Black Sabbath's self-titled debut should be in The Fallen

Daniel
Daniel
The Fallen The Horde The North The Pit
First Post October 17, 2023 08:33 PM
Post #16737

During my recent research for the "Roots of Metal Project" we're currently running, I proved something to myself that I'd long suspected to be the case. Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album simply doesn't sit all that well alongside other supposed 'heavy metal' releases as it sounds very different to the Iron Maidens & Judas Priests. After genre-tagging each individual track it became clear to me that the general tendency to want to label 'Black Sabbath' as a heavy metal/hard rock hybrid isn't correct. These were my track-by-track taggings:


1. Black Sabbath - Traditional Doom Metal

2. The Wizard - Blues Rock/Hard Rock

3. Behind The Wall Of Sleep - Stoner Rock

4  N.I.B. - Stoner Metal

5. Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games With Me - Blues Rock/Hard Rock

6. Sleeping Village - Heavy Psych

7. Warning - Blues Rock

8. Wicked World - Stoner Rock/Stoner Metal


There are a few things worth noting about the above. Firstly, I haven't tagged a single track as Heavy Metal. Secondly, all three of the songs I've tagged as metal fall into genres encompassed by The Fallen rather than The Guardians. And thirdly, there's a significant blues rock & psychedelic rock component that doesn't sit well with your classic heavy metal sound. For that reason, I'd like to see "Black Sabbath" receive a Stoner Metal tag & sit under The Fallen. Stoner Metal is defined as "combines elements of Doom Metal with elements of Psychedelic Rock and Blues Rock to create a melodic yet heavy sound" & that seems to be far more appropriate than the heavy metal definition of "heavier outgrowth of Hard Rock featuring greater distortion and intensity along with lesser Blues influences" as far as I can see. Please vote YES to see "Black Sabbath" added to the Fallen under the Stoner Metal genre. 

Rexorcist
Rexorcist
The Guardians The Infinite The Pit
October 17, 2023 09:17 PM
Post #16740

Maybe it's just me, but if I'm going to tag something as a specific form of metal, then at least half the songs have to meet that specific requirement.  I mean, I'm pretty much convinced that the original album is a hard rock album before a metal one.  I removed the metal tag from the album on my log because of it.  Basically, the stoner metal thing is more of a secondary to me, considering that only two songs really fit the bill and I largely agree with the tagging displayed here.  So as usual, I'm gonna stay true to my standards and vote no on this one.

Daniel
Daniel
The Fallen The Horde The North The Pit
October 17, 2023 09:45 PM
Post #16741
Fair enough. Out of interest Rex, how would you tag a release that has the tags I displayed above given that there is no genre that has a 50%+ ratio? Simply “Rock”? 

For me personally, I deemed that there was enough metal there to qualify for metal status at the Academy so I have to allocate it the most logical subgenre. Stoner metal fits the bill best as it can take in the vast majority of the non-metal tags as well by association.
Daniel
Daniel
The Fallen The Horde The North The Pit
October 17, 2023 09:50 PM
Post #16742

Perhaps you might like to raise a Hall of Judgement entry to have Black Sabbath moved to Non-Metal too given that’s your stance on it?

Rexorcist
Rexorcist
The Guardians The Infinite The Pit
October 17, 2023 10:31 PM
Post #16744

I'd rather wait and see what this one says before raising a heall, and it also depends on whether or not people include Wicked World.

As for the tagging, you forget: stoner rock and heavy psych are subgenres of hard rock.  Here's how I'd make it look RYM style.


Hard Rock

Metal, Stoner Rock, Heavy Psych, Blues Rock


This tagging is kinda condensing things, though.