| Title: Black Sabbath Released: February 13, 1970 (and yes, a Friday!) Rating: 9/10 Black Sabbath doesn't show much variety in their debut album...but who cares! That's not the point; Sabbath's slowed down, murky guitar rock bludgeons the listener in an almost hallucinatory fashion, reveling in its own dazed, druggy state of consciousness. Nobody sounded like this before this album was released, and in my opinion, no one has been able to repeat this distorted, overdriven, skull-crushing sound. Songs like the title track, "N.I.B.", and "The Wizard", create a suffocating, dim musical atmosphere, more so than the typical heavy metal album. This is not the kind of music you play for a kindergarten class! I own this CD and enjoy every song on it. If your a metal fan, you should have this album...if not BUY IT! My favorite song on this CD is: "N.I.B." |
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| A Review of Selected Black Sabbath Albums |
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| Title: Paranoid Released: September 1970 Rating: 9.5/10 Black Sabbath's second and, in my opinion, best album. It refined Black Sabbath's signature sound...loud and crushing. The album reached #1 in the U.K. and #8 in the U.S. This album has become one of the greatest in music history (and yes...ALL music), not only because it defined heavy metal, but because of its subject matter...the supernatural sci/fi horrors, the real life traumas of death, war, nuclear annihilation, mental illness, drug hallucinations, and narcotics abuse. (I know that all sounds lovely, but I think it's better than today's rappers and boy bands rambling about their own obcessions and miniscule problems!) Black Sabbath is only giving listeners their view of the world, and it's the truth, regardless of whether or not you want to hear it. With help from the technical simplicity of Ozzy Osbourne's vocals and Tony Iommi's crushing guitar riffs, the album is totally convincing. My favorite album. My favorite song on this CD is: "Iron Man" |
| Title: Master Of Reality Released: August 1971 Rating: 9.5/10 This album continues building on the success of Black Sabbath's perfected metal formula. Tony Iommi's loud, slow riffs keep this album afloat, and make up some of his finest playing. The producers should have included a pack of Prozac with this album. It is obcessively dark and depressing, even with the pro-christian theme threaded through some of the songs like "After Forever" and "Lord Of This World". I have even heard that many people committed suicide while listening to it during the 1970's. But saying that the album is depressing is not an insult, because the songs are incredible. My favorite song on this CD is: "After Forever" |
| Title: Heaven and Hell Released: April 1980 Rating: 9/10 By the early 1980's many people left Black Sabbath for dead. Their last two albums were a major disapointment, and frontman Ozzy Osbourne left the band and started a solo career. However, Black Sabbath found a worthy replacement in Ronnie James Dio. With Dio, Black Sabbath put out their finest album since the early 1970's. Tony Iommi belts out one of his best riffs in the title track, which ranks as one of their best songs ever. The prosperity wouldn't last long however; Dio quit the band after making only 2 consecutive albums with Black Sabbath. My favorite song on this CD is: "Heaven And Hell" |
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| Title: Black Sabbath Volume 4 Released: September 1972 Rating: 8/10 Vol. 4 shows the beginning of experimentation of the signiture sound Black Sabbath made famous on its early ablums. However, it still has the crushing sound and intense bass lines; "Supernaut" is one of the heaviest tracks Black Sabbath ever recorded. It also puts the listener in a good mood, unlike the previous album. My favorite song on this CD is: "St. Vitus' Dance" |
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| Title: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Released: December 1973 Rating: 9/10 On Black Sabbath's fifth masterpiece, the band raised their creative stakes and gave unprecedented attention to the album's production, arrangements, and even the cover artwork. When I first heard the album, I thought "Something's wrong, it sounds a little weak..." Yeah, its not thrash metal that makes someone want to break things or start a mosh pit. It's intentionally somewhat lighter, so the listener can concentrate on the brilliant lyrics. Overall, the album remains faithful to the band's signiture sound, and displays a sense of maturity. The addition of syntheisers and keyboards, on the other hand, end up with mixed results. "Sabbra Cadabra" greatly benefits from the keyboarding by Yes's Rick Wakeman, but "Who Are You?" suffers from major synthesiser overkill. Overall though, this record is a "must" for any heavy metal collection. Black Sabbath in their prime. My favorite song on this CD is: "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" |
| Title: Sabotage Released: August 1975 Rating: 8/10 This album is a continuation from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, except that it somewhat lacks focus. "Symptom of the Universe" is arguably Black Sabbath's last great classic song featuring Ozzy Osbourne, despite its pointless acoustic outro. "Megalomania" and "The Writ" are great multipart epics, and "Thrill of It All" is familiar ground for the group. My favorite song on this CD is: "Megalomania" |
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| Title: Mob Rules Released: November 1981 Rating: 8.5/10 This is the second album to feature Ronnie James Dio. This album has less of a dungeons and dragons theme to it, and more of an ''in your face'' attitude. The only problem is that it mirror's Heaven and Hell's sequencing of material almost to a tee. Although it is fun to compare the two albums. Dio left after this album but returned almost ten years later to sing on Dehumanizer. My favorite song on this CD is: "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" |
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| Title: Past Lives (Live Album) Released: August 20, 2002 Rating: 9/10 This is the first official live album with Ozzy Osbourne at the helm. All the material comes from various shows from the 1970's. This double CD is the most genuine example of what Black Sabbath is really about. Of course, it isn't polished like a studio album, the guitar tends to sound fuzzy and sharp. There are tempo and wrong notes here and there too. It doesn't really matter. This is real. Iommi's work is absolutely superb. Ozzy has a little trouble on "Megalomania" staying in tune vocally, but Iommi's guitar solo in that song is what I believe is the highest point in the entire 2 CD set. A definite must-have for a Black Sabbath fan. My favorite song on this CD is: "Killing Yourself To Live" |
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| Title: Technical Ecstasy Released: October 1976 Rating: 5/10 This album is difficult to describe. There are some fine moments on it such as "Back Street Kids" and "Dirty Women", but other songs such as the weepy ballad "She's Gone" and the Bill Ward sung "It's Alright" seem totally irrelevant. "Rock & Roll Doctor" makes Black Sabbath sound like AC/DC, which in this case is not a good thing. I like to think of this album as The Black Sabbath "White Album" because it seems out of place and ridicuously incoherent. My favorite song on this CD is: "You Won't Change Me" |
| Title: Never Say Die Released: October 1978 Rating: 6/10 Another slightly subpar album by Black Sabbath. While this was a better effort than Technical Ecstasy, it still has a few flaws, which deems this album "un-sabbathesque". The instrumental "Breakout" is led by a saxophone?! That's just not right. The guitar by Iommi on this album seems a little bit flat. Some good tunes exist, such as "Never Say Die" and the synthesiser-heavy "Johnny Blade". The other songs keep you entertained, but this album just cannot compare to a Paranoid or a Master of Reality. The song "Air Dance" would be better if they continued playing the opening riff, rather than playing what seems to be some kind of soft-rock. I also find the cover art again to be a strange choice. My favorite song on this CD is: "Johnny Blade" |
| Title: Born Again Released: September 1983 Rating: 7/10 Dio leaves the band because he cannot get along with Iommi, so enter Ian Gillan. Most critics seem to dislike this album because of its poor production techniques, lousy lyrics, and hidious cover art, but it is my, and many other Sabbath fans', darkhorse favorite. Gillan's tendency to shriek at crucial moments in the songs make this album seem ever darker than the already drastically heavy guitar and bass playing seems to permit. The riffs on these songs are just incredible. The only reason I cannot give it a higher rating is that the original production was terrible causing the CD to sound muddy and not heavy. My favorite song on this CD is: "Zero The Hero" |
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| Title: Dehumanizer Released: June 1992 Rating: 9/10 Black Sabbath comes back with a vengeance! With a number of unsuccessful albums by both Sabbath and Dio, the two groups reunite the Mob Rules' lineup for this album. To hear Dio give his strongest performance since the early 1980's and Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi playing together is truly inspiring. The CD perfectly blends the classic Sabbath sound with modern equipment and studio techniques. Songs like "Computer God" and "TV Crimes" show that Iommi has not lost his ability to produce killer solos. Every song on this album shines in its own right, with absolutely no filler. My favorite song on this CD is: "Computer God" |
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| Title: Cross Purposes Released: February 8, 1994 Rating: 6.5/10 This could have been the ultimate Black Sabbath album. This might be a bold claim, but look at some facts. Geezer Butler stayed on after Dehumanizer and his presence is clearly recognizable. Songs such as "I Witness" and "Cardinal Sin" are a perfect example of how a bass is supposed to be played. Iommi also shows that he still can create new solos and riffs; quite amazing considering Iommi has played in Sabbath for 25 years at this point. I only have two problems with this album. One, Tony Martin is not Ozzy or Dio, and when he sings on this album, it's like the band has to adjust to him. Second, KEYBOARDS!!! Let me elaborate. Sometimes keyboards are a nice touch, such as on "Sabbra Cadabra" or "Johnny Blade". When Geoff Nichols uses them on "Immaculate Deception", he effectively ruins the song. This album is okay, but it should have been much more promising, and it seems to me Sabbath squandered this opportunity. My favorite song on this CD is: "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" |
| Title: Headless Cross Released: April 1989 Rating: 6/10 By the late 1980's critics and casual fans pretty much gave up on Black Sabbath. Iommi was the only original member left from the foursome that pretty much defined the sound of Heavy Metal almost two decades earlier. Although Black Sabbath named an album "Never Say Die" because they meant it, and thus fans were rewarded with a somewhat unexpected surprise on this album. Tony Martin gives his all, and of the five albums he's done with Sabbath, this is probably his best effort. The guitar is main focus on the album, and songs like "When Death Calls" are a testiment to this. Iommi focused on the guitar so much during the production of this album, that he allowed Brian May (Queen) to play the solo on "When Death Calls". This album also tends to stray from older Sabbath material and focuses more on radio-friendly material, such as "Devil and Daughter" and "Black Moon". These songs are alright, but are not up to the standards of any 70's works. This album still shows that Sabbath can write good, listenable music, but also shows a slow gradual decline. My favorite song on this CD is: "When Death Calls" |
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| Title: Seventh Star Released: 1986 Rating: 6.5/10 This is not your typical Black Sabbath album. By this time, Tony Iommi was the last remaining original member of Black Sabbath, and even bought the rights to the name Black Sabbath from his former band mates, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. This was meant to be a solo album by Iommi, but was pressured by the record companies to release this as a Sabbath album. Glenn Hughes does a great job singing on this album, but drug problems lead to his firing five shows into the Seventh Star tour. This album isn't typical Sabbath, but still has many listenable songs and is worthwhile picking up if you can find it. My favorite song on this CD is: "Danger Zone" |
| Title: Eternal Idol Released: 1987 Rating: 5/10 As opposed to Seventh Star, this was supposed to be a true Sabbath album. Tony Martin makes his first of five albums with Black Sabbath starting with Eternal Idol. This CD has a few good tracks and the title track is especially heavy, but other songs can be lacking and seem just odd. Not my favorite Sabbath album, but since I am pretty much a diehard, I own a copy anyway. My favorite song on this CD is: "Eternal Idol" |