Black Sabbath's "Vol. 4" should be in The Fallen
As with Black Sabbath's first three classic albums, the age-old consensus that 1972's "Vol 4" is a "heavy metal" record doesn't stack up to closer scrutiny, at least not when you take into account the modern metal genre tree. If the album was released today as the debut release from a new band then I feel confident that it'd be tagged as a stoner metal record which is in line with my long-term feeling that it doesn't sit all that comfortably alongside your Judas Priests & Iron Maidens.
For the record, this is how I've tagged the album:
01. Wheels of Confusion - Heavy psych
02. Tomorrow's Dream - Stoner metal
03. Changes - Piano rock
04. FX - Experimental
05. Supernaut - Stoner rock
06. Snowblind - Stoner metal
07. Cornucopia - Stoner metal
08. Laguna Sunrise - Chamber folk
09. St. Vitus Dance - Stoner rock
10. Under The Sun - Stoner metal
As you can see, more than 50% of the tracklisting falls outside of the metal space however the stoner rock & heavy psych inclusions are also closely aligned with the stoner metal tag & there is enough genuine metal to qualify for the Academy anyway. Therefore, I'd like to see "Master of Reality" added to The Fallen under the Stoner Metal genre on top of its existing position in The Guardians.
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
https://metal.academy/hall/451
With a vote tally of YES 8 NO 0, this Hall of Judgement entry has been successful & the release has now been added to The Fallen under the Stoner Metal genre.