Black Sabbath Vol.4 - Black Sabbath

After recording heavy metal’s definitive unholy trinity, Black Sabbath under the helm of guitarist Tony Iommi entered an experimental era that would soon see the band’s popularity and credibility plummet over the course of the decade. The un-cryptically titled ‘Vol. 4,’ the band’s self-explanatory fourth album, represents a thoroughly impressive and inspired cliff edge from which the band would later throw themselves like a kindle of coked-up Brummie lemmings. Originally to be titled ‘Snowblind’ after the album’s happy cocaine anthem, but soon changed for pretty obvious reasons, ‘Vol. 4’ is one of Sabbath’s very best albums, paling only in comparison to its ...

While maybe not their strongest effort, 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. Electric - except for one heartfelt acoustical masterpiece that is probably Iommi's best to date - "Laguna Sunrise". The songs that opened my eyes to Sabbath were "Snowblind", "Wheels of Confusion" and "Tomorrow's Dream". These stand out among the others and are down-right Sabbath classics. The music seems varied & complex... more so than on previous Sabbath albums. Ozzy & Co are growing musically and you can ...

The original heavy metal band, fronted by the one and only Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath set the standard for every rock band to follow. After the messy split with Ozzy in the late seventies was replaced by rock gnome Ronnie James Dio. It wasn't until 1997 that they returned as a potent musical force again, crowning it with a triumphant appearance at Ozzfest. Their first five albums are worth investigating but volume IV captured them at their very best. With the guitar pyrotechniques of “Cornucopia”, the irresistible “Supernaut” and the Sabbath classic “Wheels of confusion” and the heart wrenchingly beautiful ...