VOLUME FOUR

Beyond the diabolical aesthetics that Black Sabbath used for a premeditated stylistic and gimmicky question rather than for a real conviction in favour of the forces of evil, the real demons faced by its members were drug excesses, and in the midst of this narcotic context (according to the protagonists themselves in every interview they have given), the band recorded "Vol 4" (1972), the fourth of their discography.

And although that nebulous and problematic situation is picked up by the tributary "Snowblind" (a solid stoner rock with acid riffs and a great guitar solo by Tony Iommi), in part by the experimental "FX" (a brief, strange instrumental that captures the sounds of Iommi's inverted cross on guitar strings and some complementary studio effects) and also by the corrosive death/doom metal depths of the very dark critique of consumerism "Cornucopia" (softened slightly by Ozzy's vocals), the album features more musically textured and lyrically more thoughtful tracks than their previous work. Powerful structures such as the bluesy opener "Wheels of Confusion" and its instrumental appendix "The Straightener", the resilient "Tomorrow's Dream" and "Supernaut", both with their themes of personal growth, and the hard-rocking and festive "St. Vitus Dance", are supported by more rhythmic and fresh riffs and the solid instrumental base proposed by Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

As has become the band's custom, delicacy also has its place, with some surprising Genesian melotrons in the aching and at times monotonous "Changes" (one of the band's most popular tracks), and in the baroque and symphonized string interlude "Laguna Sunrise", before the defiant critique of the established order of "Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes", another incredible doom metal sound, featuring the band's energetic and consistent instrumental progressions leading into one of Iommi's best guitar moments on the album, brings the work to a close.

"Vol 4" didn't have the best production, often blamed on the cognitive instability of the musicians and even some of their staff, but it is undoubtedly a great contribution to the musical legacy of the British and to the metal trends that had them considered as their ancestral sources.

4 stars

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