. It's less consistent and generally has weaker songwriting. But I'm not through it yet, and I guess the closer, "Dirty Women" is supposed to knock my socks off. I'm looking forward to that.