Black Sabbath were enjoying a high unlike most metal bands. The band were seen at the forefront of the hard rock movement, along with other bands such as Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. This was so much so that they were often compared to their closest rivals Led Zeppelin. This would be where the comparisons would end. Led Zeppelin's third effort consisted mainly of acoustic-based music. Black Sabbath on the other hand promised to deliver their heaviest effort yet. [1]
1970 had gone by and the four strange Brummies under the moniker Black Sabbath had already released two very impressive, dark and heavy records: 'Black Sabbath' and 'Paranoid'. Both of these records laid down the foundation to what we know as heavy metal; basically evil sounding and aggressive blues. While these two albums weren't particularly hailed by music critics at the time, the average heavy rock fans adored them, so it was pretty clear that Black Sabbath was up to something special. [2]
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If you're looking for Black Sabbath's heaviest album, look no further. This is it. Forget about what people have to say about Born Again and its raw production sounding like it was recorded in a dungeon. This album is raw without the bass drum being inaudible, has some of Tony Iommi's most powerful and heavy hitting riffs on tracks like "Children of the Grave" and "Sweet Leaf", and is a proper evolution from the sound that Black Sabbath presented on Paranoid. [3]
In 1971 the band released 'Master of Reality'. They once again managed to craft a new collection of music different from the previous record(s), much like 'Paranoid' was different from 'Black Sabbath'. Tony Iommi had created a brand-new way of playing heavy music by turning blues into something evil and corrupt with the simplest of riffs on the famous (and the first doom metal song) "Black Sabbath". On 'Paranoid', he had reduced the blues elements to an extent where the music was more free-flowing, heavy and gritty, but still maintained a healthy dose of the blues evident on songs like "War Pigs", "Hand of Doom" and "Fairies Wear Boots". Prog elements had also been injected to the classic sophomore album. [2]
There are two instrumental here. The third track on the album "Embryo" serves as a transitional piece to get you into the grimmer side of Black Sabbath before "Children of the Grave" comes through with yet more of the Black Sabbath we knew and loved from Paranoid. It's one of Black Sabbath's most iconic moments that's even better live. For 1971, this was way ahead of its time. These guys were touring with bands like Black Oak Arkansas, Deep Purple, and other pseudo-hippie hard rock bands. Just listen to this song being played live in 1974 at the California Jam where there's a rainbow on the stage. That's how incredibly out of place this band was. Black Sabbath was focusing on the evils of the world and I can appreciate them not just from a musical standpoint, but an artistic one as well. [3]
On 'Master of Reality' however, Iommi decided to down-tune his guitar (Geezer's bass followed suit) and began writing more straight-forward, aggressive riffs and voila! The world's first true stoner metal album was born. The free-flowing heaviness and grittiness of 'Paranoid' was amplified through the deeper, simpler and more aggressive riffs. You could perhaps say that Black Sabbath became even more headbangable by the time this album was released. This doesn't mean that the music was completely stripped off technicality. Prog elements were indeed being experimented with on 'Master of Reality', too. The opening track "Sweet Leaf" has a Sweet mid-section that is truly epic in its own rights. [2]
Speaking of stoner/doom metal, "Lord of this World" brings the band back onto that track. Yet another strong song by Black Sabbath, it seemed like they were absolutely unstoppable back then. Geezer Butler throws in some really funky bass guitar riffs and embellishments as Tony Iommi continues to do what he does best. "Solitude" brings back the experimental sound of "Planet Caravan", another song containing a mellow a mellow bass line outlining the structure of the song, Ozzy singing in his baritone voice and more flute instrumentation provided by Tony Iommi. This is not exactly uncharted territory for the band, but I wouldn't say it's "Planet Caravan Part II" either. It's a little more of a mellow track that never really goes to space rock territory and while it's a decent song, it lacks the evocative and compelling nature of "Planet Caravan" instead feeling like a depressive Moody Blues tune. It's eerie, and practically suicidal [3]
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Individually, the band were also on the up. Tony Iommi's guitar is and will remain true art. In that day and age nobody could do what he did. He turned something so simple into something so awesome and spiced things up with some sick leads and solos. You could say the same about Geezer Butler's basslines. It's almost like him and Iommi were jamming in a joint womb; their chemistry was and is second to none. Bill Ward's jazz-trained drumming is also something that gives the great music on this album a certain spice; a great quality that works perfectly with Iommi's and Butler's string-wrangling. Good, old Ozzy who has never been the greatest singer (bless him) was also improving gradually along with the rest. What he lacks in an actual singing-voice, he makes up with charisma that he seems to be able to pull from his ass at any given time. His haunting bellows also go hand-in-hand with the equally mysterious music. [2]
Master of Reality brings Black Sabbath to an even heavier form as it hones in almost entirely on the slower tunes that didn't make them famous such as "Electric Funeral". While they may have lost some velocity, they haven't lost the ability to write raw heavy metal that put itself on full unapologetic display in a time where rock music wasn't taking on these kinds of themes. I wouldn't even consider some of Black Sabbath's earlier works tame by today's standards, and Master of Reality is no exception. There's no moments where the band gets off course like they did in say "Fairies Wear Boots" off the album proceeding this. From start to finish this album stays on a one way street to the dark side with the only exceptions being the short instrumental "Orchid". The only real problem with Master of Reality is that it is Criminally short. Only clocking in at approximately 34 minutes, I believe this might actually be the shortest album in Black Sabbath's entire discography. So if you're new to Black Sabbath, I wouldn't say that this is the best starting point, go for Paranoid or even the debut album first and work your way to this one. [3]
'Master of Reality' is a must-listen for all fans of heavy music. It's impossible not to like this album. [2]
TRACKS
- Sweet Leaf
- After Forever
- Embryo
- Children of the Grave
- Orchid
- Lord of this World
- Solitude
- Into the Void
If you like it, please buy their original CD or Digital Album on official website/store.
These reviews are written by Radiohater, Doominance and Superchard on Metallum.
- [1] Radiohater, Thou shalt own this album!, www.metal-archives.com
- [2] Doominance, Master of the Art of Metal Music, www.metal-archives.com
- [3] Superchard, The Official Beginnings of Doom Metal, www.metal-archives.com
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