Customer Reviews

Black Sabbath

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is nothing short of an absolute triumph because it is a "crystal ball view" of what was to come in the genre of heavy music.

Blues based with an apocalyptic vision, Black Sabbath's first album is a roller coaster of premium jams that barely let up through it's runtime.

The remastering of the imported Castle recording is far superior than the domestic Warner Brother's version. Audiophiles will be pleased with the bass extension combined with Ozzy's vocals sweetened in the midrange. Make no mistake about it, the blazing highs of Iommi's solos are still there but now they are sweeter as well. In short, there is more space around the instruments. The mix is far less cluttered than the original version and gives full gusto without fatigue to the listener.

Buy this disk now... you will never regret your choice.

I'm sick of all these kids who think Nu Metal is "soooo original" and think they know better. "Black Sabath" is the first metal album and it's a lot more diverse than your Korny. Tell me how metal could have been created in 1994 if we already had 1/4 century of metal like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Saxon and many more...?
Now shut up and go slit your wrist!

First off, the import contains EVIL WOMAN which is worth getting especially if you grew up listening to the US print. Besides that, this cd contains some of the early SAB at the youthful finest. MASTERS OF REALITY and SABOTAGE are prime examples of the "Fathers of Heavy Metal"...

Quite simply, this is probably the most influential debut release ever. All hard rock and heavy metal that is in existence today, whether the artists performing it know it or not, is indebted to this classic. The question is: how does it hold up today, 36 years later? The answer: better than almost every hard rock or heavy metal album released since.

1. Black Sabbath-5/5. This song is superb. I can only imagine what was going through people's minds the first time they heard this song in 1970. It starts with a thunderstorm and a faint church bell and blasts into one of the most recognizable riffs in history. Slow and doomy, with some of the greatest lyrics ever. Perfect song.
2. The Wizard-5/5. Very cool bluesy song with some great harmonica playing by Ozzy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are superb.
3. Behind the Wall of Sleep-5/5. This one has a hard driving beat from Bill Ward on drums. The music isn't that heavy, but the beat is great and the lyrics are trippy. Great vocals, too.
4. Bassically-4/5. An excellent bass solo by Geezer. Just goes to show just how great of a player he really was back then, and he has only gotten better since.
5. N.I.B.-5/5. My personal favorite Black Sabbath song. The riff is super heavy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are perfect. This song really epitomizes heavy metal. Meant to be played REALLY loud.
6. Evil Woman-4/5. I don't particularly care for this song very much. It's a cover song that, I think, was forced on them by the powers that be in Britain, considering that it was not on the American release. A little wimpy, but they attempt to make their own.
7. Sleeping Village-4/5. A slow and sludgy song that's mostly instrumental. Great music that is played perfectly.
8. Warning-5/5. A bluesy, obscure cover song. The lyrics fit Sabbath perfectly. Instead of covering the song and leaving it at that, they use the opportunity to open the song up a bit and showcase how great the musicians, particularly Tony Iommi, the guitarist, really are. A little long, but never boring.
9. Wicked World-5/5. Another bluesy, but heavy, song. Really heavy riff by Iommi and great vocals by Ozzy. Excellent.

This album holds up perfectly. In fact, it may even be better than it was 36 years ago, because at the time, the only thing to compare to was Deep Purple's "In Rock." This just blows that release out of the water. In sheer heaviness, it can still compare to much of what is being released today. Highly recommeded to any fan of classic rock and modern hard rock or heavy metal.

When Black Sabbath unleashed this monster of a debut they also unleased the monster we all love and know as Heavy Metal! Never before were the guitars this heavy/low tuned and distorted, never before did the bass sound so sludgy. Go ahead try and name a heavy metal band that wasnt influenced by Black Sabbath, thats right you cant!

The album opens up with one of Black Sabbaths best known songs, 'Black Sabbath' this is the darkest, heaviest, and scariest song you have ever heard in your life. "Whats that, oh please God help me!" now that is a lyric! The guitar riff at the end of the song is one of the all time greatest. Next is 'Wizard' which has the harmonica if you can bealive it. Its almost bluesy the bass line is killer and the drumming is over the top. Some of Tony Iommi's best guitar playing can be heard on this song. Listen to this track and try and tell me he is not one of the best players ever! 'WASP' is just kind of a intro into 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' which has an awesome guitar riff and Ozzy's voice sounds almost perfect on this track and the anti-war lyrics are great as well. 'BASSicaly' is vassicaly just a long bass solo by Geezer and its probley the best thing he ever player. I take that back the best thing he ever played was the bass line to 'N.I.B.' after the bass line the drums kick and and Tony enters with another amazing guitar riff as only he could create. 'Whicked World' is my favorite song on the album because it has Bill Wards all time greatest drumming, and Tony Iommi play some of the most amazing guitar of his 30+ year carear. Ozzy almost sounds like Ian Anderson on this one. Next is the Medly 'Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning' Bit of Finger gets its name from the accedent that cut off the tips of Iommis fingers just before the album was recorded. Once again amazing Guitar solos powerful lyrics and Vocals and a rythem section that was never topped.

Even though 'Wicked World' is a bonus track on this I like this imported version of the album better because the song layout lets you skip around if you want to even though you wount want to because every song is a classic.

Black Sabbath is Black Sabbaths all time best album, yes even better then Paraoid. Do yourself a favor and get this legendary album!

Here's my review of one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.
1. Black Sabbath- Awesome track about the evils of satanism. 5/5
2. The Wizard- good bluesy track, and great harmonica playing 5/5
3. Behind the Wall of Sleep-This song is awesome, and has cool lyrics that boil down to a story about death 5/5
4. N.I.B-1. This DOES NOT stand for Nativity In Black as stated in another review, it is actually a hint at a nickname Ozzy gave Bill, because his beard looked like a pin nib. Ozzy said this all in the video The Last Supper 2. This is the best song on the album. Awesome lyrics about the devil falling in love. 5/5
5. Evil Woman-cool song 5/5
6. Sleeping Village- cool song, very creepy music 5/5
7. The Warning- alot of people don't like this song cause of the length, but I like it, in fact I like it alot 5/5
Hope my review helps
Bottom Line: BUY THIS ALBUM!!! IT IS WORTH IT!!!

If you picked one Black Sabbath album to have this is the one. Make sure to get the Import remaster.

Band Personnell:
Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
Tony Iommi - Guitars and Keyboards
Geezer Butler - Bass
Bill Ward - Drums

The very first Sabbath album, the name came from a song that Butler wrote when the band was called "Earth", because of this they managed to call the band "Black Sabbath" too and the first album was titled after the artist name, it includes two cover songs such as "Evil Woman" and "The Warning".
It's a great album, especially to be their first one.

No matter if it's denied Black Sabbath influenced some of the greatest metal bands around Metallica, Venom, and Slayer to name a few. And by the way, I agree with all you guys Korn, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Linkin Park and Slipknot suck and are crappy fake metal. This album is downright amazing "The Wizard" is one of my favorite Black Sabbath songs plus other amazing tracks such as "Black Sabbath", "Wicked World", "N.I.B.", "Behind the Wall of Sleep" and pretty much every track. The only track I have a hard time with is "Warning" not because it's long but because it's just boring to me. Pick this one up it's definately needed.
No doubt this album is a heavy metal masterpiece.

Black Sabbath's first one is the first heavy metal album. The album was also the first doom metal album. The lyrics and music in this album are so sad that for me it is the sadest album ever made. The album starts with the title track "Black Sabbath"...it tells about a satanist who will be doomed because he has worshiped too much Satan. The guitar riffs are so unbelievable...you must listen to this track. Then "The Wizard"...another superstitious song. This song is rarely played in their live gigs but when it is played, the audience sings with the band like never before. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" and "N.I.B." are very popular live tracks. Ozzy sings them quite often even in his solo gigs. "N.I.B." has quite satanic lyrics: "My name is Lucifer, please take my hand...". "Evil Woman" was the single track. It wasn't so popular...it is quite a simpel track. "Sleeping Village" is quite sad song...it hasn't got that much lyrics...it is almost an instrumental track. "The Warning" is very long...about 10 minutes...maybe the saddest song in this album. "Wicked World" has a little bit good old time rock 'n' roll. It tells about a child who has a miserable life. It has nearly as sad riffs as in "The Warning".
Stars: Black Sabbath, Wicked World, N.I.B