SABOTAGE

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"What kind of people do you think we are? Another joker who's a rock and roll star for you?

I thought I would get in early with one review of a Black Sabbath album, as "Sabotage" is for me the most progressive album they made. Here we have two epic prog tracks, "Megalomania" and "The writ", plus 6 other fine recordings. The album relies heavily on keyboards, including synthesisers, played by Gerald Woodruffe. Also present are the English Chamber Choir!

Taking those two tracks epic first, "Megalomania" is a superbly crafted 10 minute piece which focuses on the main theme (or concept) of the album, insanity and mental illness (OK, maybe not a surprising topic for the makers of "Paranoid"!). The track starts as a slow, menacing nightmare with lyrics such as Obsessed with fantasy, possessed with my schemes. I mixed reality with pseudo god dreams The ghost of violence was something I'd seen I sold my soul to be the human obscene

About midway, the pace is increased and track transforms into a magnificently pompous orchestrated cacophony. Ozzy sounds positively insane as he vividly describes his nightmares, the stereo effects enhancing the experience. This truly is a prog masterpiece which set the standard for many of the prog metal bands who were to follow.

At over 8 minutes, "The writ" also has plenty of space for symphonic orchestration and a fine arrangement. The track, which is reportedly aimed at a previous band manager, if full of acidic lyrics such as "Are you Satan are you man, you've changed in life since it began" and You are nonentity, you have no destiny. You are a figment of a thing unknown, a mental picture of a stolen soul, The fornication of your golden throne. The final section includes some excellent soft verses which are counterbalanced by the louder "everything is gonna work out fine" choruses.

These two tracks, which represent just under half the album, are good enough reason alone to recommend "Sabotage". In fact though, they are supported by a further six fine songs. Like "Megalomania", "Thrill of it all" sets out as a slow, heavy dirge, but is transformed midway into an upbeat thriller with soaring synths and multi-tracked vocals.

While there are no obvious hit singles, the most commercial track is "Am I going insane (radio)", which features an irritatingly catchy chorus. By the way, the bracketed word "radio" in the title does not mean it is a radio edit, there are no other versions. The word apparently is cockney rhyming slang for "mental", coming from the long gone company Radio Rental.

The oddest track is "Supertzar", which is nominally an instrumental, but features a choral interlude in true prog style.

In all, a truly superb album which belies any notion that Black Sabbath did not work hard on their releases. There is a level of attention to detail here which when combined with some top class song writing makes for an album which will please many fans of prog, and especially prog metal.

'Sabotage' is, in my opinion, the best metal album ever made.

Not the heaviest, certainly not the most complex, not even the most innovative. But for sheer musical craftsmanship welded to songwriting genius, I believe this is unsurpassed.

BLACK SABBATH were in the throes of enlarging their musical voice. Though known forever from the album 'Paranoid' and the single of the same name, the group had far more to offer. By 1975 they had absorbed the progressive sounds embraced by their illustrious contemporaries such as LED ZEPPELIN - and had without doubt absorbed enough drugs to think a progressive album was a good idea. They'd cooked up three albums in eighteen months, a fourth and fifth followed at yearly intervals, but this took two years to appear. It was the result of months, not days, in the studio.

It shows. The opener is relatively straightforward, twin trademark IOMMI riffs, all menacing claws and teeth, following a strange little intro. 'Hole in the Sky' features excellent drum work from BILL WARD, earning his keep, and a lovely rumbling BUTLER bass. The drama starts at the four minute mark as the song suddenly stops mid-riff, to be replaced by a mini-acoustic track, the aural equivalent of a doorstop keeping out a hurricane. Because the hurricane is coming, oh yes.

The main riff in 'Symptom of the Universe' is the riff of the twentieth century. Too simple, really, to be respected by guitarists, it is nevertheless numbingly effective, a beast at your throat. This opening never fails to thrill me. BLACK SABBATH have made something here of such simplicity and glory. Added to that are wonderful drum fills in between the riffs, then an astonishing instrumental section repeated after the second and third verses, all bass run and growling guitar. Then a bridge at three and a half minutes heralds the most crazy and unexpected transformation. SABBATH turn a song with two enormous pendulous testicles into the most gentle funk. I still shake my head at this, at their audacity and at the fact it works. Whatever they're taking, I'll have some.

And if that's not enough, this track is followed by the best song in the SABBATH canon, at least for those with a progressive bent. 'Megalomania' is a nine-minute psychedelic monster with cymbal, keyboard and guitar effects comprising a three-minute intro to six minutes of insanity. This ought to be on any prog lover's list of songs that must be listened to. Crackling, crunching, shrieking and growling guitar, driving bass, thunderous drumming, another riff obtained from the devil by the sacrifice of virgins by the light of the full moon, and OZZY's best vocal performance all worked into the most astonishingly frightening exploration of sanity and insanity. Sting me! Sock me! Truly, this is what these lads were born for. A full-on outro set to maximum overload ends Side 1, and it's five stars already.

How many times have I said it: Side 2 doesn't measure up to Side 1. How could it? Humans are given only so much genius. But this is still a better side than anything else in their career, save Side 1. 'Thrill of it All', like 'Killing Yourself to Live' on the previous album, goes through two distinct changes, as though the lads simply didn't have enough vinyl to contain all their ideas. Listening to the lead guitar in the first section reminds me how much IOMMI improved his technique since 1970. And - surprise - another Faustian riff leads into part 2 of the song. Great lyrics: "Won't you tell me, Mr Jesus, won't you help me if you can/When you see this world we live in, do you still believe in man?" Then another bewildering change at the three minute mark, and a synth-led section and a lovely guitar solo concludes the song. 'Supertzar' is yet another moment of sweet genius, an instrumental with what sounds like every massed male voice choir in Russia intoning sonorously as IOMMI takes his guitar for another workout. This track was used at concerts to introduce the band, and provides a welcome change of pace here. 'Am I Going Insane' was the single (!) from the album, and does sound oddly commercial, if your idea of commercial radio is OZZY's voice cheerfully ruminating on his sanity, something he's done on television more recently, of course.

And so to the finale. 'The Writ' is as scathing a piece of invective as you'll hear. The fadeout laughter and crying of insanity leads to an intensely dramatic beginning - I won't spoil it. Suffice to say I stuck my ears close to the stereo speakers, trying to hear the bass, the first time I played it. Big mistake. The song - actually, more like a mini opera - is about a legal dispute between the band and some former manager, and OZZY doesn't hold back. Again the song changes, this time around the five minute mark., and finishes with a piece of backroom foolery.

From the cover through the organisation to the effects to the stellar songwriting, this album has absolutely no weaknesses. Well, apart from one. OZZY complained that IOMMI's increasingly complex arrangements couldn't be replicated on stage, and so, sadly, the golden three-album era of prog-tinged SABBATH ended here.

This is not the BLACK SABBATH your mother warned you about. There's nary a word about the occult. Instead it's about the dissolution of the mind - ironic given OZZY's more recent public appearances. It is, however, the most interesting stuff they ever did. Essential.

For the very first itme, the opener of the album will just be an average song. Nothing to do with all their previous ones (on each out of their five prior albums). And the weird feeling goes on with the very short (fortunately) "Don't Start". I always wondered about the use of a fifty seconds track. In this case a dull guitar intstrumental. Come on Iommi ! You've used us to better than that ! Much better !

"Symptom Of The Universe" reverts to the great standards. and mixes the heavy sounds with some acoustic/ funky ones at the end of the song. If this must be their musical evolution, I can only applaude. But don't be wrong. This is not a song for young schoolgirls. Heavy beat is there; only tempered during a very much later stage with a softer mood : that's all. And that's pretty much fine with me.

"Meglomania" starts almost as a psychedelic song (but just for a minute or so). It is the longest "Sabbath" studio track so far. After the psyche intro, the song will build up crescendo and will turn to a classic "Sabbath" song. Solidly anchered to its heavy metal roots, this song has an inflexible beat during the last six minutes. Extremely violent (which is not always a synonymous of heavy). Still, it is a bit repetitive and it is not my fave "Sabbath" overall one, but on this album it stands out as one of the highlights. It ends up as a good hard-rock song.

One of the highlight is "thrill Of It All". A great hard-rock song with a lots of theme changes, wild beat, catchy melody. The album keeps on the good track, finally. And the next song, although not a classic "Sabbath" one is almost proggy for most of it. Imponent choirs, almost an opera (!). This should have been an intro of an epic which we won't never have...Domage (what a shame!). This is completely out of their traditional catalogue (but on the good side).

The next song "Supertzar" is very strange. Fully "Floyd" oriented ("Piper"). Completely psychedelic, crazy, funny. Thousands of miles again from their usual production. The long closing number "The Writ" will also include some extra-terrestrial moments. In the midst of the most heavy stuff, the listener will be plunged into some acoustic parts. All of a sudden. An original way to close this album.

IMO, "Sabotage" is the weakest of all "Sabbath" albums released so far. The best rating I can think think of would be 2.5 stars. Since the band is an integrant part of my youth, I will upgrade it to three stars.

Great shoes Ozzy! The one-two punch of "Hole in the Sky" and "Symptom of the Universe" is a potent one for any Sabbath fan, the latter song especially is just awesome. Not only do you get the monster riff, the heavy Bill Ward fills that would make Keith Moon drool, but you have that cool funky bridge towards the end. It's an amazing opening that makes you think you're listening to a masterpiece, but the best of the album is already behind you. "Megalomania" is a slow crawling beast initially with a later section that picks up steam, but here the repetitive riffs are less effective and at 10 minutes in length it gets pretty boring. "Thrill of it All" is nothing special. "Supertzar" is interesting in that it sounds like a precursor to Therion with the operatic vocals, and as with Therion, the heavy riffs and dark mood work very well together. "Am I Going Insane" was a clear sign that the ideas were beginning to dry up, really quite an embarrassing song. "The Writ" like "Megalomania" is another long mini-epic but it works better here, nice changes and some interesting breaks with acoustic guitars. Ozzy handles the emotional variances pretty well.

Sabotage is a decent rock album with one of Sabbath's best songs ever (Symptom) but it is far from a masterpiece, prog, rock, or otherwise. Surely recommended to Sabbath fans for the few good tracks but I can't recommend it wider than that. [2.6 stars]

"Sabotage" was my best favorite Black Sabbath album because for me personally it was, I think, the most solid in album interms of composition and musical drive. Take the opening track "Hole In The Sky": you will get everything you need from rock music from poerful lyrics, excellent musical breaks followed with great riffs and powerful drumming and wonderful vocal delivery by Ozzy. "Symptom of The Universe" which has different kind of style from any typical Balck Sabbath song. "Megalomania" which has excellent drive and energy and also the ambient "Am I Going Insane (Radio)". It's very hard for me to pick any bad track or say .. "not so good" track beacuse all tracks are excellent ones.

This album meant a lot for Black Sabbath because the album title actually represented their anger about the music business."Sabotage" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" moved away from topical issues to reflect brutal realities of music industry. "The Writ" was a diatribe against their former manager; one line went, "You bought and sold me with your lying words". The title "Sabotage" was a reference to their negative experiences with music industry. As Iommi put it: "You've got to be really careful of the business side of it, not to sign anything until you've had it read. First thing to do before you learn to play, is get a lawyer."

"Sabotage" is important for me as well because when this album was released, the cassette version that I purchased had Kansas "Song for America" was featured at leftover portion of the cassette. Since then I knew Kansas. What a nice memory of the past teenage days! Keep on rockin' .....

Pecae on earth and mercy mild - GW

Excellent stuff is Sabotage. Just when people reckoned BS had reached their peak ( well they had , kind of) they released this phenomenal follow up to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. This album has, as one reviewer aptly references, a VERY metal flavour. More metal than any other album, maybe, but still for all the stress internally within the band they again managed to produce some of their finest work.' Hole In The Sky' is a solid opener for Sabotage.My personal favourite has Ozzy screeching' Sympton of the Universe' in the craziest paranoid voice ever. Vocally Osbourne was at his best on this album.' Megolomania' continues where ' Sympton of the Universe' signs off, angry dark metallic edged angst!!

" Am I going Insane' is also a great manic plea from the band and the album closes with the dynamic ' The Writ'. One other band followed in similar footsteps to BS from a metal underground point of view and that was Judas Priest but their longevity as a true force was much swifter in reaching a climax. A solid four stars for Sabotage. The last epic studio album from them.

3.5 stars. Intersting that the band thanks Spocks Wall for his assistance in making this album. Spocks Wall was Rick Wakeman's alias that he used when he helped them on "Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath". Of their first 6 studio albums I would rate this as fifth best ahead of "Vol 4". I really feel something is missing on this one, i'm not sure what though. It's not as dynamic or maybe it's the lack of attitude, anger and darkness. Butler's bass work seems a little lost in the sound as well, which might be part of it. Having said that the song "Symptom Of The Universe" is a killer track, that for me is heads above all the other songs on here.

"Hole In The Sky" is a catchy track with Ozzy in fine form as Iommi grinds it out. I don't like the way it ends so abruptly. "Don't Start(Too Late)" is a short song of acoustic guitar melodies. "Symptom Of The Universe" is the last great track by SABBATH with Ozzy at the helm. Heavy, fast paced riffs are featured, and Ward is on absolute fire. Check out Iommi before 4 minutes. The lighter section from 4 1/2 minutes to the end is very cool sounding,especially the guitar. "Megalomania" is my second favourite. I like the dark, psychedelic flavour to begin with. It's building. Keys after 3 minutes before the tempo picks up with riffs. I like the heavy, dark riffs before 5 minutes and a couple of minutes later. The rest in between though i'm not a fan. I prefer the first half of the song.

"The Thrill Of It All" opens with lots of drums and guitar before it breaks out with some heavy riffs and vocals. It changes to a beautiful sound after 3 minutes. "Supertzar" has choirs with guitar throughout. I like it. "Am I Going Insane" is commercial sounding but fun. It ends with some funny laughter. "The Writ" opens with Ozzy's vocals blasting off right away. A calm after 2 minutes. It changes to a lighter sound 4 1/2 minutes in to the end. Actually after 5 minutes i'm reminded of an Alice Cooper tune.

Tough to give this less then 4 stars but for me there are far too many sub par moments.

Megalomania

I have been a major fan of Black Sabbath for some ten years. Sabotage is in my opinion one of Black Sabbath's very best albums. Actually, it ranks as one of my favourite albums of all time by any band. Sabotage represents for me the very peak of Black Sabbath's 70's era. It is a million miles more elaborated and adventurous than Paranoid or Vol. 4. You can really tell that they worked on this album longer than any of the other albums they did in the 70's. This is easily the most progressive Black Sabbath album.

The album opens with Hole In The Sky with a typical Iommi guitar riff, this song is then interrupted by the hyperactive acoustic guitar piece Don't Start (Too Late) and this, in turn, leads directly into Symptom Of The Universe. This song features one of Iommi's best and most memorable riffs and the drumming is frenzied here. Towards the end of this song it changes radically and a funky, acoustic part is introduced with something of a 'hippie' feel to it. I don't understand why they don't play that part of the song live, it is brilliant!

Megalomania is another great piece of music with many great tempo, and mood changes throughout its almost ten minutes running time. When you hear the beginning of this track you couldn't really imagine were it is going to end up! Sabbath once again offers great surprises.

The Thrill Of It All starts in typical Black Sabbath fashion and the beginning sounds like something from Vol. 4, a bit bluesy and not very fast paced. Then it suddenly changes into a heavy riff and the vocal melody enters. A bit further into the track it changes again, it slows down, piano and discrete synthesisers enter and the vocal melody becomes more bluesy and funky until the first part comes back. Brilliant stuff!

Supertzar is an instrumental with a choir and heavy riffing to marching drums. Amazing!

Am I Going Insane (Radio) is a very good song dominated by vocals and driven by synthesizers and guitar chords, no heavy riffs in this one. This song ends with insane laughs that segue into the last track, The Writ. This is another fantastic piece of over eight minutes similar to Megalomania. There are several different riffs and melodies in this one, with slower parts among the heavier parts. Overall, the tempo is a bit slower than in the other tracks. At the very end of this track there is a very short song called Blow On A Jug which was recorded at a very low volume. If you turn the volume up loud enough you can hear it, but you really shouldn't because it adds nothing to the album.

If you don't own this classic album you should get it now. I'm in awe every time I hear this gem. It is essential listening for anyone with an interest in heavy, progressive rock and a masterpiece of progressive music.

Sabotage is maybe the last good heavy metal album with Ozzy behind the microphone. With this album problems begun to appear in Sabbath's colective, Ozzy begun to feel more like an outsider, and for good reason, Iommi give him some kicks in the butt because he (Ozzy) was unable to do the vocal parts on some pieces, because of drinking problems or drugs addictions . With all this problems the album was released in 1975, and surprisengly is a major succes in Sabbath career. Many considered this album among the best in Sabbath catalogue. The music remains on the same coordonates as on previous one but more heavy , more doomy. Some pieces are real winners like: the opening track Hole in the Sky - the powerfull voice of Ozzy is shown from the first note, Symptom of the Universe - this is the best piece from here and among the best they ever done, very heavy , with some solid doom sound, great riffs and solos made by the main man of the band Tony Iommi, Supertzar - is an excellent instrumental one with grandious choruses, simply amazing tune and Am I Going Insane (Radio) - a bit more mainstrem to cool down the doomy atmosphere from the previouses tracks, again solid and good. All in all a great album, among my fav from Sabbath - Ozzy years, after Master of reality or Vol 4. 4 stars for sure.

I consider this album as a major culmination of imagination, artistic ideas and focus, being the fines record of this group along with their first album to myself. Heavy riffs have neat stoner rock rhythms, contrasted with more quiet acoustic sequences and experimentations. Compositions are great, and form a solid flow of music swirling in pleasant vintage rock themes. Lyrics and scale of emotional moods of the music makes the album quite intensive, and as interesting listening experience worth to return after many listens. Several of the tracks are quite long, and have solutions emphasizing the lunacy of their stuff, which is preserved also to the funny occult cover. Something between Budgie and Uriah Heep, maybe?

Sabotage is the sixth full-length studio album from UK heavy metal legends Black Sabbath. Allthough easily recognisable as Black Sabbath it´s a pretty different album compared to the early releases from the band. Sabotage was the most elaborate and costly production from the band at the time of its release. Produced by Tony Iommi himself Sabotage took almost a half year to record and produce. The tensions between Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne that had already started to emerge got even worse during the recordings of this album as Ozzy Osbourne felt that Tony Iommi was way too obsessed with getting the right sound.

The music is still riff based heavy metal, but there are some slightly more sophisticated elements on the album as well. Sabotage is a rather difficult album to review as it both have some of the greatest songs that Black Sabbath ever wrote and some more average songs as well. After listening to the first five tracks on the album I was sure I was gonna give Sabotage a 5 star rating, but the last three songs are not as good as the first part of the album. Hole in the Sky, Megalomania and especially Symptom of the Universe are fantastic masterpieces of classic heavy metal IMO. The opening riff in Symptom of the Universe is one of the greatest examples of the essence of classic heavy metal riffing. Pretty simple yet powerful, memorable and effective distorted guitar riffing. The more sophisticated elements in the music I mentioned above is examplyfied by the acoustic ending to Symptom of the Universe, the structure of a song like Megalomania and the symphonic ending to the latter. A good example of proto-prog metal IMO. As mentioned the second part of the album doesn´t quite hold up to the extremely high standard the first part sets and the simple Am I Going Insane (Radio) is a very average tune. For all it´s progressive promise I don´t find The Writ that interesting either. The instrumental choir and classical music/ heavy metal piece Supertzar is pretty interesting and succesful to my ears and The Thrill of it All is actually a great song so the second part is not bad at all but just not as good as the heavy metal classics that make out the first part.

The musicianship is excellent. It´s obvious that the band used more time in the studio than they used to. Their early releases sometimes come of as sounding a bit sloppy which is rather charming but Sabotage is very well played and it suits the music on the album well. I have to give a special mention to Ozzy Osbourne´s vocals on Sabotage. It´s like he gives his all on this album and he comes of sounding really sinister on some of the tracks.

Ozzy Osbourne might have been unsatisfied with what he referred to as an over produced sound but I think the sound is absolutely wonderful. Seldom have I heard something this powerful.

Sabotage started out as a 5 star album for me but after listening to the album many times I have to admit that I don´t find the second part as great as the first part and therefore a 4 star rating is more warranted. Sabotage is an excellent and very enjoyable album though and highly recommendable to fans of powerful riff based classic heavy metal.

On a site-note. Remember to take a look at that cover an extra time. I´m not sure what Ozzy Osbourne is suppossed to look like but that´s a weird outfit if I ever saw one. He looks like a cross between a geisha and Punky Meadows. Boy they must have had a great time back then.

Black Sabbath was unfortunately one of the bands I shoved to the side when I first discovered prog rock, and I say unfortunately because Black Sabbath has made great rock records throughout the early to mid 70's. I put them in a higher tier than say Led Zeppelin (too much over hype) and Deep Purple (came into that band too late) because I familiarised myself with Sabbath first and found them to be more musically fulfilling than I expected.

So after over a year long ''Sabbathical'' (couldn't resist) from the band, SABOTAGE made its way into my collection. Through the PAST LIVES thingy, I was already familiar with three of the first four tracks (''Don't Start'' is a little acoustic fart that Iommi does commonly); surprisingly, ''Symptom of the Universe'' and ''Megalomania'' are superior here, particularly the latter, a song I consider to be the first prog-type epic I ever listened to. I guess the studio allowed for more space to over-elaborate, but ''Hole in the Sky'' suffers from slack production and a slushy tempo, the latter problem being avoided mysteriously on PAST LIVES.

Almost as much as their previous album (SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH), this album dives deep into prog and progressive territories. Of the said tracks, ''Megalomania'' fits a prog epic description quite well and ''Symptom of the Universe'' paved the way for headbangers everywhere giving a precursor of a sound akin to bands like Metallica. ''Supertzar'' is as odd as the title; over three minutes of moaning choirs over epic guitar lines, does it get any better than that? Maybe with the overlooked rock indulgences of ''Thrill of it All'' and ''The Writ''.

This might be dubbed ''detailed metal'' as in the metal is as heavy as ever, yet the compositions here sound meticulously crafted to make an artistic statement. The only goof I could find is ''Am I Going Insane'' as it's chorus gets redundantly inane after too long. Still, I feel that this album could easily trounce much of the hard rock at the time and just maybe could compete with prog rock groups...maybe not quite...

After the big ambitions of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabbath found a new balance between experimental tendencies and their capital strength, writing heavy metal material. This is a far more accomplished album then Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. It even sounds spectacular!

Really, Hole In The Sky and Symptom of the Universe are amazing metal songs. Ozzy has adapted a more hoarse delivery and puts in an amazing performance, lots better then his winy snarl on the two preceding albums. Megalomania must be one of Sabbath's longest tracks and they accomplish the mission very well. The Thrill of it All is simply superb, driven by a great riff and Ozzy doing an actual vocal melody instead of just singing along with the riff. Even the chord change halfway through is successful and gives the song a very uplifting mood. Huh? Sabbath, uplifting?

Supertzar is a slightly experimental piece but successfully so. Am I going Insane is a surprisingly psychedelic track, as if Syd Barrett dropped in during the recordings sessions (well wasn't he everywhere around the place in '75?). It's an unusual track for Sabbath and I used to hate it fervently, but actually the happy bouncy music gives a nice twist to the morbid subject material. Sabbath? Humorous?

The closing track The Writ is another winner. Real dirty blues with Ozzy still in fine form. I also like the watery bass guitar effect on the quiet parts. Even the melodrama in the second half is most convincing.

I wouldn't recommend this album as your Sabbath starting point, but if you're looking to complete your Ozzy-fronted Sabbath catalogue then this one is right behind the first 3 albums

After successful experimentation on "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" the band made next step. If previous albums was quite interesting mix of their heavyness,some doom and Wakeman's keyboards,acoustic guitar and complex song structures, "Sabotage" is bag full of everything.

I really like experimentation in music, especially when it gave interesting,unusual and innovative result. In Sabotage there is not many of that all. Few still strong (and mostly heavy rock) songs and full list very average ones. Everything is everywhere here - longer compositions, psychedelic sounds, soft long (and boring) arrangements and even Chamber Choir. But common result for me is not new melted sound, but chaotic mixture of different sounds and pieces, without idea, system or target.

Possibly, for some listeners it sounds like kind of experimental creative. Not for me. it just not Black Sabbath anymore. Not their music, not their way of experiments even. It sounds like they were pushed just to play experimental symphonic prog band there, and they have done it ( like they were able to do it).

Some separate moments are interesting, few songs are good, but album in total for me is first their serious step to future decrease.

As I mentioned is my review of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage is a very like-minded album that follows the same ground rules except Sabbath takes it up a notch in heaviness!

Make no mistake, this release represents one of the heaviest Hard Rock albums out there, depicting the band doing exactly what they needed in order to keep things relatively fresh. Although, it's still not clear whether the hardcore fans were interested in much change, considering that Vol 4 is even today regarded as one of Black Sabbath's best releases! Some even claim that the fact that Black Sabbath had already, almost single-handedly, carved out most of the rules of Hard Rock formula should be enough for them to stop trying. As a fan of progress I completely disagreeable with that opinion, since it was that mentality that lead to the two disaster followup releases that I shall retain from calling out by name.

The heavy first side of Sabotage is where most of the best material is, but unlike Paranoid, Sabbath doesn't change their direction during the second act. Even though songs like Supertzar and Am I Going Insane might first seem very different from anything that the band had recorded up to this point, a few revisits will hopefully unveil some of their better qualities, making them work well together with the rest of the tracks. After all, this is a strictly song-based album so I'm primarily concerned with the quality of the album's material which is safely in order on Sabotage!

This would be the last great release by the original Black Sabbath lineup since the band would spend the second half of the '70s in a complete cloud of smoke while observing all these new Sabbath-inspired acts passing them by in both the instrumental skill and in the songwriting departments. Just like most of the albums that came before it, this is another must have release for all Hard Rock music fans out there!

***** star songs: Symptom Of The Universe (6:28)

**** star songs: Hole in the Sky (4:00) Don't Start (Too Late) (0:49) Megalomania (9:40) The Thrill Of It All (5:52) Supertzar (3:42) Am I Going Insane (Radio) (4:15) The Writ (8:09)

An awkward, transitional album from Sabbath, with the prog-metal tendencies of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath competing with two conflicting visions of the band's future. Songs such as the pounding, energetic opener Hole In the Sky or the upbeat, almost funky The Thrill of It All showcase Sabbath as an accessible, down to earth heavy rock band. Conversely, compositions like Megalomania and the closing couplet of Am I Going Insane (Radio) and The Writ find the band becoming increasingly submerged in experimentalism and studio wizardry.

In particular, Am I Going Insane lacks lead guitar entirely and substitutes in keyboard riffs, an experiment unheard-of for Sabbath at the time, whilst The Writ alternates pounding, heavier sections with synthesiser-laden acoustic segments. All the ingredients which would come together in the critically-derided Technical Ecstasy are laid out here for all to see - the increasing abandonment of the doomy sound the band built its reputation on, the growing love affair with studio gimmicks, and internal discord within the band as to exactly what a Black Sabbath album should sound like.

It's a good, listenable album, but it isn't much better than "good". And when you have five Sabbath albums leading up to this one which each consistently knock the ball out of the park, just "good" isn't enough. Sabbath fans will doubtless sooner or later find this one in their collections, but I suspect most will find it gets much less rotation than the band's first five classic albums - or their celebrated early 1980s material with Dio.

'Sabotage' - Black Sabbath (9/10)

Like most great bands, Black Sabbath have tweaked and changed their sound gradually, maintaining a distinctive core sound, but experimenting with the way they choose to approach it. Everything since "Master of Reality" witnessed Sabbath moving ever closer to a more mellowed, progressive sound. While I felt invigorated as a listener to hear the band transform their heavy riffs into something refined and sophisticated, I could not help but miss the grit and ugliness that made the band's first two releases so great. By the point of their fifth album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", I could have sworn that the godfathers of heavy metal had distanced themselves from metal permanently.

Of course, a masterpiece like "Sabotage" was enough to change my mind.

I had heard alot of great things about Sabbath's sixth album before finally giving it a listen. Many fans of the band would even go as far as to tell me it was their favourite Sabbath album. Although the winning streak of excellent albums would allegedly end after this, "Sabotage" is a glorious return to the heavy metal crunch, all the way keeping their more recent prog sensibilities in mind. Although the idea of a 'return to roots' intrinsically means to take steps back and regress, the progress Black Sabbath made with sophisticated rock arrangements has not been lost. Here, the synths are subdued in exchange for a rekindled devotion to Iommi's almighty riff.

Although Ozzy Osbourne and his vocal melodies still reach for the high notes (as was the case for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath") his vocals feel more accustomed for it. I have never considered Ozzy to be the most technically proficient vocalist, but his dynamic performance on "Sabotage" demonstrates he is capable of much more than his solo career lets on. The incredible closer and highlight "The Writ" has his vocals fit whatever mold the music warrants. The song is first filled with some classic Iommi riffage, and Osbourne's performance matches it with an intense, belting voice. Keeping in line with their progressive side however, the song then breaks into a soft, unsettling moment where Ozzy sounds almost like some of Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters' more psychotic moments on "The Wall".

"Hole In The Sky", "Symptom of the Universe" and "Thrill of it All" are all powerful, rock- oriented songs driven by Iommi's thick riff mastery. At ten minutes long, "Megalomania" is a step above most hard rock in terms of its sophistication, fitting in crunchy guitars with piano and eerie soft spots. Although less than a minute long, "Don't Start (Too Late)" is an ample demonstration of Tony Iommi's skill with acoustic guitars, a haunting piece that sounds like a rendition of something Igor Stravinsky would do. "Am I Going Insane" is the obvious choice for a radio single here, despite being led with prog-canon moogs. Ozzy's vocals are schizoid and quirky, making it one of the catchiest tracks in Sabbath's discography.

Geezer Butler once said that "Sabotage" was so titled because the band felt that they as a band were being sabotaged by other people 'ripping them off'. Perhaps this concept may be seen as a heavy metal equivalent to Floyd's cynical dissection of the music industry in "Wish You Were Here". Although it's well-known that Black Sabbath weren't getting along too well at this point, "Sabotage" is among Sabbath's best work, perhaps rivaled only with "Paranoid" as their crowning statement. It's unfortunate that things would go downhill from here for the godfathers of metal, but I can't think of a better way for Black Sabbath to wrap up their classic era.