BLACK SABBATH

Recorded in a day in October of 1969, 'Black Sabbath' by Black Sabbath is still one of the extraordinary achievements of the band and the heavy metal genre, a seminal work of heavy music that initiated an entire movement and inspired an innumerable amount of artists throughout the years. Initially received poorly, most of the dismissive critics later re-appraised the album and understood its novel qualities - the four-piece band featuring Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward had been virtually unknown upon the release of their debut album, which had the difficult task of showcasing their strengths as a band as well as musicians and songwriters. And with their amalgamation of heavy, bludgeoning riffs, muscular rhythms, ominous, haunting atmosphere, and dark, occasionally even satanic lyrics, Black Sabbath presented a way of doing heavy rock music that combined the blues-based chops of Cream with doomy and psychedelic soundscapes that create this hallucinatory, crushing feel of tension that is all over the album.

Not to mention the iconic artwork of their self-titled album, Black Sabbath sound raw and menacing here, their music is gritty and disconcerting, and remains one of the most recognizable sounds in all of rock music - the heavy-psych approach to songwriting and the doomy ambience are perfectly depicted by classic numbers like the eponymous opening track and its creeping darkness, undeniably one of the timeless recordings from the band, the excellent 'N.I.B.' with the masterful bass solo in the beginning, and one of the most memorable and iconic riffs by Iommi, or the occult explorations on the 10-minute closing track 'Warning' with its extended instrumental section, the first occasion of a more experimental attempt from the band. This album also features the groovy and hard-rocking number 'The Wizard', with Ozzy playing the harmonica in typical blues-rock fashion, the dark and fast-paced 'Evil Woman' as well as lesser-known entries like 'Behind the Wall of Sleep' and 'Sleeping Village'. A classic album by all measures, this is a heavy, menacing, and thrilling work by a young band that set itself out to explore the darker, more occult corners of the genre - as massively influential as the record is, we must acknowledge that Cream, Vanilla Fudge and the American band Coven should have influenced (at least slightly) the musical interests of early Sabbath, which would go on to explore even more exciting sounds on their future releases.

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