02. Black Sabbath Black Sabbath Vol.4 1972 (Vertigo)
Heavy Metal
Drug crazed eyes that were blind, but they could still see!
Overview
Whenever I think of the Black Sabbath discography, their fourth album
Vol.4 stands as their most interesting release and in many ways also their most accomplished set. At the time of its release, the band were at the zenith of their powers and also the legendary drug consumption of the band was at its most extreme as well and both these factors were clearly evident on the direction that this album took. Being commercially huge always gives a band a free reign to try and branch and maybe trying to do something different, Led Zeppelin were a prime example of this on their
Led Zeppelin III album. Now when a band is heavily overloaded on drugs, this normally ends up with two different recording outcomes for the band, this is either a highly inventive set of songs with real creativity or just a pile of garbage of misfocused songs, luckily Black Sabbath fell into the first category with
Vol.4. Also the recording of the album, possibly saw the first signs of discontent by some of the band members towards each other and it was especially drummer Bill Ward that seemed most under fire at this time. He was blamed on a couple of occasions for not nailing down songs as he should’ve done and actually feared that he would be fired from the band! As for the album,
Vol.4 would be the most interesting and most varied work that the classic Sabbath line-up would ever put out. The brooding feel of
Master of Reality, now gave way to a more mainstream sound albeit with a hazy druggy feel, but the heaviness of
Master of Reality would certainly be matched on
Vol.4, which despite not having the brutal heaviness of that album, would rely more on melodic tones and riffs for its core sound.
Vol.4 would also prove to be far more varied than
Master of Reality, whose only varied moments had come in the way of some predictable gentler moments in between the main songs.
Vol.4 would now go for a much wider approach. This would also be their first studio album to be recorded outside the UK, as the band took their full entourage to Los Angeles for the recording of this album and producer Patrick Meehan was on hand to produce the band, after previous producer Rodger Bain had parted ways with the Birmingham foursome.
Ozzy Osbourne- Vocals,
Tony Iommi- Guitar
Geezer Butler- Bass
Bill Ward- Drums
Production- Patrick Meehan
Album
Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener- With a brief intro almost befitting Led Zeppelin, Tony Iommi quickly kicks-in with a typical Sabbath riff and the song now moves into a complex 8 minute monster of a song, with Tony Iommi playing some of his most technical stuff and Ozzy’s vocals almost taking on a more independent feel. The song then moves into the final part of the composition, which is ‘The Straightener’ part of the song and this is an instrumental deluxe in every sense.
Tomorrow’s Dream- One of the most accessible tracks on the album, but at the same time has that hazy druggy feel and you know this track is just so influential on future acts.
Changes- A piano and mellotron based love-song, that is a complete breath of fresh air on the album.
FX- A short instrumental interlude which twangs and echoes its way through.
Supernaut- One of the most famous songs the band ever wrote with its dominant and heavy riff which resonates throughout the song, this is song that was always destined to be a single.
Snowblind- This is a classic song in every way, it has everything unique about the plodding Sabbath sound and eventually moves into more reflective sounding territory, and has Ozzy’s vocals and Tony Immoi’s guitar at their very best.
Cornucopia- Might be one of the more predictable tracks on the album and certainly not one of the strongest, but does have a redeeming riff throughout.
Laguna Sunrise- A soft instrumental interlude and I’m sure you get the picture here of what to expect.
St.Vitus Dance- The band at their most upbeat and its songs like this, that often categorise this album as one of their least dark and brooding efforts.
Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes- With its dinosaur heaviness, the song gradually moves into more varied territory and in many ways mirrors the album's opening track for its progressiveness and creativity, it ends like only a classic Sabbath album can end!
Verdict
Once upon a time Black Sabbath in their early days, would put out lengthy songs that screamed of filler as they sought to pack those songs out. On
Vol.4 they have no such problem and on the album opener "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener" they fill those eight minutes out just as well as anybody else, in some ways even better, because the opening track on this album is a quite simply a stunner. As is “Snowblind” this is quite simply a song composed by a band on the top of their game and just basically tells the competition to fu
ck off, it also shares the album openers musical ambition as well! Now not all the songs pull off that ambition “Cornucopia” in essence has that ambition, but ends up being a track of missed opportunities, then there is the gentleness of “Laguna Sunrise” whose sound has already been used up on Master of Reality. But all is surely saved with the album closer "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes" which basically sounds like Godzilla is strolling on down the hallway and letting everybody know that he’s still the boss! The already mentioned hazy and trademark druggy sound constantly echoes throughout this album, even on a more accessible track like "Tomorrow’s Dream", which surely served as a blueprint for the future Chris Cornell and Soundgarden sound, and it's really heightened by that murky sound. Now things don’t get any more accessible than “Supernaut” with its almost instantly identifiable riff and usually ranks as one of the band’s most lauded songs and you surely couldn’t get any more diverse and accessible as “Changes” a love song that any leading band at the time, would have been proud to have called their own, it’s a memorable track in every way…..but could’ve done with being about a minute shorter! Then there is the almost space rock instrumental interlude of “FX” hey man….we’re fu
cking high now! The whole album is underpinned yet again by the amazing rhythm section of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, despite the fact that Bill Ward did have some well documented trouble nailing some of the songs down! Overall the album is a varied stellar effort despite having one or two weaker tracks, thus making it not the easiest album to categorize in the Sabbath canon. Their debut ushered in a forbidden dark jewel,
Paranoid as far as I’m concerned is still their very best,
Master of Reality their darkest but
Vol.4 may have been their boldest statement! (the future
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath of course ranks right up there as well and is reviewed in the 1973 list.)
Vol.4 is a mid-paced and plodding heavy metal classic, that quite simply belongs in any respectable metal collection, if you don’t own this then shame on you, go get your arse down to your local record store.