Lets just get one thing straight from the start; Black Sabbath are the greatest heavy rock band that the UK has ever produced. Sure, Led Zeppelin were revolutionary, Motorhead crossed the boundaries punk and metal, and Iron Maiden’s flair for dramatic showmanship is insurmountable, but Black Sabbath’s iconic sound is still more timeless than any of the above. Despite having their share of controversies, numerous vocalists, and some questionable TV appearances, the classic Black Sabbath line up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward created a sound that was unlike any other at the time. Their blend of blues riffs, played down tuned and soaked in distortion, laid the blueprint for many subgenres of rock and metal, and while many have tried to expand on what this band from Birmingham started in the late 60’s, it has never been bettered.
Now in 2015, their classic records are being reissued on glorious heavyweight vinyl, with high quality reproductions of the original sleeves, and we are going to take a look at the first three records that started it all for Black Sabbath.
As that eerie sound of pouring rain begins the album, and the iconic church bells start to chime, the opening track – aptly titled ‘Black Sabbath’ – from their self titled 1970 debut has never sounded more ominous. Iommi’s slow, brooding riff is still as spine tingling, and when the howl of Ozzy’s voice echoes over the top of Ward’s thunderous drumming, it sounds just as terrifying as the first time you ever heard this record. Critics upon its release panned ‘Black Sabbath’ 45 years ago, which today seems absolutely absurd. Even though the guitar work on ‘N.I.B’ may have been somewhat simplistic, it still rocks harder than anything else from the time.
Perhaps what people didn’t understand at the time, was the looming satanic lyrical narrative that ran through ‘Black Sabbath’. People always fear what they don’t understand, and how serious they were with the content is something that only the band will know, but when so many bands try hard to be over the top about atheism in this day and age, Black Sabbath had a way of truly making you believe in the darker elements. Even the iconic artwork of the album is a thing of nightmares, and the high quality reproduction of the sleeve has ensured that the image loses none of its potency.
When you flip the album over, the original raw recording of ‘Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)’ is gone, and while still not crystal clear, it’s rock n roll swagger is given a new breath of life on this vinyl pressing. Never shying away from their roots in blues, the epic ‘Warning’ that closes the album was the first time the world would see what a superb guitarist Iommi really is, as he is given free rein to shred for 10-minutes. At only 7-tracks deep, ‘Black Sabbath’ really was just a prelude for what was about to happen next in the bands legacy.
Fast forward four months later in 1970, and Black Sabbath were in the studio once more to create their second album ‘Paranoid’, which would not only be the quintessential Black Sabbath album, but arguably the most influential heavy metal album of all time. That is not an understatement, as the bands songwriting ability began to flourish, and they penned some of their most iconic and beloved songs. Most of which, all appear on the first half of the album, one after another.
The slow burning ‘War Pigs’ saw Ozzy’s vocal being pushed to a greater heights this time, over some of Sabbath’s most off-kilter work, before leading into THAT jarring riff of the albums title track. Still considered to be the definitive Black Sabbath song, ‘Paranoid’ pre-empted punk with its simple structure and less than 3-minute song length, and thanks to a flawless vinyl pressing, it is given extra warmth and clarity.
‘Paranoid’ also showed the bands diversity on the psychedelic ‘Planet Caravan’, which is a mind being trip which twists and turns through cavernous vocals and subtle percussion, with every slight nuance being brought out in this remastered pressing. Then of course there is the colossal ‘Iron Man’ that still has one of the most dense, monolithic opening riffs in the history of guitar music, and cuts through with razor-sharp intensity. Through every generation of heavy music, ‘Paranoid’ remains untouchable, and will continue to influence bands until the end of time.
Never a band to rest on their laurels for too long, Black Sabbath wasted no time in following up ‘Paranoid’, and by midway through 1971 unleashed ‘Master Of Reality’. Of course, the expectation to raise the bar set by ‘Paranoid’ was high, but they took a slightly different turn, and rather than try to top their previous album, simply expanded on it. They ramped up the stoner rock element, which would see ‘Master Of Reality’ become the foundation for doom metal.
The blissed-out vibe of opener ‘Sweat Leaf’ sounds even more mesmerising this time around, and the ‘Children of The Grave’ careens along with just as much pomp and grandeur as it did in 1971. Of course, ‘Lord Of This World’ shows Black Sabbath at their best, with its sludgy riffs being carried by Bill Ward’s sparse, yet hard-hitting drumming.
Osborne’s vocals are at their harrowing best on ‘Master Of Reality’, which as he pushed his vocal to near breaking point at times, reaching notes in a higher register that were unheard on previous Sabbath albums. By the time you reach the albums closing opus ‘Into The Void’, you realise that after all these years, it is still a stirring listen.
There have been numerous issues of these classic Black Sabbath albums, but this are definitely worth the investment if you are not looking to go bankrupt tracking down first pressings, as they have captured the essence of the original issues better than any others. Even the packaging very closely resembles the original pressings, with the ‘Ossie’ misprint in the first album, and replica Vertigo ‘Swirl’ labels. The only thing missing that would have made them flawless is a reproduction of the elusive poster that was issued with limited copies of ‘Master of Reality’ back in 1971, but that’s just nitpicking in what are otherwise perfect reissues.
GLEN BUSHELL