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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
....'What is this that stands before me......' This album was the type of sound the youth then and now were/are looking for.The lyrics,Ozzy's distinctive voice,Iommi's heavy guitar work-those brilliant rifts-Geezers great bass playing and Wards'thumping drums. Although the lyrics are simple enough,it is clear that they hold great meaning about this 'system'and the evil within said system and within individuals. This album is a work of genius:in all its glorious aspects. this album will be around forever.A definite must for any collector of hard/heavy rock.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Rain pours down outside, and the distant sound of thunder crashes through the sky.
Then, like no moment in music before, the striking of a single guitar chord kick-started a genre. Drummer Bill Ward pounds his drums like a caveman alerting the tribe of something bad, and indeed, something bad does arrive.
Then, like no moment in music before, the striking of a single guitar chord kick-started a genre. Drummer Bill Ward pounds his drums like a caveman alerting the tribe of something bad, and indeed, something bad does arrive.
John "Ozzy" Osbourne's first impression on the music world was a strong one:
"What is this that stands before me", he barks over the minimalist soundscape, "[a] figure in black which points at me"...
And all this gloom and doom gave legions of angry teenagers something they could relate to, as well as inspiring them to pick up a guitar and start singing about the devil.
"Black Sabbath", the song and the album, is really where heavy metal began. From the imagery to the look and the sound, and to the three-note riff that pours from Tony Iommi's mangled fingers, this album sounds like nothing before it. Distorted, discordant, and ungodly slow, filled with dark, Dungeons and Dragons-like imagery which somehow ends up being much more than just your average heavy metal posturing, mainly because of the dim, suffocating musical atmosphere which is like nothing, literally nothing, anyone had ever heard before.
There isn't much variety in mood or tempo, but that's not the point; Sabbath's slowed-down, murky guitar rock bludgeons the listener in an almost hallucinatory fashion, reveling in its own dazed, druggy state of consciousness.
Black Sabbath's debut album is filled with lengthy songs and suite-like pieces where individual tunes blur together and riffs pound away one after another. And it remains one of the most influential albums ever in popular music, and a must-have for anyone with an interest in heavy metal.
4 1/2 stars.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first heard Black Sabbath on a rock compilation when I was 14 and have been listening to them for 17 years, in which time this album has not worn thin. Even apart from the whole "they invented heavy metal" thing and the patent influence of this album and what came after on all rock music thereafter, this album stands on its own as a brilliant piece of music from the early 70s. It is the musical equivalent of a Hammer Horror film, but has aged much better!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lovely Retro Metal
I bought this when it first came out on vinyl, and listening again was like meeting up with an old friend. Nostolgia personified, great!
Published 5 months ago by David J Potts
Youthful enthusiasm produces an enduring classic
How we despised Black Sabbath! Slow. Doomy. Off on some creepy black magic / devil worship kick. Ludicrous hair, even by the standards of the late 60s. Almost defiantly dumb. Read more
Published 8 months ago by P. Kendell
Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath - Starting as they meant to go on, with...
This is the debut album from the masters of heavy rock, Black Sabbath. And what a cracking album it is! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Victor
Blues Sabbath
The church bells toll. The rain falls. And the first heavy metal riff tears with doom from the funereal atmosphere. Black Sabbath have arrived. Read more
Published 14 months ago by ratmonkey
pure metal awesomeness!
This classic album marked the beginning of a great genre of music, metal, this album brought in the evilness, the epic riffs, the fantastic solos and the eerie vocals. Read more
Published 17 months ago by O. J. Mcdonnell
WHAT IS THIS THAT STANDS BEFORE ME......?
..Well probably the most over analysed,overated album ever,thats what,this album did not invent Heavy Metal! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr Blackwell
Dark Satanic
It all depends on how you view Black Sabbath - either trendsetters, the first truly heavy metal band or charletans restricted to the riffs and guitar work of Tony Iommi. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2010 by Mr. Peter Steward
Magnificent even after nearly four decades
I was at school when this album was released. I was put off it, mostly because of the over-the-top adoration of my mates. However, I eventually became an addict too. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2010 by Mr. Peter Shorney
Good Hard Rock sound
Black Sabbath, along with Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and few others, were the pioneers of Hard Rock in the period '70/'75. Then came the Heavy Metal... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2009 by cybi-cybi
That "Old" Black Sabbath has me in its spell.
The CD bristles with the menace that was the early hallmark of Black Sabbath version 1. No "bum" tracks but they were the first at this genre of rock. Dark yet still stunning.
Published on 10 July 2009 by Michael J. Hawkins
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