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brand new unplayed
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I found this album so confusing as a teenager - what the hell were piano lament Changes, boinging nonsense FX and cod-Flamenco Laguna Sunrise doing on it? How come I'd never heard them play monster track Wheels of Confusion live? Why could I not warm to Under the Sun or St Vitus Dance?
Years later, I appreciate Volume 4 for what it is - an essential bridge between the the dark Satanic thrills of the first three albums and the more ambitious and accomplished Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Wheels of Confusion is a relentless medley of different riffs, each strong enough to support a separate song. Supernaut is a hugely underrated and joyful explosion of energy, complete with a Santana-esque voodoo carnival interlude. Tomorrows Dream and Snowblind are the album's poppier moments - catchy and chugging mid-tempo songs, propelled by Tony's inventive riffs and Bill Ward's distinctive tight-skinned drumming. The increased experimentation on the album - slow songs, sound effects, acoustic tracks, double-tracking and synthesizers all helped to lay the foundations for Sabbath's musical purple patch with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
The 2009 remaster appears to add some bottom-end punch whilst reducing some of the separation and treble - and thereby clarity - from previous releases. This works well on Snowblind and Supernaut, which sound more relentless and pounding than ever, however Cornucopia and Under the Sun just feel gloomier and muddier and Wheels of Confusion has lost some dynamic sparkle. The stereo mix has been swapped round from the 2004 Sanctuary releases, so lead guitars in Cornucopia and Laguna Sunrise now emerge from the right hand speaker - although I've no idea where they sat on the original LP.
A landmark album then, but not perhaps the definitive remastering I was expecting. My iPod will keep a copy of the 2004 Sanctuary release for a while longer.
Years later, I appreciate Volume 4 for what it is - an essential bridge between the the dark Satanic thrills of the first three albums and the more ambitious and accomplished Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Wheels of Confusion is a relentless medley of different riffs, each strong enough to support a separate song. Supernaut is a hugely underrated and joyful explosion of energy, complete with a Santana-esque voodoo carnival interlude. Tomorrows Dream and Snowblind are the album's poppier moments - catchy and chugging mid-tempo songs, propelled by Tony's inventive riffs and Bill Ward's distinctive tight-skinned drumming. The increased experimentation on the album - slow songs, sound effects, acoustic tracks, double-tracking and synthesizers all helped to lay the foundations for Sabbath's musical purple patch with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
The 2009 remaster appears to add some bottom-end punch whilst reducing some of the separation and treble - and thereby clarity - from previous releases. This works well on Snowblind and Supernaut, which sound more relentless and pounding than ever, however Cornucopia and Under the Sun just feel gloomier and muddier and Wheels of Confusion has lost some dynamic sparkle. The stereo mix has been swapped round from the 2004 Sanctuary releases, so lead guitars in Cornucopia and Laguna Sunrise now emerge from the right hand speaker - although I've no idea where they sat on the original LP.
A landmark album then, but not perhaps the definitive remastering I was expecting. My iPod will keep a copy of the 2004 Sanctuary release for a while longer.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
For a certain English generation,This is dhe classic hard rock album that starts with the stunning doomladen Wheels of Confusion and ends side One with the stunninger classic Supernaut,One of the best songs ever written in any musical genre,In my unhumble opinion...Supernaut features a lovely and incongruous acoustic section in the middle before it blasts onward describing its tale of bitter egoism to the listener...Nothing really poppy enough for a single on this album,Perhaps,But there may have been one,Nonetheless.
Yes,there are one or two lame tracks,FX not least but there is a weighty clutch of great songs on this superb album and after all,Changes is still a good and memorable song...the original gatefold vinyl release anciently featured an inside booklet,So,can't comment on the CD versions,Only the musical quality,Which is fabulous and virtually indispensable to any 'classical' rock music fanatic...A landmark and standard set for a whole genre and fantastically influential and an inspiration to most of the subsequent big names in the hard rock arena from a time when Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were very stiff competition for the attentive ears of long hair teens into heavy metal rather than pop or progressive,Whatever,although various tastes don't have to be mutually exclusive and thus the different stylistic streaks on this album just vary the bleak and grim mood enough for it not to become monotonous...Try it if you don't know it and do like the genre,It's unlikely to dissappoint and then try Masters of Reality.Master Of RealityParanoidBlack SabbathSabbath Bloody Sabbath
Yes,there are one or two lame tracks,FX not least but there is a weighty clutch of great songs on this superb album and after all,Changes is still a good and memorable song...the original gatefold vinyl release anciently featured an inside booklet,So,can't comment on the CD versions,Only the musical quality,Which is fabulous and virtually indispensable to any 'classical' rock music fanatic...A landmark and standard set for a whole genre and fantastically influential and an inspiration to most of the subsequent big names in the hard rock arena from a time when Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were very stiff competition for the attentive ears of long hair teens into heavy metal rather than pop or progressive,Whatever,although various tastes don't have to be mutually exclusive and thus the different stylistic streaks on this album just vary the bleak and grim mood enough for it not to become monotonous...Try it if you don't know it and do like the genre,It's unlikely to dissappoint and then try Masters of Reality.Master Of RealityParanoidBlack SabbathSabbath Bloody Sabbath
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album alone represents some of the most pivotal sounds that have spawned so many to follow. Black Sabbath are the true masters of metal. Having the original vinyl album I found that I could not be without this album on CD. From it's opening track Wheels Of Confusion to such great tunes as Cornucopia and St. Vitus Dance this album is a must for all Metal fans. For those who have only just found rock and metal as a music form then this album should be one of the first to invest in.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Trilogy expands on quadrilogy ...
"Vol.4" phenomenal journey continues where "Master of Reality" left off. The album contains another
great opus of 10 songs, mixed with psychedelic experimentation. Read more
great opus of 10 songs, mixed with psychedelic experimentation. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Renato Medurecan
The death bell tolls...
For some reason this Black Sabbath album has never really worked for me. For a start it marks the beginning of this group revisiting old riffs, ones that worked better on earlier... Read more
Published 7 months ago by The death bell tolls...
Makes Me Shiver
This is the 4th sabbath album which includes the classic sabbath songs - Wheels Of Confusion/The Straightner, Snowblind,tommorows dream, Changes And Supernaut. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Dylan The Metalhead
Review Volume 1
Strange, as I make my way back through the Sabbath catologue, that the 'so-called' classics are not holding up as well as I was lead to believe they would, where the derided late... Read more
Published 15 months ago by ratmonkey
great album, good mix of styles
Black sabbath's fourth album for me was again an awesome achievement. Wheels of confusion continues their usual dark, heavy, satanic style and vocals, yet other tracks like laguna... Read more
Published 17 months ago by O. J. Mcdonnell
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