Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

The sun is setting on the post hippy horizon of swinging sixties England. In the heart of the bleak industrial landscape of Birmingham, four long haired young men, bound to a predetermined future of factory drudgery and little else, look out at life with smog tinted spectacles and then look back to their rough, working class, urban upbringing. Amalgamating this with some stunning musicianship and a heritage of British blues, the group boiled it all down and watched it set into one great smouldering slab of metal. Add to it some evil imagery (inspired by a poster they spotted in a local cinema for the horror film of the same name) and you have spawned the band, the ...  Read the complete review

This is pretty much the original heavy metal album. I don't think any heavy metal fan exists without this in their collection, and if they do then they need a slap really. 1 - Black Sabbath: We begin in a rainy graveyard type place... This sets the scene of what's to come. Unexpectedly (but very fittingly) the first riff is very very slow, but probably the heaviest thing ever heard at the time it was released. We hear Ozzy's voice slow and chillingly start to narrate a story. This goes on for some time and get's us set up for the album. Half way through the song there is a sudden tempo change and things start to kick off for the rest of the album. As a first ...  Read the complete review

Well, This is the album that released Ozzy on an unsupecting world, with his showmanship and slightly surreal lyrics fitting perfectly to Geezer's thundering bass, Wards impeccable drumming and Iommis ground-breaking solos. This album comes right from the infancy of metal, with a strong blues influence and an image that is more 'leather clad hippie' than the later 'leather clad bat-eaters' we now know, and this is reflected in the music, with the opening track, called 'black sabbath' and its monumental riff the album develops from hard, bluesy rock songs to sprawling, intertwined songs with flawless guitar and bass solos, with the ...  Read the complete review

Black Sabbath formed in 1967 as Polka Tulk then Earth and then changed their name in 1970 for the release of their debut album. This album was the first heavy metal album ever, Sabbath were the first heavy metal band ever. FACT!! Without them their would be no Korn, Slipknot, Metallica etc and people fail to realise this. This album was the inspiraion to countless bands. Blakc Sabbath the song is to be honest quite disturbing but it is a fine musical and lyrical achievement. When Iommi's guitar kicks in at the end you realise this album is something special. N.I.B. has a superb bass solo and a riff and the lyrics are something else. All the songs are good ...  Read the complete review

It’s hard now to overestimate just how much this colossal debut album brought to the music world. Released upon an unsuspecting 1970, where hippies ruled the roost and peace and flower power, this album was the beginning of a whole new genre of music, where guitars were to be instruments of brain jerking head banging, and lyrics dealt like physical blows – the dawning of heavy metal. Black Sabbath WERE the originators of true heavy metal, and this album is the first few timid steps taken by that young band all those years ago as they found their footing in the music industry. The band were perfectly balanced: Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, who’s lunatic ...  Read the complete review