"Hole in the Sky" is an absolute monster of a song, brutally heavy for its time. Bill Ward hits the drums so hard, you would swear they are about to break into fragments of wood and metal. The riff is relentless, one of Tony Iommi's best. Then there is Ozzy, singing as if possessed by something superhuman.A great metal song, and the best on the album in my opinion. "Don't Start (Too Late)" is another Iommi classical guitar piece. Very latin-sounding, I like the sound of the guitar and the progressions, but it's nothing more than a transition in this author's opinion. "Symptom of the Universe" is basically the blue-print of thrash metal, incredibly fast and aggressive. The DNA of most modern bands has at least a few strands of Sabbath DNA, and "Symptom" is certainly going to be found in nearly all "DNA" samples of modern metal music. Ozzy sounds killer here, his voice about to give out at any moment. Geezer's bass is positively elastic, flying all over the fret-board like a maniac. An amazing song, even the acoustic second half of the song, which gives the listener a much-needed chance to chill out after the rapid-fire riffs of the first half of the song, very jazzy.
"Megalomania" is probably the tripiest song written by the band. Covered in effects, Ozzy tells of a fragile megalomaniac losing his grip on power and reality. A true mind-trip, the song will surely send shivers down your spine, very spooky. Iommi's guitars are icy and distant, and Bill's swing beat fits the lyrically nature of the song, very scattered. After a short piano-accompanied breakdown, the song picks up speed again over a driving Iommi riff, and Ozzy delivers easily the finest vocal of his career, at least in terms of vocal power and force, especially the famous line, "suck me!". uttered by Ozzy near the end of the song. An essential Sabbath song, but unfortunately not part of their modern set-lists.
Side 2 opens with "Thrill of it All". After a somewhat "swing" inspired introduction, Iommi unleashes another deadly riff. Ozzy sounds f-ing awesome, and I don't know what transpired to make him sound so good on this album, vocally at the top of his game. After playing around with the riff for a couple minutes, and throwing out some existential lyrics, the album heads into a strange section dominated by a high-sounding synthesizer, not crazy about the synth on the song, but a nice beat and great guitars from Tony save the song. A good track, but not a stand-out for me. "Supertzar" is a fan favorite, and many people say it's Sabbath at their most progressive. I'm not a huge fan of the song, finding that it gets lost in its own ambition. Iommi's guitars clash with the choirs in my opinion, mixing the raw and distorted guitars with the pristine-sounding choirs just doesn't sound "right" to me.
"Am I Going Insane (Radio)" has never been one of favorite songs. I find the song a bit repetitive, the chorus being repeated near-countless times before the song is over. Also, Geezer's bass lies buried in the mix, lower than usual. In any case, one of my least favorite Sabbath songs, and my pick for worst song on the album. "The Writ" redeems the album totally, and is a great song about the horrors committed upon the band by their lawyers. Awesome vocals, a steady bash of a beat, and an interesting bass sound (covered in flangers/wah?) from Geezer. After a short bass solo and some reversed drums, the main riff kicks back in and Ozzy sounds even more ferocious than during the first verse. The anger of the band is clearly evident, and their legal troubles were clearly the source of inspiration for this song. The ending of the song is oddly quiet, throwing everyone for a loop upon initial listens, but the song then kicks in yet again with the same crushing riffs and drum beat introduced early in the song, a great play of loud, quiet, loud. Musically very complicated, it reflects the very progressive nature of the album, technically speaking.
Sabotage is a very good album, but not Sabbath's best album in my opinion, not even second. But, there is a lot to enjoy, and fans of heavy Sabbath songs will find a lot to like on the album.
Rating-8/10
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