01.Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 1973 (Vertigo)
Heavy Metal
Living just for dying, dying just for you.
Overview
The godfathers of metal had surely reached their zenith with the riffs of
Paranoid, the dark brooding of
Master of Reality and the musical accomplishment of
Vol.4. So they now found themselves at the summit of the heavy rock world and their future direction possibly shrouded in mystery as to where they world go! The answer was actually quite simple and that was to give us some more of their pseudo-satanic tunes, that harked back a few years to
Master of Reality, whilst maintaining the production values of
Vol.4. So in essence
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath could be seen as a culmination of both those two albums and the album certainly turned out to be every bit as good as either of those two cuts. The band yet again returned to the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles to cut the album, but due to issues with producer Patrick Meehan who they released from production duties, they then took on Tom Allom who had previously acted as an engineer on their previous album, Tom Allom of course would go onto become the virtual house producer for Judas Priest. So all looked set for the recording of the album……but this time around the songs just didn’t come! The band seemed to suffer from writer’s block, fatigue and rampant drug/achohol abuse which all lead to internal problems. Also band leader Tony Iommi just wasn’t finding his regular vibe to produce the riffs, that the band regularly built their songs around. The band then took the bold move of upping sticks after relieving Tom Allom from his production duties and returning to the UK, and to record the album in the gothic Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, this gothic castle gave over its dungeons so the band could record this album there. Now if anything was going to inspire the band, then surely this location would and it did! Tony Iommi came up with the main rift for the title track and the band were then set to record another monumental album. What’s most interesting about this album, is how the band also branched out considerably instrument wise. The use of keyboards, synthesizers and strings, were quite prominent at times on this album and the much lauded Rick Wakemen actually figures of “Sabbra Cadabra” and all the band members including Ozzy also broaden their instrumental playing range considerably on this album by playing these strings, keyboards and synthesizers.
Ozzy Osbourne- Vocals
Tony Iommi- Guitar
Geezer Butler- Bass
Bill Ward- Drums
(Synthesizer contributions from most of the band members)
Production- Black Sabbath
Album
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- With another one of those famous crunching Sabbath intros, the song leads into a more melodic gentler fare once Ozzy starts singing. The song then reverberates back into familiar Sabbath heaviness and is later highlighted by one of Geezer’s thunderous basslines and Ozzy’s shouted vocals.
A National Acrobat- One of those slower and deliberate sounding Sabbath tracks, all accompanied by another great riff laid down by Iommi and it fills out its 6 minutes with great aplomb, especially with its inventive galloping section towards the end of the song.
Fluff- The customary gentle track that the band always seemed to offer on every album and it certainly is dreamy sounding.
Sabbra Cadabra- The composition that features a guest spot from Rick Wakeman and his moog, this song sounds like a number of previous classic Sabbath tracks and the song just sounds so accomplished in every aspect.
Killing Yourself to Live- Another one of the signatures songs from the album, which opens up the second side of the album and this song is another track that shows Iommi’s riffs at their most dynamic.
Who Are You- With its uncharacteristic synthesizers at the beginning of the song, it’s one of those slower tracks that the band always enjoyed and the synths feature throughout the rest of the track as well.
Spiral Architect- It seems like nearly every song on this album, ranks amongst the band’s most famous compositions and Spiral Architect is one of those songs without a doubt, and probably ranks as one of the most mature sounding songs that the band ever put out. The final orchestral section comes somewhat unexpectedly to finish the song.
Looking for Today- A melodic and heavy final track, that just seems to drift around the place with consummate ease and then helps the album to finish on a real high.
Verdict
From the moment you hear the opening and title track, you know it’s business as usual as far as Black Sabbath are concerned on their fifth studio album, with their now familiar melodic and fuzzy tones, against a very heavy backdrop with no shortage of dynamism on board either. The title track of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” is another one of those timeless Sabbath classics and constantly stands the test of time. Then there is “A National Acrobat” which smacks of controlled power, with its very deliberate sounding musical arrangements. The same can also be said about the classic “Killing Yourself to Live” which lays down another deliberate sounding Iommi riff and then proceeds to take us on another one of those great Sabbath road trips, along with some great trippy riffing. Then there is the boogie-woogie rock of “Sabbra Cadabra” which basically sounds like any number of great Sabbath tracks, but they are now dressed up with moog dressing and it’s certainly tasty! The whole song then sends the listener on a great voyage of discovery. The only lows on the album, come in the very predictable sounding instrumental “Fluff” it’s a nice composition…..but it’s all been heard before. Then there is “Who Are You” which does seem to suffer from synthesizer overkill, as the band seemingly try to get their money’s worth from the synthesizer experimentation. One of the most striking features of
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is just how mature most of the compositions sound, as here is a band that has fully matured and grown in almost every aspect from their debut, but most importantly on this album they haven’t lost any of that quality. Most of the above commented songs have this maturity, but surely “Spiral Architect” is the most mature sounding song on the album and its orchestral closing section surely lends credence to this statement. The same level of maturity can also be aimed at “Looking for Today” which just seems to drift around the place with consummate ease to close off this stellar album. But one of the most striking features of the album, may well be the album’s somewhat subtle jolly sound, amongst the killer riffs and the so-called dark subject matter and imagery of the band! I personally think yet again, that Black Sabbath don’t want the listener to take them that seriously, because they themselves certainly don't on this album.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath would be the last landmark album that the band would put out, until their tenure with Dio on main vocals several years later.