Black Sabbath's fourth album 'Vol. 4' proved that Black Sabbath were far from done with experimenting with difference methods of manipulating the art of music. Heavy fucking music in this case. On 'Vol. 4' Tony Iommi decided to down-tune his guitar even further from what he did for 'Master of Reality'. Iommi's now very heavy guitar mixed with the fact that the band was recording this album in Los Angeles (first time recording an album outside the UK, if I remember correctly), and were pretty much high on cocaine throughout the whole process, gave this album an atmosphere that was different from the one experienced on any of the three previous albums. [1]
After nonstop touring and writing, delving into cocaine and other hard drugs, and even getting tired of one another, Black Sabbath took a short hiatus before coming back to record their aptly named fourth release Vol 4. I'm glad that the band decided to take a hiatus because they sound refreshed here, and they sound like they've allowed their music to mature and evolve at the same time. It's not as heavy or dark as the previous three outings, but Vol 4 instead finds a Black Sabbath that was merely flirting with stoner rock influences on Master of Reality and decidedly going full force with them here. It's a very fitting statement to say that Master of Reality marked the end of an era for Black Sabbath. [2]
Read another Black Sabbath's stuffs:
'Vol. 4' starts off pretty fucking fantastically with "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener"; an almost 8-minute epic that gives us an idea where Black Sabbath is heading. The song progresses from a very emotional intro to a bad ass and memorable main-riff. Ozzy's voice is also getting stronger and is becoming a vital ingredient to the Sabbath sound. The song then breaks into a faster section where Iommi is shredding a bit before returning to the main-riff again, and finally the second half of the song ("The Straightener") kicks in. A long, awesome instrumental piece that showcases the amazing dexterity of Iommi's guitar-skills. This is the catchiest and most memorable bit of the whole album and definitely one of the stand-out moments in this great band's career, in my opinion. So awesome! [1]
The stylistic change comes with a small price to pay though (or a big one if you're considering album sales). Which is that Black Sabbath aren't going against the cultural norms like they were before. Vol 4 is still heavy mind you, but there are more moments where that's just not the focus. I find that to be a good thing though because were left with an album that never once feels stale or forced. Instead the band have simply moved on to other things to inspire them. Like cocaine for example. I wish I were joking, but truth be told Vol 4 was almost named after the song "Snowblind", a song totally focusing on cocaine addiction. By this point Sabbath were really struggling and there were moments where each respective member just couldn't do their part, making Vol 4's writing and recording process much more drawn out than it should've been. [2]
Following the excellent album opener is the shorter, but almost as memorable rocker "Tomorrow's Dream". It's got a similar feel to the first half of "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener" with a memorable riff and a very decent vocal performance by Ozzy. The song also features a guitar solo that sounds so familiar. Probably because most metal bands in the world have borrowed it at some point (take for instance Church of Misery's "Shotgun Boogie". It sounds just like the solo bit in "Tomorrow's Dream"). [1]
Despite that, Black Sabbath have managed to pump out yet another incredibly strong selling album, going gold in less than a month. I don't think Black Sabbath could have accomplished this without the hiatus they took, but I also don't think that they could have achieved this had they stuck with the same sound they'd already been doing. Compare that to Master of Reality which took double the time to go gold. It might have a lot to do with the fact that for the early 1970's standards of music, this was more accessible material in general, and at times Vol 4 completely disregards heavy metal. "Changes" is the most direct example considering it's Sabbath doing a piano pop ballad. It gets a lot of negative criticism to this day, but I find it to be one of the most melancholic moments for Black Sabbath. "St. Vitus Dance" probably wouldn't be classified as heavy metal by most people's standards either, but full blown stoner rock, and I find it to be a very overlooked song in Black Sabbath's catalog. Maybe it's because it's derivative of "Paranoid" in that it sounds like it took five minutes to write it, but at the very least I'm just glad that Vol 4 isn't as short as Master of Reality. [2]
'Vol. 4' is definitely a time where Black Sabbath went on to experiment even more unexplored areas of the heavy music scene. This album is a tad less consistent compared to 'Paranoid' and 'Master of Reality' (on par with 'Black Sabbath'), but has its great moments. The overall feel is gloomier than usual; perhaps and most likely an indicator of where the band was heading; though there would be a massive and awesome skipping stone of fantastic albums before the Ozzy-era's demise. The unknown area and the large amounts of drugs took a toll on the band, but they were still eager to continue their streak of great, heavy records and weren't afraid to experiment to achieve this. [1]
Vol 4 as much as it steps away from what made Black Sabbath the icon they were, doesn't abandon their roots by any means. There's no dark imagery conjured up here in the lyrics, but when Vol 4 gets heavy, it's the kind of stuff that has transcended upon the sounds of other bands to follow. I mean, seriously, where do you think St. Vitus got their namesake from? The heaviness is dialed down, but "Cornucopia" and "Under the Sun" in particular bring back that evil, slow, brutal sound of Master of Reality that has become the inspiration for death metal bands two decades after its release! Vol 4 may not be Black Sabbath at their most iconic, but one could make a strong argument that Black Sabbath does stoner rock better than any other style they've ever done. [2]
TRACKS
- Changes
- Cornucopia
- FX
- Laguna Sunrise
- Snowblind
- St. Vitus Dance
- Supernaut
- Tomorrow's Dream
- Under the Sun
- Wheels of Confusion
If you like it, please buy their original CD or Digital Album on official website/store.
Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 (1972)
These reviews are written by Doominance and Superchard on Metallum.
- [1] Doominance, Further experimenting, www.metal-archives.com
- [2] Superchard, Black Sabbath are Going Through Changes, www.metal-archives.com
No comments