BLACK SABBATH — Black Sabbath (review)

BLACK SABBATH — Black Sabbath album cover Album · 1970 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Time Signature
The wizards...

Genre: heavy rock / original metal!

There's no doubt about it. This album is the most important metal album of all time. It is often described as the birth of metal. It is a milestone and a seminal work in the history of metal, but the metal was already there in the heavy rock genre. Still, this is probably where everything came together.

Musically, "Black Sabbath" is somewhat of a journey through different hard rocking genres and other styles, including especially the blues and jazz.

The opening track, which is also the title track is one of the heaviest and eeriest rock songs ever made - still to this day! It evolves around a simple, but heavy riff based on the diabolus in musica tritone which creates an almost scary tension before the song changes into a faster part towards the end with a very bluesy guitar solo. This song is basically the birth of doom metal. The following track, "The Wizard" is an uptempo, yet heavy song with a catchy dark main riff accompanied by funky drums and a simple harmonica figure. The following track "Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Basically/N.I.B" is a longer, basically procressive, piece consisting of several distinct parts, which are mainly based on the blues and could be described as (even) heavier versions of Led Zeppelin type riffs. "Wicked World" is a more uptempo song, based on catchy bluesy main riffs but with a jazzy feel, and a haunting clean melodic bridge. "A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning" is a 14-minute mammoth containing several turns tempo changes and movements, most of which have a bluesy and jazzy feel to them.

Musically, the "Black Sabbath" album is probably best described as jazzy and bluesy heavy rock with an overall progressive feel. And then it contains the creepiest, heaviest and strangest rock song ever made.

This album really belongs in any metal collection.
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