Review by Saxy S for Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)

Heavy Metal music is indebted to Black Sabbath. Not to say that occultist, pagan, and sometimes satanic music only came out of the United Kingdom during the 1970s, but of all the new styles of music that exist where crusty old generations claim it as the "Devil's music", heavy metal is the one that has gleefully retained that crown for over five decades. And their grandfathers were Black Sabbath. The opening of the bands self titled debut begins with thunderstorms and a church bell chiming, all before the first booming notes of Tony Iommi's guitar as well as the strong bass of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward's percussion. Entering in at a deathly slow pace, you can tell that this will not be your typical blues rock album by way of Hendrix or B.B. King. And then the painful vocals of Ozzy Osbourne enter at the first verse; feeling less so like a well constructed melodic idea, but rather a desperate cry for help and they sound magnificent.

"The Wizard" may feel like it doesn't belong after the brooding of the opening track with Ozzy's harmonica playing a key role in the composition, but the song itself is desperately lacking in some kind of a development of an idea or a solo or anything! The simplicity actually works to benefit "The Wizard" because it is more reminiscent of an occultist song or ritual this way. "N.I.B." to this day is still my favourite Black Sabbath song with its tumultuous bass riff, before transforming itself into a full band romp with Ozzy's vocals at the forefront. Tony Iommi's guitar work is tasteful and the back-and-forth between band members is almost flawless.

When the album ends with the ten-and-a-half minute jam on "Warning", you really start to understand that Black Sabbath aren't here to make your father new favourite record. You can tell during the main choruses sung by Ozzy that their is a foundation, but it sounds oddly off-kilter; almost as if the tempo is too slow or the guitar interjections are slightly out of time. And yet, they all coalesce together into a sound that is fresh and exciting. Perhaps not a sound that would be enjoyed by more blues rock enthusiasts of the time, but one that would inevitably become immensely influential as the genre that would soon be known as "heavy metal" became more structured and less of a jam session.

We may have lost Ozzy Osbourne while I was on summer vacation, but over fifty years of progress in the heavy metal genre show us that Ozzy will never actually leave us. The Prince of Darkness may be at his rightful place, sitting on a throne by the side of Lucifer himself, but here on the living side of the Rubicon, Ozzy Osbourne (and Black Sabbath as a whole) will forever be remembered as the ones to bring a band of misfits together. The self titled Black Sabbath recorded specifically represents a seismic shift in the hard rock landscape at the time and it has been an absolute joy to watch as the genre of music that made this website possible grows in so many ways, even if I personally don't like all of it. 

Best Songs: Black Sabbath, The Wizard, N.I.B. Warning