Black Sabbath

a bit rough around the edges but very very enjoyable. As the book blurb mentions the lyrics are a tiny bit comical now... but the overall aesthetic and vibe and groove are really great. Not hard for me to see how/why this is seen as a somewhat revolutionary moment in rock music history.

I liked more than I expected.

Had never heard their debut before; the blues roots are a bit more evident and it's not quite the classic that the follow ups were, but still mostly great stuff.

yeah. groundbreaking and a great way to kick off the metal genre.

didn’t hate it as much as i thought i was going to. definitely not my cup of tea but worth the listen

I adore Kate Bush. Watching her on TOP as an impressionable 8-year-old, wide eyed and feeling so much, I return over and over again to her. The Kick Inside debut at 18 years old though, Wow, Wow, WOW as she says

Not exactly my type of vibe, but certainly impressive from a musical and instrumental standpoint.

Better than Led Zeppelin, if I was born in the 60's I would have been listening to this in some dark and danky corner. But I wasn't, so I'm not. Nice vibe, though.

Awesome.

Iconic and revolutionary but not fully formed

A sludgy dark rock album that totally rocks. At only 5 songs, it's a lean album. Sounds like nothing else from it's time. I like Vol 4 better, but a great introduction to Black Sabbath.

loved: N.I.B. sleeping village warning wicked world

Un disco que crea un nuevo género.

Def not the Black Sabbath album I would pick. I was really hoping to discover the Smithereens' "Behind the Walls of Sleep " was a Sabbath cover but no dice.

Sabbath rules. Who knew? Not me. The band and their propulsive, driving hard rock sounds great. Ozzy is a bit nasally but his voice soars with and complements the tunes. It’s awesome to hear the foundation of hard rock and metal being laid. Black Sabbath ran so that Metallica could fly.

Classic Sabbath!

i think i loved!

Not my kind of music but surprisingly better than expected.

Zu düster für mich

Never listened to this before, but I enjoyed their sound a lot.

Nothing really needs to be said about this classic album. It’s great, it holds up, it launch a thousand ships. Bangers.

The blueprint for the metal genre. Iommi, Butler, Ward, and Osborne This album is a statement and an incredibly strong debut.

I really don't know why I've never listened through this - as I love the 2nd album Paranoid. It's really good 4 stars to Paranoids 5. Just the bands dynamic - the drums, bass and guitar riffs make an incredible combo. That said I lost interest during the last long B-side track and no track is as good as War Pigs on Paranoid .. so 4.

I like this, but don’t really see it as all that revolutionary. Is it that far from Led Zeppelin or Cream or Jimi Hendrix? They’re just being much more overt about the demonic stuff as far as I can tell. About that demonic stuff: why were people searching high and low to make out that bands were into devil worship? “If you play it backward it kind of sounds like…” These lads put it front and centre - clear as midnight. No mystery about that at all. I’ve recently had a couple of Led Zep albums and a CCR and asked for a happy medium between the two. This does sort of hit a nice middle ground between the dark heavy stress of LZ and the clear and predictable chunks of CCR. Maybe Sabbath’s second album is their masterpiece and this was just kicking the doors open for that?

It’s rare something from 1970 still sounds quite relevant with a perfect balance between rock metal and blues

Sounded like early metal, early Black Sabbath. Generally good but neither are my favourites. (5 known / 10 new)

7/10

Awesome, for some reason I thought it was going to be heavier. Favorite track was the last one, really good

Birth of metal from just the first few notes of this album. Can you think of anything else that is more epic than this album.

Riktigt bra, har inte sett varför metal måste bli mer mörkt och skrikande än så här detta är perfekt balanserat mer än så här överdriv

It's hilarious that this music was once considered evil and scary. It's a great album though, I always forget how much it kinda sounds like traditional bluesy rock.

Excellent listening experience, lovely dive I took into the Black Sabbath origin story lore. Full of bangers though not as iconic as some of their other work. Overall very pleasant listening and hype as all hell.

Classic! This album never disappoints 1001 album worthy: Yes - 34/60

Recorded in one take, created a new genre. Can't get better than that.

Interesting, thought I was going to like this one more.

1. Black Sabbath - Good fking start with a dark and sinister sound! Awesome transition! 2. The Wizard - Heavy western style o.O? Very nice use of a Mundharmonika joo! 3. Behind the Wall of Sleep - Nice track but sadly a bit short. 4. N.I.B. - Very known track and it is for a good reason! Really like the switch between a singing guitar saying "No No" and "Oh yeah". Thinking about it makes sense considering the lyrics lol. Ending well done aswell, good breakdown! 5. Evil Woman - Catchy lyrics guided by some iconic guitar riffs and some repetitive funky bass sounds :) nice little solo aswell, me like! 6. Sleeping Village - Didgeridoo! Turning into slow decent riffs, funky ass licks and melodies from both guitars. Geilo transition from those riffs to the next track! 7. Warning - (literial warning) 10 out of fking 10 jo! No need to write more, 10 minutes of pure Awesomeness say more than I could. I wouldn't have enough time to explain anyway. 8. Wicked World - Bringing back the same vibes from "Warning" while keeping a lower profile mostly, allowing the album to end... "Black Sabbath" gets the best available rating!

Cool shit! I like the vibes and the vocals 👉👉

must've scared the shit out of some parents back in the day eheheheh love it <3 birth of heavy metal yooooooooo!!!!!

nah

Dark punk rock

Went pretty great honestly! I don't think I ever would have specifically gone to listen to this without 1001 albums but it had some phenomenal riffs and fills - I'm impressed! Still nkg the biggest fan of the whole occult atmosphere but overall it's really good!

God, that title track is terrifying. I didn’t realize how accessible these guys were, like I’ve paranoid and such but damn this is great

I love femboys

Jedina mi je Black Sabbath pjesma oke, ostale nisu

Inarguably essential inclusion here as the essential birth of heavy metal as a genre. Sure, it suffers a little bit from the "Seinfeld is unfunny" effect considering how much it set the tone for metal as a whole, and some of it feels a bit corny considering how much darker and more intense metal has gotten in the intervening half-century, but all of that is simply because it was the FIRST. The songs honestly still rip to this day too.

The world today is such a wicked thing Fighting going on between the human race People got to work just to earn their bread While people just across the sea are counting the dead A politician's job they say is very high For he has to choose who's got to go and die They can put a man on the moon quite easy While people here on earth are dying of all diseases A woman goes to work every day after day She just goes to work just to earn her pay Child sitting by but his life's much harder He doesn't even know who is his father Yeah, this is a pretty fucking great album. 5/5

Can’t believe how much I enjoyed this. Not has “hard” as I expected it to be. Never would have tried it.

Weirdly, this was in one ear, out the other. Not really anything I would listen to again, though I'm sure it has its merits for others. Kind of surprised by how, I dunno, bluesy? it gets. Though reading up on the band's history it makes sense, I guess I just never connected metal and blues in my head before.

Imagine enjoying Led Zeppelin's first album and then Black Sabbath shows up with this.

The title track presages what's to come, and I appreciate how this record serves as a missing link between 60s rock and 70s metal. But overall it's pretty missable. I had Paranoid on my list a couple days ago, and it's definitely the stronger record.

Probably one of the first 25 to 50 lps I bought as a teenager. Hard to evaluate now since I associate it with that time in my life.

More Sabbath? Already? Yay! Hard to deny the impact of this album. The dawn of heavy metal. Even more amazing is the fact that this entire album was recorded live in 12 hours.

Still finding themselves.

Early Sabbath couldn't miss if they tried

👍🏼

Good

I loved it

Not as bad as I thought! Some good sound in there. Surely not something I will re-listen soon btw

aight

Some great prog rock. Love it.

Loved it! Haven't heard any of these songs before.

First time listening to Black Sabbath, no idea why I'd never listen to them. Loved it, easy 5.

The very first metal album of all time! Revolutionary and amazing!!! :)

top notch!

Ah man that was a hard one to rate. I weirdly really wanted to give this a 4 as I love some of their other albums but this has very high highs and pretty low lows for me.

pretty good

Düster, hart, handgemacht.

Come for the rage, stay for the guitar solos. Good garage music.

N.I.B. is a banger

I hated the first song. I was impressed by how long some of the songs were. It compelled me to dive deeper into the history of the band. The guitar player, Tony lommi rips. There was also a harmonica at some point if I remember correctly.

The song “Black Sabbath” by this band Black Sabbath still sounds scary as hell in 2025. Too bad the singer of this band became a reality show guy.

Kinda dug this more than I would have expected, and must've had a Sabbath streak at some point as most of the songs were familiar to me.

Interesting that this is considered the first metal album. Also interesting that it was all recorded on a single day in a 12-hour session, almost entirely played live, at once. And also interesting that the guitarist developed his special style in part because of a work accident that caused him to lose parts of his middle fingers on his fret hand! The Wizard starts kind of bluesy (harmonica, somewhat like Led Zeppelin) but then has parts that sound exactly like what I'd expect from Black Sabbath (some of the drumming sounds like War Pigs).

This probably isn't a 5 star album, but I'm sort of giving up on objective ratings for the day. It was just sort of what I needed to discover and listen to today.

Kind of felt like I'd wandered into the 1970s version of Salem's Lot, with creepy sound effects and over-the-top music. & it's not that it's not scary, but there's definitely a layer of cheese when watching (or listening) with modern eyes (or ears.) A bit like the Van Halen album, this was mostly a fun listen - if not anything I'd go out of my way to listen to again. But Black Sabbath has definitely been the most solid metal band I've been exposed to yet from this whole exercise.

Great moments but in very long songs, kinda makes it blend together

Ozzy is a Rock God, but not at my church.

I would love to time travel to 1970 and witness people putting this on for the first time. Album created an entire genre and influenced every metal head going forward.

Banger!

GOAT, this album created the created music genre of all time and inspired so many amazing bands/artists.

What a debut album! Heavy, melodic, influential and just great.

Hard rock/heavy metal seldomly holds my attention for more than, say, thirty seconds, before it falls apart under its pretenses, inanities, tediums. Zeppelin and Sabbath are the formidable exceptions. It must be that the music Bill War, Geezer Butler, and Tony Iommi orchestrate is authentically blues-inspired, regularly funky, always improvisatory. It doesn't even feel particularly 'heavy,' at least no heavier than its progenitors - congrats to them for that. I can listen to Sabbath's enduring riffs often and gratefully.

OK, so... Indulge me for a second here... ==< [...] >== It was a dark and stormy night — and one with a particularly strong emphasis on the "dark" part. No matter how closely you move your hand to your face, you just can't make it out. In fact, if you were to mose it any closer, you'd be covering your face. Not that that would matter. Besides the occasional crash of lightning trying to pierce through the thick forest covering to light your surroundings, you were basically wandering blind. Trapped in a void that would threaten to swallow you whole, if not for the one thing guiding you: a distant church bell. Every now and then, it would toll, just barely audible above the pounding rain. You weren't sure if this was leading the way home or not — a doubt that continued to grow like a weed in your mind as you approached — but as they say, "Any port in a storm." However, very slowly, you come to a stop. A chill runs down your spine — noticeably, one that seemed to have nothing to do with how you were freezing in this rain. Something, you could just tell, was wrong. Through a large hole in the forest canopy, you could see another bolt of lightning flash, lighting up the forest and the cloudy sky. As well as... Something standing off in the distance. You couldn't tell what it was; it was too far away, shrouded in blur and a silhouette... But you could gather one thing: it was big. Very big. The church bell rang in the distance. Lightning flashed again, and the shape in the distance seemed to have gotten... Bigger? The wind picked up to a sharp howl, which forced you to shut your eyes to keep them from stinging. You rubbed your arms, trying to keep yourself warm, but it was like trying to light a match underwater — good luck with that. The church bell rang in the distance. The wind died down as soon as it picked up. Slowly, you were able to open your eyes again, just in time for lightning to strike once more and... Wait. Through squinted eyes, you wondered: "Did the figure get bigger again? Or... Maybe not bigger, but..." The church bell rang in the distance. As if on cue, a hellishly red fire rose in front of you. It didn't seem to shed much light on your surroundings, but it did reveal this — this **thing** was standing right in front of you. This towering, imposing figure, maybe ten feet high. Like before, it was completely cloaked in shadow, but thanks to the fire raging behind it, its exact shape was even blurry and less clear. One thing you could tell though, and you didn't know how you knew this — it was smiling. It spoke. It was in a language you'd never heard before, but somehow, you understood perfectly well. It spoke of you how you were the chosen one. How you were meant to bring an end to it all. How the figure was there to guide you. You started to laugh. You didn't understand why. You just began to. It was maybe all you could do in the face of this. The figure continued to speak, but you could hardly hear it. Quickly, your laughter was growing louder, overpowering the figure and, shortly, even the rain around you. The figure's grin grew wider and it began to laugh along with you. It spread its mighty wings wide and reached out a clawed hand to take you. By that time, you didn't know if you were laughing or screaming. The forest was dark. Rain poured down in a seemingly endless torrent. The wind whipped around the trees. The church bell rang in the distance. ==< [...] >== Alright, so apologies for all that. Typically, I'm not 100% about the whole "Pitchfork writer who clearly can't wait for his own time to creative writing" mode of reviewing. Like, sure, I like seeing creative writing based on music, but if I come for a review, I come for a review, y'know? However, in this instance, I feel like writing all of that was maybe the only way I could really relay the reverence I have for this album. 'Cuz whatever I actually think about the contents of the album, I'll always hold it up as one of the most important releases in music history, for being the album where metal was born. Like, as far as I'm aware, the history of metal splits into two periods: pre-Sabbath proto-metal (think "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles), and then post-Sabbath. For sure, it's probably way more complicated than that, and I have a whole-ass book to confirm that, but that's just the legend that's been relayed to me, and it's one I've always believed. 'Cuz you've had heavy acts before like Led Zeppelin and that one Blue Cheer album, but nothing compared to even how this album opens. A slow, doomy, detuned riff, crashing drums, lyrics about a nightmarish figure that drives the singer mad, and an outro with a ripping solo. It's incredible. The title track alone and they've already got a masterpiece and cornerstone of an entire new genre. The album hardly lets up from there. And I'll admit, before re-listening to this album (which was my first time in a while, actually), I had the lingering thought that I'd come to discover I was overhyping the sound of this album to myself. Y'know, that it'd turn out that this album outside of its opener is just heavier-than-usual blues — and it's not **not** that. I'll say, I do prefer their follow-ups for refining their sound away from English blues. But make no mistake: this is **heavy** blues. You only need to listen to the sound of Tony Iommi's guitar. You hear that distortion? That menace? Heck, just how big it can sound? Not even Jimmy Page had a guitar sound like that. The magic it turned out you could get from playing a right-handed guitar upside down as a left-handed one. And I know we've all been living with Ozzy Osbourne and his singing for years now, between the wacko locomotives and telling his mother he'll be returning shortly, but we just hafta appreciate what a voice he has. It works so well with the dark subject matter he ends up singing about. Seriously, the way he wails "OH, PLEASE, GOD, NO" on the title track — it legit sounds like he's begging to not be driven insane by whatever dark forces are confronting him. And, jus', ahhh, that one vocal melody on "N.I.B.", it's so good. Let's not forget to give it up for Geezer and Ward. Metal's got great vocal and guitar histrionics (ooo, big word), but they'd be nothing about their rhythm sections. Watch me make that case especially when my group gets MASTER OF PUPPETS, but yeah, seriously, give a hand to Geezer and Ward for holding all this together. I've always loved the sound of Geezer's bass, I gotta say. Jus' got this... I'unno, "plomp" to it sometimes. That's a made-up word, but it's as close as I can get to how it sounds to my ears. And would you believe that this whole album was recorded in only twelve hours? Yeah, they pulled recording this off in less time than it took The Beatles to make PLEASE PLEASE ME. That's just crazy, right? Sure, I can't hear anything on here that sounds like it should have taken more than twelve hours, but if they can just bang out a record like this in that short of time, you can only imagine how much better the rest are when they had **more** recording time. I could go on — really, I could. It's hard for me to not gas up this album, even though, like I said, I prefer the two follow-ups more. It's a mandatory must for anyone interested in metal, just to hear the most commonly and widely agreed-upon point where the genre started. I mean, just for how so many bands that I love might not exist if this thing hadn't come out, I hafta give it respect for that alone. And all that, on the top of the fact that it rocks like hell? Are you hearing these **riffs**? I'm just saying, it's something when my only gripe about it is that the North American release jams a bunch of tracks together into large medleys. Would you even be surprised if I said this thing is a 5 to my ears? If you somehow missed the number at the top, the tone of my writing would probably give it away. And sure, there's probably gonna be other metal albums (even besides PARANOID and MASTERS OF REALITY) I'm gonna be way more positive about, if you can believe it, but I don't think any of them would inspire me to gush at length like this one did. Or inspire me to write **short-form narrative fiction** to open a review. I won't deny that its legacy and legend plays a part in why I like this album as much as I do, but, oh, what a legacy. What a legacy.

Metal in its purest form, nothing more and nothing less. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 10. It just fucking rocks. What else am I supposed to say? This is my first full Black Sabbath album, and my first full album of anything involving Ozzy Osbourne – I’ve heard singles before (War Pigs, Iron Man, Crazy Train, etc), but never a full album. I figured this one would be good, given the international success of everyone involved, but I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. Wikipedia mentions that this is generally considered to be the first true heavy metal album, and I can hear it – that opening track feels unlike any other atmosphere from an opening track on any other 70s album. It’s cool as shit, and sets a perfect tone for the rest of the album. After that, this thing breezes by – the harmonica at the start of The Wizard clicked perfectly with my sensibilities, and the entire soundscape just ruled. Behind the Wall of Sleep & N.I.B. are both sick as hell; the guitar solos during N.I.B. in particular are some of the best I’ve ever heard. Wicked World is oddly jazzy, with a bit of a Ram Jam - Black Betty type of vibe. Sleeping Village is pretty cool, before closing out on the blues-driven standout that is Warning. I hesitate to say “Ozzy Osbourne sounds kinda like Muddy Waters”, but it was the first comparison that came to mind vocally, and the instrumentation throughout is just spectacular. I could try to go deeper into the intricacies of what I liked about every track here, but it’s an experience much better served for the ears to hear, with headphones in, and full attention to the melodies being played. It’s surprisingly not as “heavy” as I thought it would be, at least for my modern standards of what’s considered heavy metal, but I’m not complaining at all. It’s a sick fucking album, I loved every single second of it front to back, and I’m a bit annoyed at myself for never listening to this until now. On a first pass, the charisma this album holds is simply undeniable (unless you REALLY fucking hate anything to do with Satan), and I have to imagine more of this album will reveal itself the more I come back to it. It already feels like a landmark album, and it’s just an easy, easy 10 for me.

The founding document for a new genre. A stone cold classic.

Arguably the greatest album cover of all time and arguably the most influential album of all time. Easy 5 stars.

This was groundbreaking, but it’s been done a lot better later by countless other bands. It belongs on the list. No need to play it more than once before you die. Favorite song:the wizard

Hard Rock, 1970 -> 3

- Not really a metal album, but I still enjoyed it for a debut album - That tritone at the start was a real game-changer though, and I sometimes wonder what Metal music would be like today, if not for that - The Warning is such a great song, I would listen to that all again for that song - Some songs were a little dull for me, but I liked their experimentation throughout the album, there was some funk feels even

6/10…rock / heavy metal

No arguments here. It's not Sabbath's best album by any stretch, but it established their sound and its influence is undeniable. It's crazy how brief this version linked to is, with just 6 songs and clocking in under 30 minutes (the 2014 remaster has 7 songs, delivering a more full album experience). Half of those songs remain among the best the band ever recorded ("Black Sabbath", "The Wizard", and "NIB") and have long been personal favorites. Metal wouldn't be what it is without this album, so it deserves respect and attention. I know they recorded better albums though, which keeps me from rating this one higher.

I'm the Prince of **********ing Darkness!! 4.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to hear this album for the first time in 1970. And it still is great. Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

I suppose there is something interesting going on here, but I’m more interested in the fact that enough people got it for them to have a career afterwards. I guess heavy metal isn’t for me.

Better than I expected.

Nice

I can't imagine how mind blowing it must have been to stick this on your record player in 1970.

I love the doom metal opening on this album; one of the main types of metal that I still listen to so sick to hear such an early example of it. Then the wizard was always my favourite Sabbath track as a youth. There's a great fresh natural nearly-live sound on this album (apparently it was recorded in one day) that makes it so easy to listen to and enjoy. I really like Warning as the ending track, it stands out as a little different to what came before, with more blues rock than the rest and the great extended jam.

Best: NIB Worst: Liked songs: 100%, 6/6 Strong 4 Love the sound, especially the guitar. I thought i didn't like ozzy's voice before because I really hadn't heard much black sabbath, and I still don't love it, but it's growing on me. Crazy that the album came out in 1970, does NOT feel like it. I don't think it's long enough to warrant a 5/5, especially since it's sub half hour. Two or three more solid tracks and i think it could get there. Still a really good record.

My intro to myself!

Black Sabbath walked so Wolfmother could run

I guess this is important but the ground it broke is not something I enjoy.

Yeah this was great.

I’m more Beastie Boys than Black Sabbath, more Adam Ant than Ozzy Osbourne…not at all the right audience for this album.

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

This was fun. I realized I’ve never just listened to a Black Sabbath album all the way through.

Honestly, easier listening than I expected and enjoyable from start to end.

Can’t help but jam to this one

The album itself was fine, though I do wonder if those that are religious go pray at church after listening to it.

I enjoyed it. It's always interesting to hear this early 'heavy' stuff and discovering templates and ideas that have permeated through the ages. It's not something I will return to, but overall I'm glad about it.

Wow, this is great. I’d give this album 4.5 stars if I could, but its vibes are just so good I’ll round up to 5. No song on here feels like a 5 star song, but everything together just works so well.

This is another that seems to be on here as the debut album by a band that has much better subsequent albums. Title track is iconic but I don’t care about anything else here. The next 2 (arguably 4) Sabbath albums blow this one out of the water.

You can’t argue with the “first” heavy metal album being on this list. Especially such a good one. The next two albums of theirs are better, and I prefer Master of Reality. But this band was great. Did they have a three album run of five stars?!

Track One, Side one - five stars, job done. Perhaps 4.75 over the whole album, but can't have less than five stars.

I really liked this, so amazing considering this is right at the beginning of heavy metal. Love the use of ambient noises and instruments you wouldn’t expect. So good

Not my Cup of tea

Yeah good! Not as good as Paranoid but certainly listenable

Fattar att den är inflytelserik osv... men lite tråkiga låtar, inte så många som sticker ut. Höjdpunkt: N.I.B.

Восторги мне не понятны, но это очевидно ультра-влиятельный альбом, который чувствуется как демо того, что ждет группу и нас впереди. Лучшая песня - N.I.B.

One song in and the guitar got vibrato. Production on this project is pretty great. Didn’t even realize this was “metal” until I read the reviews. Shows how much I know about metal or rock for that matter. Good project tho! Guitars were tantalizing. 3.5/5

good, the last song didn't need to be that long

A great trip back to my rocker youth but not their best

First metal album and it delivers almost perfectly

такая хорошая солянка из риффачков и настроений. но на то она и солянка

"Black Sabbath" is the debut album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It is considered the first true heavy metal album. The album was produced by Rodger Bain and was recorded in a single 12-hour session and had very few overdubs. Black Sabbath is Ozzy Osbourne (lead vocals, harmonica), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). The album received generally negative reviews upon its release but reappraisals cite it as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time. Commercially, it was a success hitting #8 in the UK and #23 in the US. Rain, thunder and bells ringing open the the self-titled "Black Sabbath." Iommi's frightening guitar riff and ozzy's eerie vocals. Plodding drums but it builds. The song takes off as Iommi gets a reverbing-echoing guitar sound. The song is about waking up from a nightmare. Ozzy rocks the harmonica in "The Wizzard." The band gets a start-stop-start dynamic going especially the drums. Iommi riffs and Ozzy harmonica. A song about Lord of the Ring's Gandalf. The wah-wah riff and Ozzy's "Oh Yeah" begin "N.I.B." Multple guitar solos. The song was named after Bill Ward's goatee and is told from Lucifer's point of view as he falls in love with woman. The band covers the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation's "The Warning." It's bluesy, grungy. They really stretch this out with drum and guitar solos, pace changes and extended jams. Sludgy, grungy, dirty, heavy and stoner are all good descriptors of this. Heavy on the Tony Iommi riffs. Ozzy vocals are seething and searing. I do hear some of the Cream comparisons and there is a fair bit of extensive jamming and some filler. But, this is a classic, a defining album and they would continue to expand this sound, hell, within the same year. Horns up people!

Sucks that every other heavy metal band that came after them saw this and thought “whoah.. loud guitars and dark lyrics” and not “whoah.. you can make an album that sounds badass and has a harmonica and a jaw harp” (don’t worry, I like metal, but y’know sometimes some more weird stuff would be nice)

En sjanger jeg sjeldent besøker, men når jeg gjør det; så er det black sabbath jeg hører på.

Superunknown sin rating var ment her

Fucker veldig med slutten av intro sangen, men ikke så veldig starten. Har aldri vært noe særlig fan av Ozzy Osbourne sin stemme. Han kan passe veldig bra på noen sanger, men ikke alltid. Veldig kult valg å ha et munnspill på The Wizard, har alltid syntes at det er et undervurdert instrument, men beste sangen er nok N.I.B. Skjønner veldig godt at det har blitt en klassiker, det er jo så ulikt alt annet på den tiden. Men jeg har litt det samme problemet her som på Paranoid, det kan bli litt tynt og utdatert. Men synes allikevel det er mange gode ideer og at det har hatt en stor innvirkning på musikk som kom etter. Black Sabbath - 4/4.5

Classic sabbath, great album

For some reason black sabbath was one of the metal bands i didn't listen to as much of when i was young. Feels like a mistake

Not as intense as I was expecting.

Los PADRES del Metal.

10/10

Metal like you would play at a Halloween party. Really dark.

Favorite Track: Black Sabbath

black sabbath is one of the artists this list has really helped me get into the most

pretty good not my type of stuff tho

Not into that style of music or vocals.

Great for a late night drive with the top down.

This was so much more interesting than The Osbournes made me think it would be- super gothy and Victorian in places, and really great blues throughout. Another album that I had preconceived ideas about, which I thought I wouldn’t enjoy. I loved the blues elements mixed with really crunchy rock guitar- if Black Sabbath is the origin of metal that doesn’t necessarily make me think I’d like to listen to more metal, but I definitely need to take a look back at blues. I really enjoyed the fantasy songs and lyrics on The Wizard, and even in N.I.B., which sounds at first like a love song and then abstracts into something cultish and fantastical- he’s the devil! Evil Woman was funky but felt a bit like it was telling a story from a Thomas Hardy novel in context with the rest of the album. Musically, I loved the weird sproinging noises on Sleeping Village, and I loved the album opening with a rainy village soundscape, then falling into clangy guitars and bells tolling doom. It felt like the album could quite easily be stripped of guitars to something simpler and folky/bluesy, but they definitely add a lot- squealing and grime. So many of the riffs were really memorable and felt totally epic. Cannot believe how much I liked this. I put it on several times just while I was pottering about the house and felt like a powerful witch. So fun.

I've always respected Black Sabbath, loved Ozzy, and put on Paranoid a fair few times but never given them a proper listen, and now I wish I had done so sooner. What a great debut album, I love the operatic, show off sounds of here literally the birth of metal. Opening an album with the sound of rain and then it then going into an eerie slow, funeral march with Ozzy crying out to you - what more could you want?? Then you go into The Wizard and we have the harmonica! Obviously a band who started out loving the Blues and this is heavily present in this album, with what sounds like it could easily be a forgotten Led Zep album in places. What I noticed most when listening to this album was how I found myself being impressed by every instrument at different times which I don't always do. The drumming is out of this world (I don't often find myself impressed by drumming but it stood out to me so so much in this album, just wow) and I love how often the rhythm changes in a number of songs, obviously the guitar riffs are wonderfully metal (I did I'm afraid get a bit tired of the guitar solos by then end of the album but love the ambition) and Ozzy who I always thought was a rubbish singer, I take it back completely and am embarrassed I ever said such things. He is a great metal singer and can actually sing a great melody that doesn't sound easy with a lot of accidentals thrown in. I'm not sure how much you're meant to listen to the lyrics, if they are just a filler or have a deeper meaning that has passed me by but having Lucifer thrown in is always fun.

Ah yes, the first ever metal album. Even 50 years later this is a timeless masterpiece. It's amazing to see how well this holds up in comparison to the even heavier death metal that exists now, that truly is telling of how ahead of its time this album was.

I prefer Spinal Tap I’m 90% sure Tony Iommi came back to my house for a smoke in the 90s though

It’s more psychedelic than I thought it would be. It’s also got an English pastoral, folklore feel to it that I like. It’s amazing to think this came out in 1970. I probably won’t listen to it again but it’s clear they took rock music in a new direction that led to everything from Iron Maiden to Faith No More to Nirvana to Mogwai and beyond… even… dare I say… Pantera. Innovators.

Their debut is not one of my favourite Sabbath records, but there are glimpses of the magic(k) to come over the next five albums.

I've never listened to this before, but I knew it's considered the first metal album. I'm familiar with Black Sabbath, but I also don't like most metal, so I've not put it high on my list. To clarify, metal is a lot like anime to me. I have friends who will tell me that I'm just being prejudiced, I'm not giving the culture the respect it deserves, and then they tell me that, because they know me, I will actually really like THIS one, because it's different. And then I sit down with them and watch an episode. And then, the main character is a special magical boy who tells you what attack he's going to do, the art quality changes wildly multiple times, and, most egregiously, a child's shirt disappears for plot reasons (no, she's not a child, she just looks like a child). And so I'm out. That's metal, too. "You'll like this," followed by a wall of guitars that sound like wood chippers and singers that sound like a chain smoker getting in a screaming match with a banshee. That said, yeah, I like this quite a bit. It's powerful while still having dynamics, I can tell when the singer is trying to portray different feelings, and it's mixed by somebody who realized that those sliders on their board are gradual settings, and not just an on/off switch. I understand why this created a genre. This is one of the most important albums ever, and helped me understand metal a lot more. But I looked up their next album, and, wow. I know almost half that album before even listening to it, and they never even came close to those highs on their debut. I think I got more value from this album as cultural appreciation than from finding some music to buy. I don't know if there's much here that Paranoid couldn't surpass. Is Paranoid on this list?

Classic.

Great songs. Tons of tracks I was already familiar with but the ones I didn’t already know were great as well.

Listened Before? N I really love this album. Stripping what Sabbath would become down to their roots. The atmosphere, the art, the guitar work, the lyrics. It's all top notch. No polish here and no polish necessary. An absolute metal classic. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: N.I.B.

1001 Albums #22 Ok my thought going into this was: I'm so over metal can it stop But, actually, for a metal album this really is not bad I'm not revisiting in the future I don't think but easily my favourite metal album the generator has cursed me with yet

I'm not really a metal fan. I know this album is usually said to be the first heavy metal album, and I supposes that might be true, but really their next album, Paranoid, is far better than this.

Ozzy es amor.

this is just led zeppelin with extra steps. you want me to take the whole “first metal album” thing seriously when the album in question has “evil woman” on it? no thanks. their next few are significantly better

I quite enjoyed this. It is considered the Father of Metal music. I was fascinated when listening slowly that it had such a heavy blues and jazz connection. I was very lucky to have this one on Vinyl in my house.

it’s alright, not as bad as i thought, lives up to my low expectations

Pre-listening thoughts: I don’t do metal. Post/during listening thoughts: I still don’t do metal. But this wasn’t the worst metal I’ve ever heard. 3/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: hell nah Fav tracks: The Wizard(…ANNDDDD IIIIIIIIIIII 🧹) Least fav tracks: while it’s not the worst metal I’ve ever heard I didn’t actively enjoy like any of this.

Underwhelming. 1/5

This must have blown people's minds when it was released in 1970. The guitar work is awesome. I have to rate this 5 stars due to its influence on metal, grunge and other genres.

Cool that this was released in 1970, feels that this sound is way ahead of its time. Although I feel like they are still 'taking shape' and fully growing into their style. Still solid, 3.5.

The birth of metal sounded a lot different than you'd think. By today's standards, this almost plays like a Cream album with a little more teeth.

awesome

Great debut

Near classic.

its aight

Super solid.

really liked this. thought it holds up super well

What a truly unsettling album cover. The opening and title track matches it perfectly. It starts off with rain and church bells with ritualistic drumming when suddenly a thundering guitar plays a simple yet evil riff evoking scary images of a "figure in black which points at me" which is perfectly sung by Ozzy before letting out a distressing scream. My dad used to play this when I was very young and I didn't get it, it bored the life out of me. How wrong I was. Despite this being regarded as the first heavy metal album (which I do agree with), it's very much deeply rooted in blues and finding its feet. Whilst the guitar sound and riffs are very heavy in places and the drums bludgeon away, you can still hear the bluesy sound and they wouldn't fully lean into the heaviness just yet. Bill Ward is on the drums who is so close to taking the MVP spot if it wasn't for the guitar work by Tony Iommi. The album is packed with memorable riffs and solos. Ozzy, despite not being the best vocalist of all time, sounds really great here too. Before the rock lifestyle took over he was a very good metal singer and his voice is iconic. His vocal melodies are very catchy and he fits the music perfectly. I think the album quality dips slightly on side two, but the first half is as good as metal gets. 'N.I.B.' has the best riff on the album. It's so distorted and sludgy. A truly landmark album in music giving birth to a whole genre and when Sabbath are good, they are up there with the greatest of all time.

Solider Hardrock mit starken Riffs. Meine Favoriten sind “Sleeping Village” ( Geheimtipp) und “Wicked World”. Es ist auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen, wenn mal Hard sein soll.

Surprisingly good. I enjoyed this one. Put it on the 4 side of 3.5.

This is OK and still holds up pretty well after 50 years plus. I've never been a fan of Ozzy's voice particularly, but I can live with it in reasonably small quantities. The drive and style of this mean that it's really not a problem here. Half decent and I'd listen again for sure.

First impressions are that this is a heavy blues album. The band has a great sound, I’ve always been a sucker for that heavy sounding 70’s drumming. Vocally, not much to praise about. Ozzy isn’t off key at any point but he more or less talks and low range yells throughout this . The more harmonious Ozzy won’t come until much later. Lyrically this won’t win any competitions but that really isn’t the goal here. This is good and it’s only 5 songs. I could have sworn I was 12 songs deep. As long as you like blues infused rock from the 70’s you are good to go here. I’ll be returning for more now that I know Ozzy and the boys aren’t really devil worshipers. Choice cut: The Wizard…

The best thing to come out of an industrial accident!

Lots of great stuff but feels like the back part is padded out a bit.

great album

4/5. Great dynamics between guitar and bass. I also liked the medley structure.

General impression: this is awesome Detailed review: Kind of similar to my review thoughts on Ambient 1 - it’s crazy that the album that basically invented the new genre (heavy metal in this case) is still such a great example of that genre. It’s clearly more like heavy blues-rock, but all the touchstones of metal are right there. Deeper thoughts (context): Score: 4.2 Number of albums left to review: 950 Number of albums from the list I’d consider “must-listens”: 30 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 21

7/10 D.I.B

7/10

I've never heard this album before. It's not bad at all. And, honestly, not what I expected.

This was a surprising listen, it started a little questionable but it picked up and I liked it.

It was okay, probably wouldn't listen to it again but Killer no filler score: 5.5/10

Muddy, silly, heavy, sloppy, awesome! Who could not love this?

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath is a monumental album, and one of those few albums that transcends its status as an album and is just a defining moment in music history. It marks the ushering in of a darker, heavier world of music that hadn’t really been seen to date and, remarkably, it’s opening track in particular still sounds darker and heavier than a lot of metal being released today, over 50 years since I am of course talking about Black Sabbath from Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath, whose toe-curling, earth-shattering, doomy central riff conjures up images of summoning demons even before the lyrics do, and prove that these four lads from the Midlands are not here to fuck around. And then that’s followed up by a quaint harmonica-led tune about a wizard. The album is a bit all over the place tonally, but the songs still slap for the most part. N.I.B is a gnarly hard rock banger; Sleeping Village begins with this lovely acoustic finger picking but quickly gets very eerie and then suddenly very heavy - it sounds like three songs slapped together into one but is a lot of fun; and Warning is a truly epic closer with another monster riff that descends into some chaotic free-form soloing. The only song I don’t really care for on here is Evil Woman which is just a pretty basic and forgettable blues track, but doesn’t exactly drag the album down. I was considering only giving this a 4 as it is a little inconsistent and because Sabbath released a stronger and more cohesive album in Paranoid just seven months after this, but on a relisten I just enjoyed the hell out of it. Sometimes I’ll hear an album that supposedly started or defined a genre and you can hear the roots of it but it does feel like a stepping stone to far more assured and impactful work when they or artists ironed out the kinks - but there aren’t any kinks here. Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath is bold, brutal, and it’s bloody great.

This is not my genre so I expected I'd hate this, but it wasn't so bad.

Totally brilliant

It's always a good sign when an album leaves me wanting more, and that is certainly the case here. From the mysterious album art to the haunting guitars wailing like banshees, this is a great package. Favorite track: "Wicked World," but it's a tight race.

Cool riffs, full sound. Pretty enjoyable throughout. Liked this one much better than vol. 4.

Interesting. I have never listened to it. It seems a lot more blues oriented that from Paranoid onward.

I enjoy Sabbath and like Ozzy's voice but this album is dark and dreary and he is just learning his vocal ways. 5 songs at 40 mins, those are long tracks. From the intro of the opening track you can immediately hear their influence on future rock and think of songs by Metallica, Alice In Chains, Deep Purple, Rainbow, even Zeppelin. "The Wizard" is rock royalty, still played regularly on the radio and those licks are worshipped by metalheads around the globe. "Wasp/Behind The Wall/Basically..." eventually becomes known simply as "N.I.B." and is one of the foundations of hard rock as we know it. What a jam, it blows the doors off and has likely killed many a woofer in it's day! Not an album I'd listen to often but I am glad I consumed it from top to bottom once in my lifetime. Top 1001 due to influence, defining a genre and staying power. Thank goodness Ozzy learned to sing with inflection and became a much better songwriter in future years.

Black Sabbath

Loved the guitar solos

One of the best debut albums ever, as well as one of the most important albums in the history of metal. However, not the best in the sabbath catalogue.

BELLO BELLO BELLO. MI PIACCIONO I BLACK SABBATHHHHHHHH!! Carico, mixed, interesting, just beautiful

interestinggg

I didn't expect to care about this album at all. Much better than I expected. 4/5

favourite song - behind the wall of sleep favourite lyric - a politician's job they say is very high / for he has to choose who's gotta go and die / they can put a man on the moon quite easy / while people here on earth are dying of old diseases cover - 5/10 album overall - 3/5

The birth of Heavy Metal right here! 4.6 stars

Absolutely amazing the only low point is weirdly Ozzys vocals

Harmonica. Wicked bass lines. Jazzy timing. Mouth harp. I enjoyed this way more than I expected. My first impression of Ozzy was from his reality show on MTV. The rock scene in the 70s was pretty incredible.

so much better than their cheesy reputation

Best album ever

The title track is 4 or 5 stars but the rest of the album didn’t quite live up to the promise - I mostly only like slower doom metal rather than the loud shouty kind. Between a 3 and a 4 but going with my first instinct.

The only Black Sabbath album I’ve ever listened to was Paranoid, and I thoroughly loved it, so I was excited to get this one. And it did not disappoint. I had Metallica Master of Puppets yesterday, but Black Sabbath album has exactly what I was looking for, but missing, on Master of Puppets - some damn heart and soul. Make it messy. Make it dark. Make it sexy. Ozzy gets it. MoP was so uptight - honestly not sure why people like it. But this is a Black Sabbath review, so enough about that. I read this album was almost entirely recorded in a single day and released on Friday the 13th. Everything about this album is perfectly suited to be the starting point for Black Sabbath and all associated lore. Really enjoyed it. 4/5 Highlights: Black Sabbath The Wizard

As a metalhead, I say that every single soul that likes or plays metal should be grateful for this record! Everything related to metal exists because of this band and this record. Starting the record with one of the heaviest riffs ever written to this day, and continuing with genre-defining songs. In 1970, this was completely groundbreaking, and even now it is cited by metalheads all around the globe. This marks the beginning of a never-ending era.

Groundbreaking for its time, really enjoyable listen

Very dark, cool to hear where some bands that I liked got this from, such as AIC, Metallica, and Slayer. Awesome early metal album.

This is harsh on it, but half the songs sounded like War Pigs. I know War Pigs came after this, but I can't reduce that album's ratings.

This album rocks so hard now, I can only imagine how mindblowing it was in 1970.

Sounds kinda bluesy, not what I expected Never listened to black Sabbath before.

Perfect. Can’t imagine listening to this for the first time in 1970. Started an entire genre of music

The riffs on this album are great, except for (funnily enough) the riff on the most popular track here, N.I.B., which is too simple to prop up such a lengthy song. Any melody doubled between electric guitar and bass feels weighty and stadium-shaking, even if it's really only shaking a localised environment like your middle ear. But it gives off the impression of raw power. Led Zeppelin does the same thing, to equally great effect. The title track is excellent, almost a proto-doom-metal genre – which is pretty ballsy for a year where other hugely popular releases were Let It Be, All Things Must Pass, and Cosmo's Factory. (Very different to their contemporaries, is what I'm saying. And in the 60s and 70s, that was usually a good thing.) The Wizard, Evil Woman, and N.I.B. are all fun, energetic jam tracks set to rock-solid guitar hooks. Admittedly, a couple of the tracks are definite filler and are entirely kept afloat by the riffs. My favourite moment was listening to Black Sabbath on Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath. 4/5 Key tracks: Black Sabbath, The Wizard, Wicked World

No explanation needed.

Classic Sabbath.

Jimi Hendrix vibes. Great album.

Classic Sabbath.

A strong debut. Not a fan of how Ozzy sounds on most of these songs tho

I’m a sucker for Black Sabbath and this one is no exception. This album is more rooted in the Blues than their later albums, including a cover of the Aynsley Dunbar song Warning. Chock full of classics like N.I.B., Evil Woman and Black Sabbath. Every song is a joy.

My first metal album, unexpectedly nice and calmer than I expected.

Just not my type of music.

HELL YEAH

Somewhere between 2 and 3. I'd prefer a 10 point rating system.

Me parecieron interesantes los mezclas de estilos, no me esperaba los sonidos que habían, pero no logró mantener mi atención durante todo el álbum.

The original

7/10 Enjoyed this way more than I expected to. Listened in the same week as Led Zeppelin, and vastly preferred this approach to bluesy hard rock/metal. Having said that, this was a more accessible sound than I would have predicted. It was also fun - the lyrics knew exactly what they were doing in terms of the slightly silly spookiness. Drums were amazing. Best: the Wizard

One of the best debut albums of all time. And what an impact it must have had! As it was released before my time, I can't even imagine how the opening track must have felt for the unsuspecting public. Pure evil, and it still sounds great today. The unmistaken Iommi-riffs, Butler's prominent bass lines, Ward's tight drumming and Ozzy's better-than-you-think vocals (he reaches really high notes!). I'm not too fond of Behind the Wall of Sleep, but the rest of the album is top quality. Just to rub it in, they recorded it in less time than it takes Metallica to tune their guitars. Not a dead set 5-star album, but the quality of the best tracks, along with the album's historical significance, takes it to the top.

The opening track, 'Black Sabbath', encapsulates the essence of dark, gritty, heavy metal music that is Black Sabbath. Followed by The Wizard, a very well-written song, the harmonica intro set the tone for the song, adding new flavor for the album. But the middle section, the album gets boring. It feels like circling around one solid identity and rephrasing it into different songs. The longer instrumental songs are somewhat boring, but overall it is a really good album.

Heavier sound than expected, strange to think that this was just after the psychedelic 60s. Unlike some albums on this list it's really easy to see how new and revolutionary this sound was. I still hear sound like this in modern metal. It's all pretty good and enjoyable for me as well, although Ozzy Osbourne does sound like he's just shouting the vocals from the back of the studio.

Kyllä tällainen kitara kelpaa. Ja basso!! Kaipaisin vain jotain kunnon hittiä, megakoukkua, jotta levy olisi täydellinen. Tunnelma ja kitara kuitenkin saavat täydet pisteet. Sopivaa nuorisolaismaisuutta.

Tasapainottelee meemiyden ja ihan vain hupsuuden välillä. Levyllä ei ole yhtään oikeasti oikeasti hyvää biisiä, ja vaikka jokin sen vilpittömyydessä kutkuttaa, en ole valmis nostamaan arvosanaa, kun kysymys on musiikista, jota en käytännössä koskaan laittaisi soimaan. 2+

Beautiful album. Love Izzy’s voice.

Primer acercamiento a Black Sabbath en formato LP. Black Sabbath (1970) es el disco homónimo del conjunto de Birmingham y también el que muchos dicen responsable de dar el primer puntapié al género del Heavy Metal formalmente. Sin embargo, este disco es mucho más que eso. Así, durante casi 43 minutos de pura adrenalina los oyentes somos presentes del universo que construyen Ozzy y compañía, adornando estas increíbles composiciones de letras e interpretación que evocan una sensación de terror e intriga por lo que viene. Si tuviese que destacar algo que no haya sido de mi agrado tendría que mencionar que, en veces, el sonido Hard-rockero de este disco puede volverse un tanto monótono, detalle que se hace más presente bajo un par de canciones (las cuales no destacan como los puntos más altos de este trabajo). Pese a lo dicho, este es sin duda un disco que cambió para siempre el destino de la música como la conocemos hoy. Influyente como pocos y una gran introducción al género. FAVTRAXS: Black Sabbath, N.I.B, Sleeping Village, Warning LEASTFAV: Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games With Me 3.5/5 (podría ser un 4/5 en la teoría)

Great album

tiene mejores album(s)

It is not hard to hear why many despised Black Sabbath when it came out in 1970. What was once the blues had become bastardized, transformed into an art form so ugly it needed no real justification for its existence. A singer sounding so out of tune, and out of whack, with his band behind him noodling endlessly throughout whole songs which would last as long as fifteen minutes in its medley forms. And yet, there is something quite modern about Black Sabbath, given what we know now. It could be passed for something that could have been released yesterday, given the despair and slow as molasses feeling it achieves. This is essentially the Sixties dream taken to the industrial landscape, dragged and beaten down by life and given an execution-style shooting. All in the span of almost forty minutes. Black Sabbath, the album and the band, became the blueprint for many other soon to be called heavy metal bands to emulate and, with that, an entire new musical landscape had been paved.

Old school Metal, ein Wegbereiter dieses Album

very nice

ok ganz ok, viel gitarrengedudel dann

Gutes Old School Metal

Not a huge fan but can understand the significance of the album.

Notable track: Black Sabbath

Better than I thought, and surprising! Harmonica?! Not too bad indeed. And if this was the birth of metal...it just seems surprisingly tepid compared to what's out there now.

Someone has been in my room and drunk all of my beers

Le metal n’aurait pas pu mieux commencer, c’est vraiment un beau petit bijou macabre et profondément lourd qui n’a pas pris une ride (on pourrait pas dire la même chose pour Ozzy). C’est aussi un album sans no1 hit, ce qui rend l’écoute fraîche et pleine de redécouvertes lors de la seconde écoute.

Not my Favourite Black Sabbath album but still excellent. Wicked world is my favourite from this album.

Really innovative for 1970. Enjoyed so much more than I thought I would. Diverse musicianship and lyricism. Really big fan and no weak tracks as far as I’m concerned. Rare 5 stars.

Reduced track list so only 28 mins. Vocals were a little underwhelming on some of the tracks but they were shredding. Low 4.

maybe its because I just listened to the birthday party, maybe its because this is fire, but I was rocking w/ this

5/10 - I thought that this album would be way too loud and rockish however it was actually just boring.

Don’t care

ye

Average

The rise of black metall!

very good mood

Just a disclaimer: My ratings are a reflection of my own personal taste and nothing more. Surprisingly, I really didn’t mind this one. Didn’t particularly care for the lead vocals, but I did enjoy parts of these tracks. Probably won’t listen to it again, but I didn’t hate it.

Great early metal jam album

Not really my thingie, but i liked it!

I understand what they did for metal and i might seem hars. but i cant rate it higher.

this sounds a lot like led zep. the blues influence is really apparent and i think i would be more appreciative of this kind of music if it hadn’t evolved (?) into something so far away from the blues especially in terms of the guitar sound. there’s a SUBTLETY and a certain level of restraint here that i do not think applies to later hard rock/metal music (at least what i’ve heard so far). yeah the devil lady ghost stuff is silly but so was zeppelin’s lord of the rings schtick. i can imagine that this would have been pretty goddamn mindblowing to hear in 1970 if you were just some random british kid. also i love the fact that the first song on the album *black sabbath* by the band black sabbath is called “black sabbath.” OK branding!

That was fine; definitely not as bad I was expecting. It didn’t feel as “metal” as I expected and leaned more towards hard rock. It definitely reminded me a bit of Led Zeppelin so I can’t really say I didn’t like this without being a hypocrite…I still think some of the theatrics of this kind of music are a bit silly but I don’t think this music is bad or anything.

For this review, I am looking at the North American edition of the album, which swaps out the cover of Crow's "Evil Woman" with "Wicked World" in the standard tracklisting. After hearing Paranoid on this journey, I guess I'm back once to the album that proverbially rang in metal music as we know it. Starting with the pattering rain and the chiming of the bells followed by that iconic doom guitar riff to the title track, the mood of Black Sabbath's debut album settles into that sinister vibe. Indeed, this starts well with the title track and "The Wizard" which establish the doom-driven tone. Then I realized that the album could have been tighter in comparison. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" and "N.I.B." are strong songs individually, but a noodly bass solo from Geezer Butler loosely connects them. It's not badly played, but the songs should have been sequenced better. A similar case happens when linking "Sleeping Village" to their cover of The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation's "Warning" by Tony Iommi holding onto a single guitar note. Again, not bad but it could have been more meaningful. I only have this notion because I've listened to other Sabbath albums in the past, including again Paranoid recently, and the song compositions were more compact and got to the necessary beats than the slow-burn moments on their debut. It's still getting a solid recommendation from me, and it is worth seeking out if you haven't. Given the other Sabbath albums on this list and their discography, this debut holds a more historical significance.

I get the cultural significance of this record but I just don’t think I was put on this earth to listen to heavy metal. It’s just not for me. I’d like to say I’d listen to it again but I probably won’t.

I fucking love this album cover, it's the literal definition of "metal as fuck". Despite it being one of the most critically acclaimed debuts in heavy metal, I'm only now tapping into Black Sabbath's self-titled. I knew for certain that I would enjoy it though...and I did...a lot. It's super bluesy and less conventionally heavy which I expected considering it's a debut - It leans more into its hard-rock sounds. It's still unquestionably heavy at moments though like with those distorted guitar hits driving the insatiably groovy 'The Wizard'. And also that riff that comes in after the bass solo in that four-part song. 'N.I.B' particularly has one of the best final few seconds I've heard in a Sabbath song - it's so chaotic! I love that twinkling guitar solo on 'Wicked World' as well; it sounds well ahead of its time. Also, the drumming all over this record is top-notch, and the way the songs progress is so satisfying. It's weird - if it weren't for Iommi's aggressive down-tuning and other guitar sorceries, this would sound like many other hard-rock records. But a combination of those dark chords, this unsettling album cover, and Ozzy's hellish lyricism shifts it into those uncharted heavy metal territories of the time. If anything this album was a cool insight into Sabbath's slightly less-developed, albeit still incredible sound. They really are an incredible band.

Not a fan of heavy metal but this had a bluesy feel to it, lyrics were good, I have never enjoyed any other Black Sabbath album up until now.

If I could give it a 6 I would. The OG Kings of Metal. I’ve always loved this album.

yea this shit slapped

Short and sweet??

Classic Sabbath.

Fav: N.I.B. Least Fav: Black Sabbath It’s ok, and I’ll acknowledge that on a better day I may have rated this higher, but I didn’t vibe with this as much as I’d hoped. There’s some talent in there for sure

Absolutely iconic album and an enjoyable listen. Taken in the context of when it was released and the impact it had on music since then it deserves a 5. But as a standalone listen today, it's great but not perfect. There are a lot of fantastic ideas on here but they're not really developed fully.

GOSTEI DEMAIS

Black Sabbath 4.5 The Wizard 4.4 Behind the Wall of Sleep 4 N.I.B. 4 Evil Woman 3.7 Sleeping Village 3.6 Warning (The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation cover) 3.7 Score: 3.985714286

It’s so refreshing to listen to a band doing something completely unbeholden to prior conventions. This could have easily been another blues rock snore-fest, but the way they focused on riffs and tone gave it a completely unique sound that spawned an entirely new genre. Every member of the band is playing at max capacity on their instrument, and Ozzy’s unique voice is like the cherry on top.

hell ye im hai asf bru n.i.b bass solo amazing solos overall makes me drool k k solid 6 10

Mmmmm yummy sticky fudgy newly invented metal with a smattering of Ozzy on the harmonica. Get in ma belly. Top tracks: NIB cool solo

A great album from this influential artist. Some great riffs and vocals, but maybe lacking some killer tracks that appear on later albums.

Excellent! Seminal.

Fantastic

A rare five from me.

I really liked the guitar riffs and solos, they paired nicely with Ozzy's vocals. Overall a good album. I wouldn't buy it personally since this isn't my cup of tea but I can see why people would like it.

This was decent. Bland singing and edgy goth lyrics, but good instrumentals and pleasantly short

10/10

The first real Heavy Metal album: Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath featuring the song Black Sabbath. Even for the simple start of the genre, it does feature some very heavy riffs with some strong Doom Metal sounds sprinkled throughout. But for the most part, it is the early Heavy Metal and Hard Rock blend that Black Sabbath was and is known for. Even if the album in its entirety isn't the most perfect collection, the fact that the first ever album of a major genre is this consistent and great overall, is very much to appreciate. The sounds of thunder, rain and a chruch bell start the album with an ominous sound of Nature Recordings that transition abruptly into a Heavy and dark sounding atomsphere that back when this released must've sound straight up scary and disturbing. Although the song is much slower and more sombre than what most Metal will later become, it still is an absolutely incredible track. It slowly transcends you into a nocturnal and psychedelic nightmare that swings from one explosion to the next while in between it is fill with mystical lyrics that only strenghten the ominous feeling of it. The second part which picks up more speed almost feels like a chase before exploding into even bigger and greater soundscapes. If this song doesn't make feel uneasy, I can't help you anymore... This is perfect. 'The Wizard' goes more into the direction of Heavy Psych and Blues Rock with Ozzy pulling out his harmonica and giving us a Bluesy riff that is replaced by a Heavy guitar riff. If I'm being honest, this is what early Led Zeppelin tried to be but failed. It is heavy but still sounds entertaining and is extremely fun. While it isn't as perfect as the title track, it still shows as an incredible track full of great moments. I mainly prefer the more Metal songs than the ones that go more into Hard Rock. A more Psychedelic Rock touched sound finds its place on 'Behind the Wall of Sleep' which mostly shines with the weird and echoed vocal effects. The song itself starts too slow and doesn't really have enough to really work in that sense. The riffs and the guitar solo is alright but the album does much better. But I do think that the vocal performance saves this enough to still be considered a really good song otherwise... not so much. The albums best known song is probably 'N.I.B.' which, in my opinion, is like a better version of Sunshine of your Love by Cream. The riffs sound very similar but this song pulls the thing much better off. It is catchy, it is heavy, it has some great performed lyrics that match the whole aesthetic of the album and it just sounds good. The guitar solo is pulled off incredibly and no single second is wasted or out of focus. Easily a perfect song although I still think that 'Black Sabbath' is a superior Metal track. The albums second side is started with 'Evil Woman' (originally titled 'Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games With Me') and although the chorus is really catchy and great, the vocals are mixed a little bit too quiet to fully work and show what energy is actually behind the loud facade. I also think that there isn't mearly enough heaviness on this track. It just sounds a little bit pale and except the chorus and a couple moments here and there, it's just an okay song. Good but not too good. 'Sleeping Village' returns to the Heavy Metal but before doing it starts with another ominous intro that is mixing aspects of Folk with a Jew's harp that very fittingly works here to create that ominous feeling. After the heavy sound returns we get a mostly instrumental Heavy Metal Jam that has some aspects of Blues and complex structure sprinkled throughout. The song is really great even when Ozzy isn't shining here. It then transitions into the 10 minute 'Warning' which also closes the album with a mix of Heavy Metal and Blues Rock in the form of an even longer Jam that adds even more complexity at some points that it's nearly Prog and has other moments that get close to Doom Metal. It's an incredible closing track although some moments do feel a little bit out of focus and washed out but luckily not enough to hurt the song in a major way because it still slaps. favourites: Black Sabbath, N.I.B., Warning, The Wizard least favourites: Evil Woman, Behind the Wall of Sleep Rating: decent to strong 8 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

3.5

chill and understandable

Started as a 2, but worked it way up to 4. So I'll give it a solid 3.

Rating: 2.5 stars Overall: Not my usual kind of thing but some tracks are actually kind of a vibe for this time of year if you’re in a very specific mood for long guitar riff-heavy music and a droney voice. Very hit and miss for me. I had low expectations for this one so a few of the songs pleasantly surprised me! Best song - N.I.B. Track 1 - Black Sabbath. Love the intro. So autumnal. Giving massive Halloween vibes with the church bells and kinda haunting vocals. I’d come back to this one for the intro only. Rest of the song from around 1m in is not my sort of thing and goes on for too long. Track 2 - The Wizard I like more and might come back to it again. I’m enjoying the harmonica and groovy guitars. Track 3 - Third song Behind the Wall of Sleep has a weird time signature or something. It feels messy and offbeat. I wouldn’t come back to this one. Don’t like Ozzy’s voice in this one either. Track 4 - Fourth song NIB is definitely one I’d go back to. Great driving song on a motorway. Cross between Born to be Wild and System of a Down. Best song on the album. I definitely turned the volume up for this one. Track 5 - Fifth song Evil Woman has an amazing guitar riff. Could be a grower. I could see this soundtracking being wronged by a fellow gal but the feminist in me hates that this is written by a mediocre white boi 🤺 Track 6 - Trying to remain open-minded with song six - Sleeping Village - but it’s immediately giving whingey sad boy anthem. It does kick off a bit but - nah, I was right. Too random for me. All over the damn shop. One line of lyrics in the whole song and the rest is guitar. Track 7 - Warning - I love that the last song runs into this one. One of my all time fave things that rewards album listeners for sure. Guitar is cracking but the lyrics at times sound like a made-up song that I’d sing to my dog on a day I was feeling particular deft with my lyrical improvising. Whoever played guitar on this album deserves 85% of the royalties. Rent was dueeeeee. Okay I thought this song was finished because it changed sounds but it’s only half way through. Why not make it 2 songs?! Everything else has cut out except the guitar. Big fat meh. Sounds like I’m overhearing a (very talented) person fuck around practising guitar. It’s gone on for so long I’m starting to think the rest of the band is being held hostage. I can’t imagine how awkward it would be to stand around on stage wondering what to do with your hands while this is going on. Okay the rest of the band have come back from their toilet break or something. “Just a little bit too strong” part is great and it’s a shame that the whole song didn’t have the vibe of this one bit. This has knocked the overall star rating down for me. Hard skip. Track 8 - Wicked World - last song on the album. I like the lyrics and message of this one. Sonically was a bit messy for me. Like I’ll be getting into it and then everything cuts out and there’s a messy guitar solo. Not sure.

A classic

I guess it’s ok. Is it really metal? Todays music exists because of the predecessors, but by today’s standards it’s rather tame.

Kannast lesendur við orðið leiðinlegt? Tímamótaverk sem markar ekki upphaf neinna skemmtilegheita. Auk þess er Ozzy mögulega leiðinlegasta rödd rokksögunnar. Þessi plata stingur kannski ekki í eyrun, en ef vilji er til að hlusta á snemmáttundametal þá er bara best að hlusta á Deep purple.

The epitome of metal. This album is in the top five of all heavy albums

fuck yeah

Класс! Когда-то эта музыка считалась тяжёлой :))

4 maybe 5

Surprisingly good!

This was probably remarkably heavy for the time, it seems relatively tame with so many heavier genres today. I knew of Black Sabbath but had only heard bits of ‘NIB’ all the other tracks were brand new. 3.25/5 decent rock but not sure I’d seek it out again. I can imagine this influenced many musicians

I liked this well enough, but I prefer later Black Sabbath albums to this. Nothing bad here, just a lot that sounds the same. Instrumentation is great and some interesting lyrics as well, but nothing really grabbed me. Still good, though. Just not great.

angsty dad rock that they think is deep but it’s kind of monotonous

Not for me.