BLACK SABBATH

When this album was released I was 11 years old and I must have gotten hold of it at around the age of 14. It worried me a great deal back then as I was worried about the subject matter and in many aspects I found it to be demonic. Having travelled a long way from being 14 years old now I know that the demonic side of the album was purely for effect and for the music and I appreciate the album for what it is. Since then I have heard music that is "demonic" and I must say that I don't enjoy it at all. This album was essentialy the beginning of the Doom Matal scene and to a large extent the Prog Metal scene as far as I'm concerned and there is no doubt that Black Sabbath influenced most of Metal music in the future. I would never have lumped Black Sabbath under the "prog related" umbrella here in that at least 3 of their albums were progressive to todays standards and when their albums were initially released they were progressive in no uncertain terms - so I personally would have Sabbath under the "prog metal" banner. Ozzie's voice suits the music on the album although he improves a great deal down the line. What can we say about Iommi - he is a legend and he had a penchant for writing strong, moody, hard rock riffs.Many would have given up their guitar playing dream after an industrial accident involving losing a portion of their fretboard finger but this guy toned his guitar down to allow for easier press and used a thimble to assist him in his playing. The album itself is very atmospheric and in those days was almost the heaviest sound to emerge from the Rock music arena.The Black Sabbath album is by no means my favorite album of the band and I rate it with three stars with an added star for the amount of influence this album has had on the whole Metal scene - it is good but way better was on the way from them.