VOLUME FOUR

The fourth studio album from Black Sabbath's classic period is 1972's 'Vol. 4, one of the more unconventional and exploratory albums of their entire catalogue, and surely the most "unorthodox" of the first four; an album the recording sessions of which had been plagued by the band's substance abuse problems, but one that has been praised by the band members and has gone down in history as one of the most commercially successful Sabbath works. So 'Vol. 4' is by all means an interesting work; it is significantly longer than its predecessor and is one of the few Sabbath albums to feature ten tracks, and despite preserving and expanding upon the heavy metal sound of earlier albums, it also sees Sabbath take a few unexpected turns, as Tony Iommi plays the piano and the Mellotron on a semi-acoustic break-up ballad, for example, among other stylistic trials and experimentations. Lyrically, this is a more philosophical, more esoteric album, which renders it somewhat underrated due to its more sensitive, ethereal nature.

The trademark heaviness, of course, is here - the band had been gradually working on a louder, harsher, gnarlier sound, the pinnacle of which has to be 'Master of Reality', but 'Vol. 4', nevertheless, tries to "jump" past this scorching heaviness in search for a more ambitious sound. This is the first album produced by Iommi (predominantly), which might also be the reason for the shift in musical direction - there almost seems to be a progressive ambition here, especially with longer and more complex compositions like 'Wheels of Confusion' and 'Under the Sun', both of which feature some fascinating shifts. Then come the outstanding heavy numbers on here, in the face of 'Supernaut', 'Snowblind' and 'Cornucopia', all great pieces of ambitious heavy rock with strong melodies, throbbing rhythm sections and excellent riffs. The shorter instrumentals 'FX' and 'Laguna Sunrise' definitely indicate that Sabbath did have experimental tendencies, and by including such unconventional pieces of music on a heavy rock album, together with 'St. Vitus Dance', they really send out a clear message.

Ultimately, this is a dark and rebellious album that can at times get very anxious and even nihilistic, all while the music gets more ambitious and less predictable. A very, very fine exercise and a steady step forward towards a more progressively-edged sound and a greater musical scope.

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