BLACK SABBATH

Black Sabbath

Prog Related

4.24 | 1027 ratings

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SouthSideoftheSky
Special Collaborator
Symphonic Team

Behind the wall of gloom

This is the very first album by one of my all time favourite bands, Black Sabbath. It is also the very first Heavy Metal album of all time. This makes it progressive almost by definition. Mixing electric Blues, Jazz and Rock, creating a totally groundbreaking sound. In addition, the lyrical themes are also quite groundbreaking with references to Satan, wizards, evil women and black Sabbath's. This is possibly the heaviest and scariest album ever created. Even the cover art is groundbreaking and full of mystique. There is a perfect fit between the music and the picture.

In these very early days when neither Heavy Metal nor Prog had developed into fully fledged genres of their own they were almost indistinguishable from each other. Some Heavy Metal was highly progressive and some Prog was quite heavy. Listen to 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson and the similarities become evident. (Many years later Ozzy released a cover album containing a version of this King Crimson song!)

The title track and N.I.B have become two of the most well known songs by the band and especially the first must be heard by anyone interested in the history of Rock music. Another track that deserves special mention is Sleeping Village which starts with a short acoustic part featuring a traditional Scandinavian instrument that I don't know the name of in English. Ozzy's vocal performance is surprisingly impressive. His voice perfectly fits the music.

This album was the start of an amazing career by an amazing band and is one of the most impressive debut albums I have ever heard! Black Sabbath is an absolutely essential album, but it is not quite a masterpiece like some later Black Sabbath albums. Some parts have a slight improvisational character fitting better in a live setting than on a studio album.

Extremely important record!

SouthSideoftheSky | 4/5 | 2008-7-23

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