Black Sabbath

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.

Iconic and revolutionary but not fully formed

Classic Sabbath!

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

7/10

nah

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.

Still finding themselves.

Good

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

aight

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

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.

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).

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.

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

6/10…rock / heavy metal

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.

Black Sabbath walked so Wolfmother could run

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

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

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

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.

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.

Not my Cup of tea

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.

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

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

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

Not as intense as I was expecting.

Great for a late night drive with the top down.

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?

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.

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

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.

its aight

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

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

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.

Loved the guitar solos

interestinggg

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

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

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

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

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.

tiene mejores album(s)

ok ganz ok, viel gitarrengedudel dann

Gutes Old School Metal

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

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.

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

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

Don’t care

very good mood

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

3.5

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

A classic

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.

And on the 8th day, Black Sabbath created Doom Metal. And it was ok in places. I quite like the long, atmospheric moodiness of some songs but it didn't blow me away. Quite amazing that later in the same year they came back with Paranoid, which seems a lot more deliberate and sure of itself, where this debut feels a bit more of an experiment.

betra en eg helt

A classic I guess, but not my cup of tea.

Standard heavy guitar rock. Some decent guitar solos.

This is a "classic", and it's obviously enormously influential (reasonable people can disagree if that's in a good way or a bad way). Somebody's always going to reference "Helter Skelter" or Link Wray's "Rumble" or whatever, but with the benefit of hindsight, this is obviously Mitochondrial Eve for modern heavy metal. But, in a way entirely consistent with that legacy, it's fairly crude and primitive. The recording quality is rough - not bad, just a little rough. And there's clearer through-lines to the blues rock that Sabbath spun off from than you would see in later metal (e.g. the harmonica on "The Wizard", or basically all the licks after the title track). It's more like a hard-blues fish with lungs than a real heavy-metal reptile. And it's perfectly listenable rock, if a little basic. But faced with a choice between eponymous Sabbath and any of dozens of later albums their style evolved into (including several by Sabbath themselves) I'd just never put this on. The POD has a fairly expressive voice, but he's not a great singer, and his lyrical lines are often kind of stilted. The best moments on here are usually instrumental, partly for that reason. It holds up fine though.

Massi, ce sta Ho preferito di più Vol.4 però, c’erano dei brani parecchio malinconici che mi erano piaciuti assai e che qua non ho trovato

Nog een black Sabbath album Niet slecht maar ook nie heel top ofzo

Classic Sabbath

The more classic rock concept albums I listen to from this time period, the more I realize the peak male fantasy was some alignment of heavy rock n roll combined with mystical lyricism. The fellas just wanted to live in a Tolkien-inspired world. Pepper in some honkeytonk, add a smidge of rebellion. And boom. That’s it. Soft 3.

***An ok album

Day239 - idk every great band doesn’t need every one of their albums on this list, but that’s just like opinion man

I had no idea that between this and the release of Paranoid there has only been like 7 months. That’s insanely prolific even by today’s standards. Solid album. Not sure how, but I feel like I never heard NIB before

I recall a story from an interview where Tommy Iommi told the interviewer that Black Sabbath recorded their albums on first try, in one take. That's incredible, if true. 3.5

not really my style. i liked the wizard but nothing else really spoke to me. i don't really enjoy the sound of the lead singer's voice. some good vibes in there tho for sure

This album is almost a 4 for me, but didn’t quite make it. It was a fun listen though. It sounded almost a little theatrical. And I liked that it was short and sweet.

Not a fan, specifically of the messaging. The music's definitely good, and I can see why they were popular, but the satanic shit just doesn't sit well with me.

Metal will never be my thing, but I can appreciate Black Sabbath and what they built for the metal genre. They had darkness and deep vibes that were not just screaming, dissonance and loud. Their lyrics could be heard and understood along with music that didn't hurt the ears but was different, dark and haunting. This album has a sound that was groundbreaking and different.

Here we start off with the song called Black Sabbath on the album Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath. That's hilarious. It's fine as an intro song or whatever. Mass is in session I guess? The album that follows their bell tolling painfully slow opening THEME SONG is okay but not as good as the Paranoid album. Sabbath has sort of a groovy prog rock flavor of metal. Ozzy is pretty unique as far as lead singers go. I mean he's not really a "good" singer and I don't think his lyrics are that great but it all works. It wouldn't be Black Sabbath without him but it's the guitar and bass that I like best about this band. N.I.B. is my favorite on this album and something about the guitar playing on that one sorta feels Hendrixy to me.

This was fine, but it kind of bored me.

Black Sabbath’s debut is a cool listen if you’re into the roots of metal, but it’s definitely a bit rough around the edges. The title track has that spooky intro everyone talks about, but it drags for me and has never really been a favorite. That said, “N.I.B.” and “The Wizard” still hold up—both have a great groove and show off what the band was about to become. You can tell they were onto something, even if the full album doesn’t totally land for me. Favorite song: NIB

Not bad.

Would need to be loud!

definitely enlightening to hear an entire genre being created in real time, but they're not quite there yet. the random blues noodling can be really distracting, and the songwriting isn't really as tight as a lot of their stuff from paranoid. they're still figuring it out.

It is very difficult to listen to this and place it in context. I have listened to so much music that has iterated on the sound they developed here that it's hard to give it a fresh listen.

At first I was lke "ah, come on" because I sometimes struggle with "classic rock" and the world built around it. On the other hand by the second song I was more "well, this is actually quite entertaining and well done." After a while Ozzy gets to you and the whole thing feels pretty fresh because the decades of overplayed songs just are not on this early album. Plus, it is not hard to like Black Sabbath as they are varied and interesting enough across the album and not stuck on one riiff, which so often seem to be the case with certain "classic" rock bands. I suppose I need to be more specific in what I am getting sick of, vs just bad mouthing a whole genre. And from now on, so I will. This was actually pretty good and worth a listen even if you question your loyalty to "classic rock."

I know it's the first metal album. But I'm still going with "rudimentary, with laughably simple lyrics"

First 2 tracks suck, but it builds as the album goes on. Band is talented, instruments are dynamic and layered well. Ozzy sucks and sounds tinny and muffled and like he was recorded in another room with shitty equipment. I’m sure it was mind-blowing at the time but it’s only okay to me hearing it the first time.

3.5

Was ok

Solid Black Sabbath album. Most songs were pretty good but some were dull. That’s all I have to say about that

Eh

Old school heavy metal

I get the attraction, and there were some decent RnB based sections, but ... nah. Just not for me.

Not 100% my cup of tea but soft music

Good album. Gets straight to the point. Surprised by how short it was. Still a good listen. 3/5 Might listen again

groovier than I was expecting, the history is awe-inspiring I enjoyed it more as it went on, the second half better than the first

It works for me. Sort of heavy bluesy metal. Doesn't get a five because it's musically quite simple, based on a good guitar groove, usually picked up by the bass too. Ozzy's recognisable vocals. Songs are all quite similar; I like this sound but tire of it quite quickly. But, it does what it does, very well.

An interesting start to Black Sabbath. It's a fun album to listen to, but not as good as others in their discography. The third track on Spotify that mixes Wasp, Behind the Wall of Sleep, Bassically, and N.I.B. is my favorite.

a very raw Black Sabbath

Stunning

Are you ready for some transitional rock?

could i write poetry to this? n

It was so short

I liked it more than I thought I would.

holds up pretty well, found it to be pretty boring at times and incredible at others, much worse than other Black Sabbath albums I've heard but still pretty enjoyable and worth a listen. 3/5

s'aight

Innovative in its time, pretty cheesy now

Enjoyed the last song the most, how it flows into the separate sections. Interesting that they didn’t just break them into three individual tracks.

a decently cool groundbreaker

Great to hear Metal in its infancy , still finding its feet , but pretty good overall . dreadful lyrics though . Paranoid is way better.

Someone once anthropomised Black Sabbath for me as the guy who would re-use a condom to save money. Even thinking about this appals me. Buy it is a very vivid image. (Sadly.)

This was granddaddy of heavy metal albums before heavy metal was a thing. I'm sure this could have been quite unsettling in 1970, but by today's standards, it's pretty tame. Excellent album overall, but probably doesn't peak past 3.5/5 in the ratings. Can it reach to 4 by the morning? Maybe, but it's unlikely.

Meh. Not my favorite.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - N.I.B. (4) 2 - The Wizard (2) 3 - Black Sabbath (1)

First listen and wasnt expecting to like it...but, I really enjoyed this album. 3

I'm a big Sabbath fan, have been for weeks now. However, I think this one wasn't a quite in the league of Vol 4. It felt a bit more in the traditions of straightforward rock, rather than the kind of hippyish heaviness that the earlier albums I've had so far offered. Still, they're well written, powerful songs and the quality of musicianship is high.

Wel ok. Ben altijd weer verbaasd over hoe niet hard de muziek is ofzo

Better than I thought

Thought I was going to love this album, but sadly not Songs were alright, bit boring and slow for my liking though. I prefer heavier rock songs. It wasn't bad 3 ⭐️

Black Sabbath is dope. For a debut album, that also is genre warping and setting, this is pretty dope. It’s almost funny that this was considered metal, considering what the genre has evolved to. Everything kind of just lumbers along, and has a deep sound to it and people freaked out. Enjoyable album for sure, but I think I would give a four on another listen.

1. Black Sabbath - 3/5, cross between a trucker song and older cousin music. Dislike the vocals, nice guitar though. 2. The Wizard - 1/5, i dreaded the first minute and though about turning the whole album off. The bass is too overwhelming and flat, the harmonica sounds bad. Nice percussion, okay guitar, still dislike the vocals. I'm sorry Ozzy Osbourne, so far the music isn't working for me. 3. Behind the Wall of Sheep - 3.5/5, vocals working better here, loosing it in the second half though so I'm still not liking it very much. It just sounds like a trucker song. Very nice guitar solo around the second minute, ruined by the drums, heavy bass and vocals at the end. 4. N.I.B. - 3/5, nice intermission around the 1 minute mark, kinda ruined by the "Oh yeah!". Better acoustics, again great guitar solo around 3 minute mark, worse melody and rhythm (why does it have a "toot toot" sound made on a harmonica is beyond me). "Your love for me..." sounds strained? Like his throat is sore from smoking a pack before singing. Mixed feelings about this one. 5. Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games with Me - 1.5/5, starts out very much like something out of "Paradise City" on playstation 2, then the chorus sounds like some weird musical? Has a country feel to it somehow, dislike it. 6. Sleeping Village - 2.5/5, nice beginning (even the vocals work somewhat!), looses its charm when it picks up the pace and volume unfortunately. But god do I dislike those loud bass sounds, they just overwhelm everything without much variety to them. 7. Warning - 3.5/5, great guitar opening, I think my problem with the vocals is mainly about the accent. Looses me completely before the second minute somehow, backs it up to being good after the fifth minute. No overwhelming bass for the most part (why did it show up out of nowhere at the 9th minute, i even liked the solo before); dislike the last minute and a half and the strong bass ending the song & the guitar solo there. 8. Wicked World 2.5/5- again with the loud bass and percussion at the beginning, great guitar though. Vocals sound like they are running through a payphone. Surprisingly liked the bass around 1:20-1:30. Great guitar at 2:20, love it. Very weird opinion about the vocals and general song from the third minute onwards, nice sounding-out at the end. Overall: 3/5, coherent but not surprising at all (due to it's age and popularity - unfortunately overexposure works horribly for me), amazing guitar, dislike the vocals and hate the harmonica, everything else is very average. I'm aware that it was revolutionary when it came out, it just doesn't do much for me.

Not a bad album! It's a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding down rather than up because no single song really grabbed me and I'd be fine never revisiting this one. The sort of album that I'm glad to have heard but otherwise will probably generally forget. It's interesting that this was recorded the week before Led Zeppelin II was released, because there are some moments that sound exactly like they're about to lead into LZII songs and then they go in another direction. My favorite moments were the guitar solos within "Wasp / Behind the Wall of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B." and "A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning"- really enjoyed a few minutes of those, but again, they just made me think of how much more I enjoy Led Zeppelin's albums from this time.

opzich oke maar niet heel erg onder de indruk

Some brilliant tracks. Filler in the album is a bit raw.

Væri svo gott ef Ozzy væri ekki söngvarinn

Alls ekkert svo slæmt.

The musicianship of Black Sabbath can get lost in the hype. The lyrics and subject matter are the weak link, for me.

Kinda got it, Kinda didn’t

Nothing for me to be afraid of!

3+

Love Black Sabbath, but while this album shows hints of the greatness to come it doesn't quite come together yet. I see reviewers call this the first metal album, but a large majority of it sounds much more like heavy rock (closer Zeppelin or Hendrix than metal) They would become the Sabbath we know and love on the next album

I liked the guitar solo in Warning. The rest is alright.

not my favorite bs album but solid guitar work

Powerful riffs /sounds to close out album

It was nice listening to their earlier stuff. Solid, but nothing really outstanding to me.

I like the drama in his voice and the guitars are pretty slammin’

I didn't really enjoy this one as much as Paranoid, but it was fine. The guitar work was really good. I think it's a 2.5 for me, but I'm rounding up because I'm not positive that I listened to the best version of it. There are other track listings and the vocals sounded oddly choppy at times, so maybe there's a remaster that I'd dig more.

I thought "Paranoid" was a stronger album, but this one was still interesting. There is very clearly some musical talent in the riffs, which was the standout of the album for me.

Much better than I anticipated. I think later Ozzy probably colored a more negative opinion than would be deserved. 3/5

Okay, didn’t quite have the punch I wanted.

Oh yea is it heavy. but The Warning is just an extended blues jam. If I want Sabbath, I will listen to another album.

A good album, I liked The Wizard and N.I.B.

again, I was unable to listen to 2 of the 8 songs on Spotify.

Unquestionably spectacular. The dark sided themes as well as the heavy influence of drugs and alcohol started to make it hard to be a fan. That aside, this is still something special.

The first heavy metal album, but certainly not the greatest. Also - not my jam.

not as good as paronoia imo, but still a decent album.

I don’t know if we’ve had a triple threat before to have the song Black Sabbath, on the album Black Sabbath, by the band Black Sabbath. Really trying to get brand recognition out there. I didn’t know I was such an Ozzy fan. As the second album from him I really do enjoy his voice and song style. Also another rare occasion to actually have an album that was too short with only six songs. I don’t think their was enough songs to have a truly memorable chorus or guitar riff to give it a four but I still really enjoyed it. It was funny tho I think there were two separate songs that have the starting notes to iron man and I was like oh oh wait is this it??? But then it wasn’t. Sad

With having the song named after the band in the album named after the band, I expected a bit more. Black Sabbath is one of those bands I’ve always been more curious about. I always assumed they would be more metal. This is obviously their first album, so maybe they build up as it goes.

I gotta say, the format of this album is a little frustrating. I get we want to keep the integrity of the original, but can’t we just separate these tracks when it was remastered? Overall, this was a decent album, it just obviously blended together and was pretty brief. Wicked World was probably my favorite song and had the most recognizable sound. Hopefully if we get another Black Sabbath album it’ll have more than five tracks.

Good album - few nice tracks here.

"Just like Cream! But worse" (Lester Bangs, Rolling Stone) What a perfect, and fairly accurate, description of a great classic album. To be honest, I would have liked to have had "Paranoid" instead of their debut album, but it's fun to listen to the roots of both Black Sabbath's style and heavy metal more generally, and the Wikipedia article is a good read. (I had no idea that Tony Iommi had lost his right-hand fingertips in a sheet metal factory accident, or that Geezer Butler was originally a guitarist, and how much both of those facts made the band both distinctive, and worse than Cream with all the power chords and simplified bass.) Definitely not their best album, and I'm impressed at how much less "heavy" this album was than later ones, but I loved finding out that they recorded it essentially live, in one day, and before closing time at the pub. And for that alone, it's really impressive.

What an album opener. Bring a big fan of metal, I would have loved to have been there at the time when this album came out just to experience the title track, having heard nothing of the sort before. Easily one of the best doom/stoner metal songs of all time, and it arguably was the first one to exist. Sadly the rest of the album doesn't live up to these lofty heights. Sabbath would go on to achieve greater things in their next two albums, but the rest of this album is a bit meandering. The wizard is ruined by the harmonica imo, and Evil Woman was an unnecessary cover inclusion which is sounds like the band didn't even want on the record. They recorded the album in less than 12 hours and mixed it in one further day, so I can't help but feel if they spent more time making it tight rather than practically a live album it could have been an all time classic.

Not my cup of tea, but inventing a spooky genre is pretty cool. Ozzy’s voice earns points for uniqueness and power. You can definitely hear the blues influence. 3.0

One can hear early heavy metal, but it's more bluesy than I was expecting. It's pretty good and Ozzy does a good job. 3.2

Much much better than I thought it would be

Love hearing some bluesy sabbath. Found a new song or two I liked.

Possibly the best song the band made was the self-titled opening track, but overall, this album gradually loses steam as the tracklist progresses

Just don’t dislike the world, or myself, that much

Three Stars

This is actually pretty good stuff, fun and listenable despite the dark themes and attitude. Nice variety of sound and some very good guitar work. A great start for a band, but for Ozzy and the group, it's all downhill from here to the Osbornes.

Ozzy is a funny geezer and everything, but these lads have never really been for me. A bit much, just chill out a bit. Having said that a 2 would be harsh. Simpsons: Yes

it was good the rain was cool i got a bit bored towards the end

nice

Solid album to rock out but no particular song grabbed me

Another one that changed my expectations. I thought Black Sabbath were more metal than this. Great riffs

Its ok

solid classic but kind of background noise. no standout tracks for me but that is the nature of 5 long tracks. The most interesting part of the album is the history of it being the first true metal album

Great Black Sabbath sound but first album is not great like later albums.

The voice surprised me on the first track. I appreciate the “heavy” but still slow start. It makes the sound spooky. Second track got country feeling with the harmonica. Third track I enjoyed the least. Fourth track Wicked World felt more bluesy. Final track was alright just pretty long but I did get into the groove later in the song. Overall solid and I respect what it was doing at the time. I think I’d return to the album but not on a frequent basis. Also I consider 3 to be a solid rating

Listening to this album made me want to eat a bat

Solid one for me

Interesting start to the heavy metal era. This kind of sounds like led zeppelin but a bit heavier. They really developed the sound for paranoid, this is...dare I say... A little dull. In the context of it's time it's revolutionary, doesn't really hold up in 2024 for me though

it's got good quilters and beat. ozzy isn't my kind of singer but I do enjoy the classic ones

Not bad. Who knew?

I’m impressed! I totally thought I wasn’t going to be be able to stand at… But it was good to have on!

Obviously a very important album, birthing heavy metal and all. But they massively improved on everything here on "Paranoid", which is a much better album. The first half of this is great though;

Enjoyed listening to it - oh no is this a sign of aging? Familiar. Had to rate it 3 as first album picked!

A much easier listen than the first couple of albums, but I just am not a fan of the popular vocals of the 60’s and 70’s

It is what it is, a bit hard rock, a bit dark, a bit fun.

Pretty cool, interesting to see how close to blues it got at times

Solid album.

heavy metal . NO molesta.

There's a few really good tracks on here, but honestly the fact it takes 4½ minutes of the first track before it becomes interesting is really not on. I get whiy the album is here, but it is not as easy or as fun to listen to as, say, Deep Purple.

It's inventive, but like what happens so often with this list, it's a debut album and not as good as other Black Sabbath albums. 3/5

Good guitar riffs. Not my vibe, but I understand why people like the album.

Classic Black Sabbath, but I prefer the Paranoid album

good drums - 3.5

fun

Absolutely great metal album. Super spooky, in the horror sense, like what they were going for at the time.

Another one I’ve listened to many times. Hoping to listen to some albums I haven’t heard before soon.

This album doesn't have the same number of hits as other Black Sabbath albums but still gives us the classic Sabbath sound and icon Ozzie vocals. Some songs drag on a little so we'll dig for that.

It's a cool vibe, no issues with this. It's a debut that definitely feels like the band has an idea of what they want to be, but haven't yet figured out or settled into their personas. It's obvious they're working on the recipe, but haven't discovered the exact makeup of their secret sauce just yet. I'm not a Sabbath fan specifically, but I've been a classic rock radio listener all my life so I know the hits. I can confidently say that I've literally never heard any of these songs before. From what I know of the band, this album feels like it was very much a vehicle for a shit ton of Geezer's occult and fantastical lyricism. They're onto something, but this isn't a wow moment for me.

El pilar fundacional del heavy metal, en sonido y estética. Está bueno aunque sin una dirección clara todavía.

Not too bad, a little doom and slow at times, but a decent record. Definitely influential. 3/5

interesante aproximación al heavy para un no aficionado.

Liked it better than expected. Not a fan of Ozzy's singing (I know some really are), enjoyed the drumming. More interesting than most of, say, Deep Purple (though Ian Gillian was a fantastic singer). Innovative, obviously, and held my interest.

First time I've listened to an entire Sabbath album. It was a pretty fun experience, it's held up well. Loved the doom elements. Back half lost me a bit tho. Fav track: Black Sabbath 3.5

Surely iconic, but not fully a style that I align with my favourite category of classic rock. Something about Ozzy's voice also, although it's legendary, kind of grates with me. Two and a half. Fave track: Black Sabbath

Atmospheric album but not my favourite. Pretty good though, high 2/low 3.

Good album. Spotify did not have 2 of the songs available. 3.5 stars.

Positiivinen yllätys! Ekat biisit hyviä, loppua kohden ehkä vähän lässähti

Det er meget bluesy i forhold til senere Sabbath, men mærkeligt nok ikke på en fed måde for mig. Talte ikke rigtigt til mig

metal mmmmm yeah

Love the music! Especially the low guitar sound. Very talented musicians. The super dark lyrics caused me to knock a few stars off the rating.

Very good album. I'm not sure if I have ever actually heard the whole thing before. I would listen again. Very revolutionary for the time period.

ersts metal album time. sehr moody, aber seehr bluesy. feeets solo tommy respekt hobla. the wizard isch meeeega zeppelin mit de harmonika und so. behind the wall of sleep. geils riff. huere hend die da alles i eim take ufgnoh. effekt uf de stimm isch geil. NIB bass intro geeeil. song selber au recht cool. Evil Woman. frau bös bösi frau. sleepong village goht recht hard riffs sind super. warning. achtung achtung metal time achtung achtung de bassist heisst geezer butler so en geile name. ok do ischer etz chli am noodle de tommy wicked world mega tempowechsel time. finds sehr doom metal mässgi mengmol mega prog und allgemein huere kreativs album. ozzy singt bluesiger als ichs vo ihm erwartet hett und de tommy spielt seehr geil gitarre. zum teil sind d gitarresoli chli genudel und d riffs nöd soo spannend aber es guets album.

An interesting listen to what was probably THE first heavy metal album. it was full of doom and gloom, and heavy thunderous rock. Lyrics were uncharacteristically dark for the time, but by todays standards, you wouldn't even bat an eye at. Overall a cool album to listen to, and so weird to think that Ozzy Osbourne is singing. Best: N.I.B Worst: Sleeping Village 3.5 Stars

Proper devil music, classic

Beter dan verwacht

Hard

I certainly enjoyed but I don't think i'll be coming back. 3.5/5

3.5

So funny to listen to know. This supposed album of darkness and terror, while still an interesting album, does not hold the fear of its initial release date.

With this album, Black Sabbath started heavy metal. They forged a hard, driven version of blues and rock with elements of psychedelia and ample use of distortion. Tony Iommi's technical guitar riffs connect Black Sabbath's music to both rocks' and blues' traditions of guitar driven songs. Ozzy Osbourne's unique, strained vocals pushed their music into something outside of those traditions. Sabbath's associations with the occult has plagued hard rock throughout its history.

NIB, evil woman

I used to be a huge Black Sabbath fan and loved the album years ago. But it's a lot of "guitar" music and isn't as great to me anymore.

Better than I expected. Always was turned off by the scary looking stuff but it wasn't terrible.

3/5 intersting one but not enough

Jag gillar ju inte hårdrock så en trea på denna måste ju göra Ozzy stolt.

Solid heavy metal album that helped pioneer the genre. Great riffs, but Ozzy grew into a better singer as time went on.

Pleasantly surprised.

Das waren Pioniere! Nicht meine Musik aber sehr stilprägend

Agree with Jack: the vocals / lyrics sort of put me off. They arent terrible, just not always delivered very well. Borders on the cheese at times. Music wise, its very good. Can totally see how they influenced the entire stoner/desert rock scene. Has that nice blues influenced sound to a lot of the guitar riffs; and there’s some canny little bass riffs too. Doubt I’ll be back; but glad I heard it.

Musically this album is really good and while Ozzy's singing isn't the best but it didn't annoy me too much. Glad I listened to it but don't think I'll revisit this album. Highlights: The Wizard NIB Warning

The first track aside, this was much more blues rock sounding than I expected. Not convinced by the "doom metal"thing. I get that this must've been something really innovative and shocking in 1970, but does not have the same impact now I did enjoy it largely, but I really don't like Ozzy's voice and it detracts from the music for me NIB, the wizard, evil woman and warning were the highlights 3 feels generous as I gave paranoid a 3 and I don't think this is as good.... Although I did like the more blues sound here I've listened again and it's growing on me... Think I prefer it to the later stuff we've had from them already. The guitar and bass are brilliant, it's just the vocals I have an issue with... 4

Done

Strong Led Zeppelin influence. Very original riffs. Black Sabbath, Wizard, N.I.B bangers!

Not my normal music, didn’t dislike but didn’t grab my attention much either

Helt ok - inte rätt tillfälle att lyssna på men låter som Black Sabbath.

Too bad there wasn't a Heavy Metal tribe on Survivor: Cook Islands (aka Survivor: Race Wars). Maybe Billy could've won. Sleeping Village was interesting I guess?

Very distinctive, atmospheric. You can tell it's foundational for metal but maybe not metal itself because a lot of the album is just heavy blues stuff, close but not quite there, and honestly kinda monotonous. I wouldn't put this on it again but I liked a good amount of it. Best song: Black Sabbath

Interesting hearing early Ozzy. Good album but didn’t love it.

Album that laid the foundation for all metal and rock bands after it from deep hardcore metal to desert/stoner rock. Not their best album but still very important to music history.

I enjoyed it but not that much

Liked it more than I expected

Good in places, but not my favourite Sabbath album. 3.5*

Thoughts before listening: Good one although I've never owned or listened to this. I know it's Sabbath's debut and typically called the first heavy metal album. I know Paranoid and the greatest hits albums much better than this one, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Review: Yeah, I enjoy this. Its definitely different than what would become known as heavy metal, with this feeling more just like a slightly more abrasive form of British blues rock ala Cream. It's really good though. The Wizard is my favorite song on the album, and I also really enjoy the opening self titled song. 2nd half meanders a bit and this definitely is not their best album.

Fav song: The Wizard

Crazy that this album was released in 1970. Almost gave this a 4 but I’m still not sure if I would put this on randomly to listen to.

Impressive. This album is impressive, for a 50 year old offering, it stands up incredibly well. Listening today it sounds like classic rock, but it was like nothing else at the time of release and far ahead of its time. I appreciate it more than enjoy it, that's why I only give it 3. It's not an album I'll liten to repeatedly with my present musical tastes, but it deserves all the love it gets.

nib

Very slow and plodding album that is overrated in my opinion

The Wizard was a pleasant gem. The rest was fine as well — better when bluesy, like The Wizard, than when it was metal-y. I liked it less than their second album.

6/10

Nothing memorable about this album. 8+ minute songs with no clear direction or familiarity.

Heavy metal. Muy lento. Ni fu ni fa.

heavy metal . NO molesta.

It’s a good record but not as awesome as Paranoid - it’s definitely an interesting listen. I find it hard to not rate it high intellectually but emotionally it’s a 3. I’ll have to go with my gut on this one.

1970! Much respect. Will never listen to you again, but I did enjoy hearing a bit of the through line from Jimmy page‘s guitar to Kiss all the way to Pearl Jam and Live. I think my favorite thing is how they break expectations of what the shape of a song should be.

i’m trying to give it 3 and 1/2 starts but idk how but cool album must listen for all playboi carti fans

3.5/5 Good and very important album. But could use a little more black and a little less Sabbath.

Decent album with a unique heavy metal sounds to it

I liked it, spooky intro song, but not really for me. ‘Evil Woman’ and ‘NIB’ stood out most.

I was expecting a lot more doom and metal than I got. Basically, nothing lived up to the title track, which is the first track of the album. It’s fantastic, it’s heavy and full of darkness and gloom. The riffs are enthralling, the vocals are cold and feel possessed everything about it lives up to the expectations set by the discourse around the album. NIB is another track that is fun and the riffs are great. Apart from that, it borrows a lot of blues influences into their sound. I liked it a bit here and there but I wasn’t blown away by it. The riffs weren’t as memorable and the vocals were also not as great as they were on the title track. Overall, it’s a decent album and I respect it for what it pioneered but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to most of the tracks on the album.

ihan ok mut ootteko kuullu alle 10min biisestä joissa on sanat ?? niiku i see why this is iconic ja hahaha black sabbath by black sabbath on black sabbath mut ai suatana ku alko hytisee päässä tätä kuunnellessa

I have never listened to Black Sabbath previous to this so forgive me for the comparison but this album feels like a college band who wants to be Black Sabbath. It's good, don't get me wrong. It's just not that memorable. 6/10

Not something that appeals to me very much, but I enjoyed listening to it. Sounds like a foundational work for the genre. Weird devil, evil themes are problematic for me. I am trying to be good and do good.

One can hear early heavy metal, but it's more bluesy than I was expecting. It's pretty good and Ozzy does a good job. 3.2

Man, people’s heads must have exploded when listening to this album for the first time. 50 years later, I can certainly still appreciate what Ozzy and Black Sabbath were trying to do. That said, I very much prefer their later work, after they “found” their sound…. dare I say. My favorite things about this were the guitar solos and also the bluesy sound of some of the tracks, a common ancestor of a lot of modern day music, including Ozzy’s metal🤘🏽

I can understand why those just a few years older than I am were in love with Black Sabbath it was ground breaking for the times. I don't know what came first wizard murals on vans or Black Sabbath, but I am sure there is some correlation.

The original heavy metal, ala 1970's. Ozzy!

I understand how influential Black Sabbath to my favorite genre but I don't love their music.

Not my favorite Black Sabbath record.

I like: The Wizard N.I.B.

Much more interesting than Deep Purple, but not something I’d normally listen to. Ozzy’s voice is powerful, and the band brings it hard. Still contains elements of hard rock, with a few guitar solos that felt a little out of place. I can imagine people hearing this when it released and wanting more music in this style.

Blues Brothers with the addition of a heavy metal axe. Some very tame lyrics for heavy metal, mostly drawing on the blues side of things, or as best you'll get with Ozzys vocal style. Aside from the Black Sabbath well known hits, I had never listened to an album of theirs, and found it quite enjoyable, I'd maybe even pick out one or two tracks for a relisten. All in all, not too shabby for 1970.

Spooky, a little boring, good vocals, giving halloween

Suits my taste more than vol4

Solid, classic

I’d give this a 3.5. It’s a cool album. Parts of it sound like Jethro tull or cream, parts of it are heavier

Very solid

This is the definition of 70s metal to me. Hard to believe that this was once considered the hardcore version of music.

High 3s first heavy metal album isn't as hevy as I thought

Classic sounds, enjoyed the listen.

Good, but nothing stood out for me.

Not crazy about this one, but I’ve never been an Ozzy fan. I always felt like his music could be better. With that being said, I would listen to it again, under the right circumstances.

some familiar sounds.