Black Sabbath Album Reviews

Black Sabbath Album Reviews.

Black Sabbath albums rated by release date.

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Classic Rock Album Reviews

BLACK SABBATH

Five Favorite Black Sabbath Songs:

Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
The Wizard (Black Sabbath)
Paranoid (Paranoid)
Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots (Paranoid)
War Pigs (Paranoid)

What’s Your Favorite Black Sabbath Album? Click to vote in our poll below.

Black Sabbath Albums Ranked on a Scale of 1-5 stars.

Here are Black Sabbath’s albums reviewed in chronological order (by release date).

BLACK SABBATH (1970)

BEST-Black Sabbath
2ND BEST- The Wizard
WORST-
STARS- 5

This album was the darkest and heaviest rock album to date and pushed heavy metal to its plodding extreme. The songs are constructed around simple riffs and power chords all smashed out by Tony Iommi and backed by the hard hitting Bill Ward on drums and Terry “Geezer” Butler on bass. A fellow called John Osbourne (“Ozzie”) handled the overtly Satanic lyrics. The music sounds even darker because Tony Iommi tunes his guitar down a half a step to make the guitar string action slacker to make it easier for him to play.(Iommi lost the tips of his fingers in an accident). The tolling of the bell and rainstorm that begin “Black Sabbath” are the perfect introduction for the metallic storm that follows. Not a weak moment or cut on this stunning debut.


PARANOID (1970)

BEST-Paranoid
2ND BEST- Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots
WORST-
STARS- 5

Sludge takes another step forward. From the poppy near speed metal “Paranoid” to the final “Fairies Wear Boots”, with the doctor’s observation that “smokin and trippin’ is all that you do”, it’s a sludgefest throughout. “Iron Man” contains a riff almost as familiar to budding guitarists as the riff in Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” from 1972. Riffs abound and lyrics are irrelevant (aside from the anti war “War Pigs”). Another classic.


The Making of Paranoid DVD:



MASTER OF REALITY
(1971)

BEST-Sweet Leaf
2ND BEST- Children of the Grave
WORST-
STARS-4

More of the same-but that’s a good thing. The formula hasn’t changed and the riffs keep coming. “Sweet Leaf” a paean to a certain weed, begins with a repetitive cough prior to launching into another Iommi memorable riff. A solid effort with tight playing, no monster track, but quite a good number of near great songs-“Children of the Grave” and “After Forever”. Essential to the Black Sabbath collection.


BLACK SABBATH VOL 4 (1972)

BEST-Wheels of Confusion
2ND BEST- Tomorrow’s Dream
WORST-
STARS- 4

While there are no standout heavy tracks, Vol 4 features the power ballad “Changes” which indicates a style that Ozzie would later use in his solo work. Black Sabbath sounds like its a bit on automatic pilot on this one. But it’s a good sound the boys from Birmingham, England have stumbled upon so no complaints here. “Wheels of Confusion” is a worthy opener and “Tomorrow’s Dream” a good follower. The remainder of Vol 4 is almost up to classic Sabbath standard but not quite.


SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH (1973)

BEST-Spiral Architect
2ND BEST- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
WORST-
STARS- 4

While the first four Black Sabbath albums laid the foundation for 90’s grunge acts like Soundgarden and Mudhoney, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” provides the framework for metal/pop metal for the rest of the 70’s and 80’s (Metallica, Motely Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard). SBS contains a fair amount of synthesizer, which along with new guitar tones gives SBS a less murky and doom laden sound than prior Sabbath albums.
“Spiral Architect” sounds like Geezer Butler was taking bass lessons from John Entwhistle of the Who circa their “Quadrophenia” days as the bass riff is not lost in the mix but rather in the forefront of the song.. The remainder of “Spiral Architect” sounds like it would fit nicely on the Who’s 1978 “Who Are You”. Indeed, “SBS” contains a song (its weakest cut) entitled “Who are You”! “Fluff” is aptly titled. “Killing Yourself To Live” and “A National Acrobat” illustrate a new and promising Sabbath style less reliant on dropped tunings and plodding rhythms. A great experiment that pushes Sabbath past the formula of their first four albums and it works most of the time. Art rocker Rick Wakeman contributed the keyboards on “Sabbra Caddabra”


SABOTAGE (1975)

BEST-Am I Going Insane
2ND BEST- Meglomania
WORST-
STARS-3

An unremarkable album, so my remarks will be brief. An enjoyable listen for the Sabbath fan but little to recommend for any one else. Disappointing, given the advances made on “SBS”, “Sabotage” sounds like a new Sabbath imitator.


TECHNICAL ECSTASY (1976)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-
Not yet reviewed.


NEVER SAY DIE (1978)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-

Not yet reviewed.

DIO

HEAVEN AND HELL (1980)

When Ozzy left after the sub par albums “Technical Ecstasy” and “Never Say Die”, Black Sabbath recruited Ronnie James Dio (formerly of Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow) to replace him. The album opens with a standard headbanger.

Not yet reviewed.

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-


MOB RULES (1981)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-

Not yet reviewed.


OZZY- BLIZZARD OF OZZ (1980)

The unexpected album that made Ozzy a star, features former Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhodes.

BEST-I Don’t Know
2ND BEST- Crazy Train
WORST-
STARS- 3

OZZY- DIARY OF A MADMAN (1981)

The Ozzy band plays as a unit on “Madman”. In “Blizzard’ it seemed as if the songs and the soaring Randy Rhodes leads had lives of their own.

BEST-Diary of A Mad Man
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-5

HEADLESS CROSS (1989)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-

DEHUMANIZER (1992)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-5

BLACK SABBATH 13 (2013)

BEST-
2ND BEST-
WORST-
STARS-

Not yet reviewed.

What’s Your Favorite Black Sabbath Album? You can pick two:


Further Reading:

The Official Black Sabbath website

The Who album reviews

The Doors album reviews

Pink Floyd Album Reviews


Eric Clapton Album Reviews

The Rolling Stones Album Reviews

Jimi Hendrix Album Reviews

Bob Dylan Album Reviews

Led Zeppelin Album Reviews

The Kinks Sum up Life in the 20th and 21st Centuries


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