Black Sabbath released "Master of Reality" in 1971. A absolute masterpiece, and my personal pic for the best metal album metal album of all time.Let me explain what makes this album so special and a true classic.
The album opens with stoner-anthem "Sweet Leaf". An ode to marijuana usage, the song is obvious very sludgy and plodding. A great song, even if you don't partake in smoking the "stickiest of ickies." Next is the very controversial song "After Forever". Reflecting Geezer's own faith, it is basically one of the first Christian rock songs. Although Sabbath are more known for their dark and supposedly satanic lyrics, this song sings the praises of Christianity. Read the lyrics and you'll get it. The bass playing is phenomenal, and is one of Geezer's best performances on record. Great song, and very heavy. "Orchid" is a very short instrumental with a renaissance flair. Basically a classical guitar song played on electric, it is the first of many similar instrumentals by Tony. On to the real meat of the album.
"Children Of The Grave" is in my opinion, the true beginning of heavy metal. Razor-sharp guitars, thundering drums, and rubbery bass, combined with Ozzy's apocalyptic vocals come together is a furious mix of frustration, apprehension, and nihilism. Completely different from anything in existence in the early 1970s, "Children" set the tone for countless metal acts to come, but has never been duplicated. The medieval sounding instrumental "Orchid" comes next. Gentle and pastoral guitars are accompanied by lonely cellos, a nice break from the heaviness the album unleashes. "Lord Of This World" shakes and rattles like no tomorrow. My favorite bass-line of all time, I absolutely love this song and it ranks among two others as my favorite Sabbath song. Metal heaven!
Another personal favorite comes next. The spiritual successor to "Planet Caravan", "Solitude" is very mellow musically and lyrically. A lament to lost love, the song shows why Sabbath original were classified as a "downer rock" band. Very dreary and depressing, the song chills the bones. The vocals are the strangest part of the song, and many have said that the lyrics don't sound like Ozzy. Great song. The album closes with "Into The Void", another sludgy song, it was one of the first Sabbath song downtuned to C#, very deep and bassy. A true Sabbath classic, and many people's favorite Sabbath song.
Master Of Reality is my favorite metal album, and a true masterpiece. Anyone who hasn't heard it, has missed a significant and integral work of rock music, and music in general. Perfection! Master indeed!
Rating-10/10
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