MASTER OF REALITY

By the time Master Of Reality appeared in August 1971 rock journalists had dug up just about every sinister metaphor from the catacombs of the Oxford Thesaurus to describe Black Sabbath`s volumnous aural onslaughts. So, needless to say, by this time their reputation preceded them somewhat and for anyone following them at the time nothing on Master Of Reality came as much of a suprise. Walls of riffs, religious premonitions and their name inscribed in a purple hue forming a flapping banner through an invisible wind against a black backdrop of nothingness, the Sabs unleashed yet another blinding sonic tortoise charge into oblivion. The words Master Of Reality stamped indelably into the black fabric on the original vinyl cover complete images of otherworldly plainess. Putting to rest any notions of covenances with evil, the Sabs preach bleak sermons of blatant truths and doubts and in the process inadvertenly invent Christian Rock.

A hacking cough introduces the opening track, Sweet Leaf, an ode to marajuana amidst searing guitar chords as if a soothing narcotic head experience is the only thing on Earth left worth loving. From the onset the heaviness of Master Of Reality cannot be uderstated. Tony Iommi`s slagging, sludging riffs, Geezer Butlers throbbing bass, Bill Ward bashing and thrashing his kit and Ozzy`s flat-line omnicient high pitched cat-strangling moans, combined with stark religious messages set the ambience over this deafening 34 minute excursion into the outer reaches of the twighlight zone. While the religious overtones on After Forever and Lord of This World are not in any way blashphemous toward Christianity, the heavy and direct manner of their execution leave them open for misinterpretation by armchair Satanists. Possibly to firewall against this the lyrics on the original vinyl pressing were printed on the back of the record jacket as if to reassure worried mothers. Nonetheless, a distorted rather gruesome image of the Masters Of Reality ( as the title appears on early vinyl green Warner Bros labels ) is enclosed for young disciples to adorn their bedrooms with. Children Of The Grave is a call to arms to fight the evil designs of the powers that be and oddly enough, the scariest track on Master Of Reality has nothing to do with religion, drugs or Satan at all. Into the Void explores something that was real and pertinent in 1971 : the possibility of ALL OUT NUCLEAR WAR. And dark celestial images of ICBMS arcing through nocturnal skies towards their helpless ground zero grids hammer forth potential horrors of such an event without leaving much to the immagination. Amidst all the cacophony and doubt Master Of Reality conjures, there emerges a macabre balllad appropriately entitled Solitude which contains Iommi`s haunting flute accompanying Ozzy`s mourneful woes. It`s meditative meloncholy is fitting and offers a contrast to the relentless riffing.

Stll playing at a five star level here their everything is crap formula is brought to another level with concientious production along with some sound effect experimentation. Arguably the gloomiest Sabbath album from the Ozzy era.

On the original vinyl and sheet music the short instrumental and sound effect intros and extros are given titles as well. Collectors can also hunt down the rare spiral Vertigo label which includes the metioned poster.

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