Black Sabbath

I’m not really a Sabbath guy in general, but I’ve always liked Headless Cross a lot, and I sampled a few songs from the other albums in the set and they weren’t bad, so today I decided to take the plunge and order the CD set. Who knows, maybe I’ll get into the other three with repeated listens…
 
Hot takes after listening to the Anno Domini remasters:
  • Headless Cross: Great, as expected.
  • Tyr: Quite good.
  • Cross Purposes: Uneven, but has its high points.
  • Forbidden: Very uneven, but has a few solid tracks.
I’ll probably mostly listen to Headless Cross and Tyr long term, but I’m glad I picked up the set.
 
Headless Cross is definitely the best of those four with Tyr as a somewhat distant second. Forbidden is easily the weakest, although I can’t remember anything about Cross Purposes. I’ll have to go back to these albums, glad to see them getting recognition in this collection.

The best Martin album sadly is the one not in the collection, The Eternal Idol.
 
Got the vinyl box set, I had copies of them all in advance and didn't really want more CDs. Listened to them all today. Headless Cross and Tyr remain great albums. Cross Purposes was better than I remembered but still not top tier. And Forbidden wasn't as bad as I remembered but I actually prefer the original mix for the title track, but the remix did make it sound better overall.
 
I know little of the Tony Martin era but Headless Cross and TYR are really good (based on my first listen to these remasters). Tried Forbidden and... it's not good. Quite shite actually.

I actually saw Tony Martin live about 12 years ago in a tiny club with about 20 people in attendance. He still put on a good show and performed Stargazer as it was a few days after Dio passed. Still, I got second hand embarrassment from the shitty turnout.
 
Mosh's next discography ranking game is covering Black Sabbath, so I'm jumping onboard and going through every Sabbath album for the first time. I'm not a total newcomer by any means but I've only heard a handful of their albums in full, and given that there's a total of 20 that means there's a ton I've never touched before. I figured it would be fun to really dive into the albums and discuss these songs with some classic song/album reviews in preparation for the game, which should also help me in crafting my list. The discussions in Mosh's game will likely put more emphasis on the albums as a whole and this gives me the opportunity here to talk about individual songs.

I'm going to try to stick to a fairly rigid schedule so that I don't hold up the game but I'm also going to be giving these records enough time to fully digest the music as I go through. I like Sabbath but I don't necessarily love them, so don't expect a bunch of 10's from me - but also I don't think there will be many crazy takes like when I did Metallica and gave "Seek and Destroy" a 3, lol.

I'm hoping this will spur people to checking out the records themselves so they can participate in the game, which you can read about here, and I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and hearing from those who have been listening to the band for a lot longer than me.

So without further ado...

Black Sabbath.jpg

Black Sabbath (1970)
*Note: I'm using the North American version as this is the one I'm used to and it seems to be regarded as the 'official' version now on streaming and CD. Apologies to "Evil Woman" fans.

1. Black Sabbath - From out of the rain and rumbling thunder emerges a riff that will change the world. Slow, distorted, utterly heavy. Ozzy legitimately sounds like he's shellshocked - or stoned out of his mind? - and when he cries, "Oh, no, no, please, God, help me!" I think he really means it. Everything about the first four minutes of this song is just ominous, from the plodding guitar to Bill Ward's rumbling on the drum kit. The song kicks into higher gear at the end and Tony Iommi lays down an evil, satanic solo before the song ends with a Holstian march. The first metal song and it is excellent. 9/10

2. The Wizard - I think people rag on this song more than it deserves. I remember the first time I heard this album and being absolutely shocked to hear a harmonica on a metal album. But Sabbath were figuring out their sound and I cannot lie and say I don't love the harmonica's inclusion. Brings along some railway vibes as Ozzy sings about some kind of hippie wizard. The song has a great groove and an infectious riff, I dig it, man! 8/10

3. Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep - The "Wasp" riff is kind of a bright, frolicking thing compared to the more thoughtful groove that defines the rest of the song. I know it's about dreams and the title comes from H.P. Lovecraft but I swear it feels like they're singing about drugs here. I really like this song, it just feels incomplete to me - but I suppose it works if you consider it one long track with "N.I.B.". 7/10

4. Bassically/N.I.B. - Geezer lays down a decent bass solo before introducing the riff to "N.I.B.". When the full band kicks in we are groovin'! Probably the most metallic song on the record beyond the title track. Lyrically it's a love song from Lucifer, what's not to like there? The best parts of the song are Tony's two solos, although I wish they were extended, especially the ending solo, which seems to fall apart just as it hits its peak. Great song overall. 8/10

5. Wicked World - Early Sabbath was really conscious of The State of the World. This song begins with a riff that for some reason seems to scream, "Turn from your wicked ways!", and I'm not really sure why I get that sense every time I hear it. The rest of the song is kinda whatever, I'm not enamored by it. Tony has a cool guitar piece after the second verse, but I don't really care for his jammier solo and the verses are a bit stock. Lyrically this one is... well, it's not great, put it like that. Shoutout to Ozzy doing his best Robert Plant impression on the third line of each verse. Anyway, this song is kinda just average. 5/10

6. A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village - The "Sleeping Village" section is a really cool, quiet piece with some great Jew's harp playing in the background and a misty-eyed (or high?) Ozzy softly singing over it. The rest of this song is a cool instrumental with some Led Zeppelin vibes that evolves into a jammy guitar solo that I really like. Perfectly segues into "Warning" too. 7/10

7. Warning (The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation cover) - This extended cover is clearly an opportunity to Tony Iommi to flex his bluesy guitar playing skills and I actually like it a lot more than I expect most people on here do. Ozzy sounds utterly forlorn as he sings about a women he caught cheating... in his dreams... and sings the wrong line in the chorus which nullifies the song's title. But I actually love that little change from "warned about you" to "born without you", adds some color to the track. And yeah, otherwise this is a fun jam in which Tony goes through all of his arsenal. Drum fills from Bill Ward, some solo guitar soloing, a traveling riverside riff around the 7 minute mark which feels like fishing with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn right up until the riff changes into a mystical thing that makes me worry that those boys are smokin' doobies now. I think this song is too long-winded for its own good, but I do like it. Nice to play now and again. 7/10

OVERALL

I'm quite fond of this album; the first time I heard it was on an airplane (it was included in the in-flight entertainment) and I had a really enjoyable experience. Whenever I come back to it I have a good time. It's not fully a metal album, Sabbath would achieve that with Paranoid, but songs like the title track and "N.I.B." are absolutely metal and set the stage for what would be released by the band later that same year.

It's kinda funny looking back at this because Sabbath really feel like an uncool version of Led Zeppelin wearing all black and smoking weed on this record. Ozzy especially is such an odd frontman but I love the seriousness with which he takes his role. There will be no Ozzy shit-talking from Diesel! He has a very unique voice and played an important role within the band.

I dig it! It's a good, if imperfect, start to the career of the band who would almost single-handedly create the genre that brought all of us on this forum together.

Total: 73%
 
Is the American release really considered the definitive cut? I'm quite sure that the band, or at least Iommi prefer the UK version.

At the very least it doesn't add all those unnecessary tracks for the instrumental intros (like Bassically).
 
Spaldy said:
Is the American release really considered the definitive cut? I'm quite sure that the band, or at least Iommi prefer the UK version.
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Yeah I was just talking with a friend of mine in the UK who said they still have “Evil Woman” on streaming. My CD has the American tracklist so I’m wondering if they reissued both versions in the two different markets. The booklet talks about how they didn’t want to record “Evil Woman” so in my head I figured it would thus make sense to standardize with the North American version but I’d love to hear what UK fans know about this.

Spaldy said:
At the very least it doesn't add all those unnecessary tracks for the instrumental intros (like Bassically).
Click to expand...
They aren’t separate tracks. The American version actually has five tracks because “Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B.” and “A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning” are both one long track at the end of their respective sides.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Yeah I was just talking with a friend of mine in the UK who said they still have “Evil Woman” on streaming. My CD has the American tracklist so I’m wondering if they reissued both versions in the two different markets. The booklet talks about how they didn’t want to record “Evil Woman” so in my head I figured it would thus make sense to standardize with the North American version but I’d love to hear what UK fans know about this.
Click to expand...
This is what it looks like on streaming here.
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Paranoid.jpg

Paranoid (1970)

1. War Pigs/Luke's Wall - A slow-rolling riff and some thumping basswork open up metal's most important album as air raid sirens begin to ring out. You can almost see Zeppelins looming menacingly overhead. I love the way the verses play on, let's call it "musical liminal space", where the drums keep to time but the rest of the band drops out to give Ozzy center stage, although there are slight eruptions here and there to foreshadow what's to come (something that Iron Maiden would later employ on "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "The Trooper", as would Megadeth on "Sweating Bullets"). It's an awesome way to build up anticipation within the song. Ozzy's voice rings out clear as he narrates the gluttony of destruction from the "war pigs". The lyrics here are so much stronger and hit so much harder than, say "Wicked World" did on the debut (even if they do rhyme "masses" with "masses"). But once the rest of the band comes back in and we hear those signature Iommi riffs the song really extends to the next level. My favorite part is easily the "Luke's Wall" instrumental coda, where there's a pitying yet judgemental melody doled out for the condemned war pigs. Just an incredibly strong track overall, it's one of the signature metal tracks for good reason. 9/10

2. Paranoid - A pumping riff makes for a bit of a (relatively) catchier and faster single to pick up the momentum. Cool fuzzed-out solo as well. I think the riff gets a little old by the very end. Ozzy is easily the MVP here. Like I mentioned with the debut, the seriousness with which he takes his role absolutely sells his performance. Poor guy. It's Sabbath's most famous song and what can I say, it's pretty great. 8/10

3. Planet Caravan - Really unique track with lush instrumentation and almost tribal percussion. Flute, piano, and sweet guitar towards the end really make you feel like you're out among wolves and coyotes in an early autumnal wilderness. Ozzy floats on by with washed-out vocals, singing about space and shit. I like space and shit. I like this song. It almost feels out of place on this record but it's a nice little inclusion to show off what Sabbath can do. 7/10

4. Iron Man - Easily one of the most iconic riffs in rock history, roaring at you from out of the speakers with its terrifying methodical plod. Lyrically about a hero turned villain who goes on a murder rampage. When Ozzy cries, "Iron Man lives agaaaaaiiin!", the camp is off the charts and I love it. Iommi gets a great solo in here and the coda switches gears with a galloping bassline that I'm pretty sure Steve Harris must've taken inspiration from for the intro to "Killers". It's a classic, end of story, what else can I say? 9/10

5. Electric Funeral - This one I've always thought was a little underrated. Iommi's swampy, washed-out guitar riff basically created the entire genre of sludge in one go. It's an oozing riff that sets the scene for Ozzy's narration of radioactive destruction from atomic bombs. A sluggish beast that speeds up partway through and then goes back to its uncaring ruination, eventually dwindling back into the sewer it first came from. Really, really cool song. Ozzy sounds almost venomous at some points here. 9/10

6. Hand of Doom - This is a song I like more and more whenever I hear it. Very slow, bass-focused intro before Ward comes in and lays down a great, pensive beat. I love the ominous sections that bookend this track. The middle, where things shift gears a few times, is alright, but I don't think it fully goes all the way for me. The lyrics at the end are incredibly vivid, Jesus Christ, guys, what the fuck. Great song, wish it went that extra mile for me but I really like it nonetheless. 8/10

7. Rat Salad - It's fine, short enough, some nice Indian melodies and a drum solo, but Led Zeppelin had already released "Moby Dick" a year prior and it stomps all over this throwaway. 5/10

8. Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots - The "Jack the Stripper" intro is really cool, very much feels like walking through the London underground with all of its shady characters. Rest of the song is good. I think it's the weakest one on the album but it's a fun album closer. The final verse feels like Ozzy stoned out and couldn't remember what else his doctor told him. Great twisty ending solo, too. 7/10

OVERALL

Not even a year had gone by since their debut and already Black Sabbath had dropped a new album and boy was it a big step up from their first go. The songs are tighter compositionally and the production and performances are stronger (although this probably has to do with the fact that the debut was recorded live). Their sound has been solidified and it's absolutely a full-on metal album, with loads of doomy passages, memorable riffs, and some of rock's most iconic tracks. Great album, impossible to dislike.

Total: 80%*
*This is an average of the score counting "Rat Salad" vs. not counting "Rat Salad". It's such a short track that I weighted it this way to not let its rating drag the rest of the album down too far.
 
Master of Reality.jpg

Master of Reality (1971)

1. Sweet Leaf - A hacking cough and then we're immediately plunged into the thickest riff ever. Tony Iommi is just laying it all down with his stomping distortion as Ozzy wails about how much he loves marijuana. I love the faster section in the middle, with the swirling guitar solo and Bill Ward's furious drum fill. Geezer Butler really comes into his own on this album and I love how his bassline compliments and contrasts Iommi's guitar playing. The first stoner metal track and it's iconic for all the right reasons. 9/10

2. After Forever (Including The Elegy) - Sabbath (and Ozzy in particular) were heavily influenced by The Beatles, and on this song that influence is heavily felt. The opening riff is a major key romper that recalls something like "Paperback Writer" in the way that Geezer's bass does little runs while Iommi's guitar prances. The lyrics on this one are WILD. Black Sabbath, the band that literally just told you about the wonders of weed is now telling you you're a sinner and you need Jesus. It's so crazy. The lyrics are pretty shallow but the song as a whole is great. Solo feels like it could've come off of a heavier Abbey Road. Only complaint is that it outstays its welcome towards the end but I like this one more with each listen. 8/10

3. Embryo - Cool guitar intro for "Children of the Grave". na/10

4. Children of the Grave - Lots of tension in the opening and then the guitar comes marching out like a tank with its down-tuned and utterly heavy distortion. I dunno what Ward is rattling on this track (kinda sounds like a washing machine) but it really brings to life this sonic visual of an angry army of upset youths. Ozzy's voice is like a warning to stay true to the ideals you've started with, but the sound is utterly haunting, especially with the graveyard stomp in the middle and the wispy outro. This is one of those classic tracks that I mostly missed for years until Marko Hietala turned me on to it. What an awesome song. That riff is easily their best to date. 10/10

5. Orchid - Serene, beautiful acoustic playing from Iommi. 9/10

6. Lord of This World - The doomy opening riff to this song sounds so evil directly after "Orchid". The verses are a slow stomp written from the POV of Satan and it's cool. I think Ozzy could maybe end the verses with something other than "Yeah!" given that he already used that on so many previous Sabbath songs (including on this album). The cowbell section feels out of place but I love Iommi's guitar solo. Song stays in one lane slightly too long for me without reaching the next level compared to the three tracks before it, but it's still an oozing beast that I quite enjoy. 7/10

7. Solitude - "Planet Caravan" 2.0, this time with a subdued Ozzy not using a voice filter. He sounds so different on this track, kinda reminds me of Paul Di'Anno's softer voice on "Remember Tomorrow" and "Strange World". Ward plays sleigh bells in a way I've never heard before. Nice inclusion, but I'm not really wowed by it. 6/10

8. Into the Void - And we're back to the doom, this time I think the guitar is warning me about heffalumps and woozles? Roy Z would nick a bit of it for Tyranny of Souls. The stoner riff that leads to the verse is awesome, single-handedly starting a myriad of music careers. Lyrically it's about finding a world beyond earth in a rocket engine. Is Elon Musk a Sabbath fan? Anyway, this is the kind of song that a band like Sleep would try to recreate with every album and I like it. I'm not in love with it though. It's my least favorite song here besides "Solitude". 7/10

OVERALL

The Sabbath sound has been reforged and further dialed-into the complete doom metal record. This blueprint would inspire countless bands to come and it's not hard to see why the record is so beloved. There's six full songs here in a slightly-over half hour package and each of them is drawn out to their fullest potential. There's a hazy vibe that would lead to stoner metal, with many artists restating the themes in "Sweet Leaf" again and again and again. Geezer Butler really comes into his own as a bass player, the album is littered with awesome basslines, and Iommi's guitarwork is even heavier than it was on Paranoid. Great record that's a little inconsistent but crafts together the definitive doom experience that would lead to a sea of bands who hail it as a genesis.

Total: 79%*
*Average taken from the scores counting and not counting "Orchid", which is a little too short to fully influence the album's overall rating.
 
Black Sabbath: 96%
Paranoid: 97%
Master of Reality: 100%
Vol.4: 99%
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: 99%
Sabotage: 96%

*Into the Void is considered a top 10 or even top 5 Sabbath song by hardcore fans and metal fans in general, so you rating it a little low is surprising.
 
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