Black Sabbath, Vol.4

Black Sabbath | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KE2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > British Metal
  • #13 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Pop Metal
  • #97 in Music > Classic Rock > Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)

Track Listings

1. Wheels Of Confusion/The Straightener

2. Tomorrow`s Dream

3. Changes

4. FX

5. Supernaut

6. Snowblind

7. Cornucopia

8. Laguna Sunrise

9. St. Vitus' Dance

10. Under The Sun/Everyday Comes & Goes

Editorial Reviews

The band experimented with their sound on this 1972 album with textured tunes like Wheels of Confusion; Tomorrow's Dream , and Changes , but still managed to stay true to the Sabbath sound with one of their heaviest tracks ever Supernaut . 10 tracks in all.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Metal! December 3, 2002

By Samhot

Format:Audio CD

_Black Sabbath Vol. 4_ was the first album where classic sludge-rockers Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne-vocals, Bill Ward-drums, Geezer Butler-bass and Toni Iommi-guitar) started experimenting - which possibly foreshadowed what would be more emphasized on the following album, _Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath_. I just want to make a clarification before I move on: Black Sabbath's music is not about satanism or devil worshipping - it's subject matter is mainly about the harsh realities of life (i.e., crime, war, drugs, mental illness and more), which is rather "dark". Moving onto the tracks:

The album opens with "Wheels Of Confusion/The Straightener", which is a sludgy/heavy powerhouse. This is arguably the heaviest on the album. The lyrics are reflective and sad. "Tomorrow's Dream" is a r&b-rocker with groove. "Changes" is a beautiful piano-based ballad. The combination of Ozzy Osbourne's emotive vocals and the sad orchestral backdrops make this a somewhat painful track to listen to at times. "FX" is a short experiment featuring eerie guitar feedback from Toni Iommi. "Supernaut" (to me) proves that music is a transcendent force without limits or boundaries. The mix of boogie, classic psychedelic r&b and metal, shows that unlikely combinations can work - which almost makes it seem like it was never "unlikely" to begin with. "Snowblind" is a slow heavy rocker. Tony Iommi does some of his best soloing on this track. The end features some orchestral backdrops (possibly from synthesizers). "Cornucopia" is probably the most ominous sounding on here (check out the opening section). The dark lyrics contribute to this aspect as well. "Laguna Sunrise" is the beautiful and evocative acoustic guitar instrumental. If anyone were to listen to this calm, sedate and airy track (without knowledge of it being Sabbath), you wouldn't guess that this was the same band known for their dark and sludgy output - that's talent. "St. Vitus' Dance" is an upbeat, summery and "happy" sounding rock track - at least on a musical (excluding lyrics) level. "Under The Sun/Everyday Comes And Goes" sounds the most "Sabbath-esque" on here. The beginning is heavy and ominous. It then segues into a straightforward heavy rocker. The lyrics are deep, thought-provoking and rebellious. They address such issues as religion, personal beliefs and violence.

In short, _Black Sabbath Vol. 4_ is a classic metal album, which deserves to be owned by diehards, as well as those interested in Black Sabbath, or the roots of heavy metal. This would serve as a good introduction, as it features a well-crafted balance between heaviness and mild experimentation.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sabbath's 'Dark Side Of The Moon' March 6, 2000

By Johnny S Geddes

Format:Audio CD

1972 was a watershed year for hard rock and Black Sabbath both. Luckily, the maturing group was able to spearhead the next part of the Proto-metal Revolution they'd founded with 'Master of Reality' in the form of this, their best work. 'Volume Four' was a functional, utilitarian name that was used to try and capture something whose essence could not be described with any adjective except, perhaps, 'shifting'. Unlike any of their previous three albums, the Sabs were able to keep their distance from a formula [more or less homogenous doom rock with the occasional 'let up' (although their first LP is a mish-mash of blues and the beginnings of their 'doom rock')] and make this effort become an entire soundscape filled with moving atmospheres - the ultimate in a heterogeneous texture.

'Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener' - THE STORYTELLER. The whining guitar notes, basic chord structures and past tense narrative lyrics find an experimental-minded band. The shifts in tempo were something they'd become very familiar with by this time but it never had sounded this good. Instrumental 'The Straightener' kicks in to round out the epic. Geezer's bass text is used as a canvas by Iommi here as he spatters riff spirals and twists all over the place. 'Laguna Sunrise' - THE MIND CREATES A FANTASY. Pretty number written for the beachfront where the Sabs were staying during their work on 'Volume Four'. A very haunting superimposition of Spanish guitar over a strings backing.

'F.X.' - THE UNKNOWN REALM. 1 3/4 minutes of sound effects, particularly picking noises. Probably very useful if you're doped up but much better when sober. 'Snowblind' - ROCK REFLECTION ON LIFESTYLE. The 'best' rock track of the album, 'Snowblind' was a single. It accurately depicts the group's concerns at the time. Money and fame had allotted them nicer cars and nicer drugs to fool with. 'Cornucopia' - ROCK REFLECTION ON SOCIETY. 'Take a life, it's going cheap; Kill someone, no-one will weep.' A thundering bass-driven track that's almost uglier in structure than the post industrial nightmare described by Osbourne's frenetic lyrics.

'Tomorrow's Dream' - LOVE DISCARDED. A short rocker that scored as a greatest hit. The whole feel here is of turning away from the woes of the Present and starting a whole new existence. 'Supernaut' - THE SELF TRIUMPHS. 'I've seen the future and I've left it behind.' Ward's frantic cymbal-bashing and Iommi's smokingly fast riffs and overdubs augment Osbourne's grandiose lyrical delivery perfectly. A hard, spiralling anthem. 'Changes' - LOVE REMOVED. A long piano/synth bit with Ozzy half-lamenting the joy of love taken away, half-asserting his understanding of the adjustment he's making to compensate. 'Under The Sun' - THE MIND REACTS AGAINST REALITY. Very heavy guitar and bass work drones with the strength of the nihilistic, sometimes self-contradicting lyrics. Soon the tempo changes and both the guitars and voice become more desperate to convey their point. The songs ends on a helter-skelter of doomy rhythm and amorphous riffs. 'St. Vitus' Dance' - ANTI-COMMUNICATION. This short, fast rocker bounces Osbounre's lyrics back and forth. It's about problems with understanding the female mind.

Altogether and in a sequence, these make up what is termed 'Volume Four'. There is but one other ingredient necessary to facilitate a successful listening - a mind of any type and in any condition. None of the songs will grow on you; you will see them ever after in the same light under which you orginally found them. The shade of that light depends on your perceptions and no two shades will ever be alike. This is an album saturated in an ebbing, ethereal fluid, one of the consequences being that the sounds recorded on 'Volume Four' make it quite impossible to place the whole in any single genre. This is a work that declares there are an infinite number of idiosyncratic interpretations of it available. I have given mine here: to find your own, you need to get this CD.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Black Sabbath Classic July 17, 2000

By R. Gorham VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

THE BAND: Tony Iommi (guitars), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass), Bill Ward (drums).

THE DISC: (1972) 10 songs clocking in at approximately 43 minutes. The Warner Bros issue has 2-pages of liner notes and no artwork to speak of (basically the cover artwork and song titles inside). The remastered version is now considered an import from Castle Communications (1996)... this one has the digitally remastered sound from the original master tapes, as well as the "faithfully restored artwork" - 10 pages including all band photos that the original vinyl had, song credits and lyrics. I got lucky and found a used copy of the remastered version for a fraction of the cost.

COMMENTS: While maybe not their strongest effort in many a critic's mind, this is STILL one of my all-time favorites from Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi's muffled and distorted guitar(s) are in rare form on this album... almost a constant electric buzz (except for one heartfelt acoustical masterpiece that is probably Iommi's best ballad to date - "Laguna Sunrise"). "Vol. 4" was original titled "Snowblind"... due to the obvious reference to cocaine it was considered an unsuitable album title by Warner Bros. The songs that opened my eyes to Sabbath were "Snowblind", "Supernaut", the 8 minute "Wheels of Confusion" and "Tomorrow's Dream" (the first hit released from the album). These stand out among the others and are hard rocking Sabbath classics. "Cornucopia" and "Under The Sun" are underrated deep album rockers. The music seems varied, complex, and open to a little experimentation - much more so than on previous Sabbath albums. Sabbath's debut (1970), "Paranoid" (1970) and "Masters Of Reality" (1971) were equally brilliant early metal classics... and "Vol.4" showed a different side to the band. That's why I fell in love with this album... it was just a tad different than anything we'd heard before from Ozzy & Co. Great disc (4.5 stars).