Black Sabbath, Vol.4

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.

'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.

After Master of Reality, Black Sabbath had sort of backed themsleves into a corner. The fans where in love the slow pounding sludge guitar that was Sabbath's trademark, Sabbath had begun to experiment a tiny bit on Master of Reality with tracks like After Forever and Solitude but that was just the beggining. You see Vol.4 not only rocks harder than MOR it also beats it songwise. This album grabs you by the kneck from beggining to end whereas Master of Reality was tough to get listen to at times not so here. Another thing about this album is it's rocking power, it seems like the band let loose and went wild, Iommi's guitar is allowed to breathe, while on the last record it sounded layed back and so did the band.

The songs I most enjoy are Wheels of Confusion, Yesyerday's dream, Supernaut, Snowblind, Cornucopia heck I love each and every song on here!! Changes sounds like something Ozzy would go on to do with his solo carreer.

I don't understand the people who give the album bad reviews, personally I can't find anything wrong with this one, great introduction to the band if your new ot them.