Iommi explains in his autobiography "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath", that when he sang, bassist Geezer Butler couldn't keep a straight face. The album received mostly negative reviews and is not held in high esteem today, with AllMusic referring to the album as "unfocused", saying it "will hold little interest to the average heavy metal fan". "Rolling Stone" says it was "not a blaze of glory for the original foursome" but added that it may be "better than people might remember". In 2013 Phil Alexander of "Mojo" referred to the album as "disastrous". Speaking in October 1978 of the new album, Osbourne said, "It's a combination of what we've all been through in the last 10 years. It's a very varied album. Like, we started out playing in blues clubs, because British blues – like John Mayall and early Fleetwood Mac – was the thing at the time. We were into a twelve-bar trip and early Ten Years After-style stuff. So it's part of that sort of trip. Then there's the heavy thing and the rock thing. It's not just steamhammer headbanging stuff all the way through ... We got rid of all our inner frustrations: what each of us individually wanted to put down over the years but couldn't because of the pressures of work. So we put a lot of painstaking hours into developing this album." However, Osbourne quickly soured on the LP, telling "After Hours" in a 1981 interview "The last album I did with Sabbath was "Never Say Die!" and it was the worst piece of work that I've ever had anything to do with. I'm ashamed of that album. I think it's disgusting". He went on to claim that the band flew to Toronto in January during sub-zero temperature "purely because the Rolling Stones had recorded a live album there." In 2013, Osbourne told "Mojo", "I'd go down to the studio and I heard what sounded like a jazz band playing. Is this really Black Sabbath? I'd just fuck off." Osbourne was fired by the band eight months later. Despite the negative reception, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil cited "Never Say Die!" as one of his favourite Black Sabbath albums. Megadeth covered the title track for the 2000 tribute album "Nativity In Black II", with singer Dave Mustaine telling Nick Bowcott in 2008, "The simplicity of Iommi's style makes this rhythm progression one of my all-time favorites: fast, classic English riff-stylings with a climactic arrangement."