Reviews (page 3 of 17)
Amazing album, I’ll never get tired of it. Doesn’t quite reach the heights of paranoid
I loved this one. Ozzy shows a wide range of vocals on this album and for a first album. The musicianship is awesome
#005 I know Black Sabbath from ofcourse Paranoid and few other songs. I am not a metalhead but like a good heavy guitar riff now and than and see the importance this album has had for the genre. I accidently started this morning with the Paranoid album before I realized the cover was different 😉. I listened the correct one few times today and although I love the heavy guitar work it is not an easy listen with some weird structures and doomy sounds this is not something for everyday :). 3/5
Not my thing
its okay i dont think id listen again EDIT- its not that bad i sort of enjoy it but its very repetitive
oh please god help me
SABBATH!!!!
I find instrumental-heavy metal tracks to be very bland, so I really appreciate how toned down the instrumentals are in Black Sabbath's early albums. It makes the melodies sound so much more pleasant. And of course Ozzy has a unique voice that works so well with the riffs. 3.5 stars.
Very different from every metal album I’ve listened to, but it’s still incredibly bad and boring.
Not my cup of tea
10/10, masterpiece, no notes. Probably on of the most influential albums in my life.
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo The Byrds The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Genesis
I felt cool listening to this but it still felt like a slog to get througj some of the songs
The problem wasn't that I don't like metal! It was just metallica 🙂↕️🙂↕️ I was in a bit of a distracted state with this so it's not got my best listening efforts. But I can say it was perfectly enjoyable listening even while in that state and just right for the gym again. Nothing is as good as the first track, but I'm not sure how anything could be really. There's always something exhilarating about listening to the origin album of an entire genre, too. Standouts: I'll never forget being 11 and made to listen to Generic Greatest Classic Rock Songs Compilation in the car, and then Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath on their album Black Sabbath came on and I was like. now what in the good goddamn is this. holy shit
Had never given them a try before; enjoyed something new. No real faves.
Unique
Ensimmäinen metallilevy. Vaikka tää ei mitään raskasta oo nykystandardeilla niin, Black Sabbath kappaleessa on jotain synkkää. Ja levyllä muutenkin hyvä fiilis. Paljon sellaisia tunnelmallisia hetkiä. Blues vaikutteet kuulee kanssa selkeästi. Jämäkkää kampetta. Parhaat: Black Sabbath, N.I.B, Warning,
I had never actually listened to this record before and I like it a lot. Amazing that it came out in 1970. The members of Black Sabbath grew up in post war Birmingham- a very industrial city. Tony Iommi lost the tips of two of his fingers in an industrial accident which affected his guitar playing sound. The music they made was dark, angry, and industrial sounding in a way that hadn’t been done before. The bass playing by Geezer Butler on the other hand sounds a lot like Jack Bruce in Cream. The back and forth between Iommi and Butler gives Sabbath a unique sound. Super important album even if a lot of what it inspired turned out to be shite. A lot of fun to listen to.
When this popped up as the album of the day, I thought I didn't want to listen to it. I was right. Some capable guitar work, but .... yeah. When I was 15, I would have been willing to sit through this, and even find it somewhat interesting. It reminds me of when I was 15 and bought a used copy of Steppenwolf's greatest hits ... this album is like listening to the other songs on that album besides Magic Carpet Ride and Born to Be Wild. Docked one star for my having aged substantially since 1985. Famously (in some corners of the internet) Tony Iommi briefly joined Jethro Tull as the replacement for Mick Abrahams when Mick left Tull because it wasn't going to continue being a blues band. The fit between Tull and Iommi wasn't good, and it lasted, like, a few weeks. Mick Abrahams formed a band called Blodwyn Pig, featuring a saxophone player who modeled himself on Roland Kirk. Their first album, Ahead Rings Out (1969), had a cover photo of a pig's head with sunglasses, headphones, a ring through its nose, and a cigarette in its mouth. That obscure, unimportant album was markedly better than this album.
No wonder Sabbath found success in the early 70s; their fellow Boomers' gleeful destruction of everything holding them back from the hedonism they seemed to believe was not just their due, but the right and true way to live. And who's to say they weren't, really? There was a crew of generally stoned "Heads" back in mid- and high school for whom the wafer-thin Satanic suggestions of Black Sabbath seemed to have been a balm to wounded hearts. Those kids were dicks to me, so I went right ahead and hated Sabbath for quite a long time. I came to love Black Sabbath as a fully grown adult, because their quaint and shabby community-theater version of magic just gave me the giggles. I've sung along to many of their songs hundreds of times because every time, I remember how much I love the "Doctor Who" school of theatrical sets and props, a school Black Sabbath seems to have embraced themselves. I've often been surprised by how many musical clips they stole from the era of music around them--a bit o' the Jimmy Page here, a bit o' the funk there, all to spice up their otherwise 100% straight-ahead version of a showman's Rock music they pursued. Long live Black Sabbath!
The music didn't offend me as much as other records we've been subjected to. Still, I didn't enjoy it I, and the lyircs are so painfully stupid I couldn't bear listening to them. Today I learned that I don't hate Black Sabbath as much as I hate Iron Maiden. I guess that was worth 30 minutes of my life. (No I did not listen to the whole thing.) On the plus side, I treated myself to the Bill Withers album as a reward for catching up on my listening and that made it all worth it!!
Solid rock album, the guitar solo at the end of wicked World was awesome
Another great Black Sabbath album. Almost as good as the last one. I really missed out on a lot of great music in my youth.
100000
Strong 4
If you forget about all the showbiz stuff that surrounded Ozzy and that they mistakenly gave birth to Heavy Metal, this is a great heavy psyche record.
It definitely feels like they were going for "hard core" with the Satan references. I did really enjoy the guitar and base. Talented band! This album wasn't as good as Paranoid, but they had a solid foundation.
Damn it’s just so much better when you consider the context of 1970. Zeppelin was probably the heaviest at this point, and suddenly you have metal music about satan. It even holds up listening today, as someone who listens to a good deal of death metal I found it actually refreshing to have lyrics that aren’t over the top. Less is often more, and in this case everything is shadowy enough to have an even more haunting effect. Also in the decades where we’re so used to bands using lyrics that blatantly advocate for violence, I notice here that sometimes yes Ozzy is portraying Lucifer, but other times he is terrorized by Lucifer. As a Christian, I think the effect is much more substantial, Ozzy is speaking to the desire and charisma of evil, and it turns out that’s very, very terrifying. Shoutout NIB. Not five stars just because I’m not too impressed with Ward and Iommi here, I’ll probably be crucified for this… band is a bit sloppy at times, and it is cool and refreshing to my modern ears to hear a real live band playing, but it just feels like they haven’t yet really come into their own musically
I know this album has a special place in the history of metal, but it’s clearly a band trying to figure things out. There are some great riffs, but a lot of it is just Cream-lite. And Ozzy hadn’t quite found his voice yet; he sings in a lower register and with way less command/confidence than he has on Paranoid and other albums. Out of the historical context, it’s solid but not amazing, with some good riffs and dark storytelling.
Created a whole new genre, I respect it, but it has definitely been surpassed
The dawn of metal - dark, malevolent blues cranked up to 11. Just the beginning.
Muy bueno, oscuro como debe ser. Me guardé muchas canciones interesantes y ahora me siento Satanás.
Great album. Much more melodic than anticipated, and while Ozzy's voice is often grating to me it didn't bother me here.
Actually awesome. The birth of metal, mind-blowing then, still mind-blowing now. Phenomenal riffs, solos, bass, vocals, literally everything. N.I.B. was my fav song and first listen of the album. Sleeping Village and Warning were my other highlights
Ok
Does it get any better than this? Top 5 album of all time for sure. Every song is just prime time.
Really good, not my exact cup of tea tho
Of the first five Sabbath albums their freshman effort (this one , self-titled), while monumental and incredibly influential, is IMO the weakest of the five. The DNA/blueprint of all their best stuff is included in every note and track but it isn't as perfect as "Vol. 4" or "Paranoid", my 1 & 2 respectively. It's just not as polished and is more 'doom metal' than 'heavy metal' the latter which is more my speed and taste. All of that said, this is an easy (5/5). No question. It was the trumpeting for a new type of rock (metal, in general) and was absolutely revolutionary for it's time (1970!! There were still hippies & they were still a cultural force!). This is a definite 'must hear', and I agree fully with it's inclusion. I'm just splitting hairs, as usual.
Perhaps the most epic introduction to any band in the history of recorded music, the opening title track is one of my absolute favorite Black Sabbath songs, and worthy of the 5/5 rating that I will inevitably give this one all by itself. Iommi and Ozzy get most of the credit, but Geezer's bottomless bass and Bill Ward's frollicking jazz set so much of the tone on this one, and out of the gate you know you're dealing with something different. The harmonica lead in on The Wizard throws a nod (or a challenge?) at Jethro Tull while dredging deeper and muddier depths than any of their contemporaries had imagined, and all before comparing sleep to death and the devil demanding the love of a mortal woman. At first listen, it may sound front loaded, but the second half of the album isn't particularly skipable, as Sleeping Village/Warning delve into their proggier side and show immense technicality for a freshman effort. Retrospectively my #3 Sabbath album behind Paranoid and Master of Reality (which is a crime to have left off this list), it undeniably ushered in and laid the foundation for an entire new genre of rock, and would blaze a path for countless others to follow.
106. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970) 6.8.26 Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 5 = 4.8 rounded up to a 5 "Is it the end, my friend?/ Satan's comin' 'round the bend'/ People runnin' 'cause they're scared/ The people better go and beware" I actually smiled a tiny bit when I clicked the button to send my 4-star review of White Light/ White Heat off into the void and saw this one pop up in its place. The smile was only just very slightly evil, and mostly because I know my morning will be a fun one, so forgive me if I lean a little giddy in my review. It has not been terribly long since I last listened to this, but I have listened to Paranoid in the interim as part of this project, and that one is a bit fresher in my mind so there might be some comparisons to be slung around. While I thing Paranoid is the band almost fully matured, and stepping confidently into the role of newly minted metal masters, this one I love a bit more for its raw, untempered aura of murky gloom. This is he only Sabbath record that is effectively creepy and gives off the earnest horror vibes that I think the band was going for. They legit tried to be a gimmick act with this, to translate the fear and excitement of those old movies they loved into music that would give you shivers. I think accidentally creating the mold for one of the most robust and varied musical subgenres ever was a happy accident. A0nd these guys would probably agree that they didn't set out to be trendsetters. Let's pull down the shades, dim the lights, and put on some pancake makeup and eyeliner, and don our capes... ( cue the thunder and lightning! ) A note on the track listing: As the UK and American releases of this can differ ( and between later pressings as well in the same country) I'm splitting the difference and including both "Evil Woman" and "Wicked World", but otherwise going with the original UK release with the separate track listings on side two. THE TRACKS Side A "Black Sabbath" - One of my top picks for the most atmospheric and vibe setting intros to any song or album ever. Vincent Price would give his left nut to have been this effectively spooky on "Thriller". The simple three note riff summons the devil from the pit, who emerges slowly, and plods towards before melting your face off. Uh... metaphorically of course. I can't stress enough how goddamn effective this STILL is on me. Maybe ( definitely) I'm getting worked up and over excited at the prospect of writing about this thing I love so much, but hairs legit standing up on my arm here. The church bell ( deconsecrated no doubt) as the accent on the third note is the icing on the cake. Before the riff comes back Bill Ward's drums sound like they are echoing through some dark forest at night, while Ozzy pleas for mercy from whatever apparition is darkening his bedside. By the time the energy builds and is released in the last fourth, Ozzy has transformed into some sort of doom laden town cryer, spreading the word. While not as heavy as they will ever get, and owing a huge debt to some of the psych rock that surrounded them, this still feels like some sort of unholy conflagration at the end. Massive. "The Wizard" - That bluesy harmonica gets me every time. And we get another all time great riff on the very next track. And an upgrade to 4 notes! Despite the seemingly happy lyrics about this awesome wizard who banishes all the evil from the land, the tone is anything but. This wizard most definitely has a dark secret he's hiding. We all know how those get their powers. Dark pacts with evil creatures ( like that guy in the first song). He can't be trusted! Or maybe it's just code for Geezer Butler's weed dealer. Who can say. Either way that's two classics in a row off the debut. Bam! "Behind the Wall of Sleep" - This one is waaaaaay more laid back, with some nice jazzy riffing ( am I crazy or is that a take on Brubeck's "Take Five"?!! ) and some even echoier Ozzy Vocals, which for anyone else would seem like a way to hide some deficits ( John Lennon) but doesn't affect Ozzy's uniqueness or power at all. This only suffers at all in comparison with the first couple of tracks and the lack of any legendary riffing. Surely Tommy Iommi has emptied that tank far to fast and we can only expect middling numbers at best for the remainder of their releases, right? I mean how may great rock guitarists generate more than a few iconic riffs in their whole career? Bonus points for the early Lovecraft reference. Take note on getting those title references spelled correctly, Metallica. "N.I.B." - That bass solo intro was a choice, huh? Man... Well, Geezer Butler Bassically wrote the lyrics to this one by himself, and he often gets over looked as a player, so I'll allow it. If you didn't know what was coming you might have gotten a little nervous there though. We crawl right out of the intro into this very scuzzy cousin to Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". We get lyrics from the point of view of Old Scratch himself. For a bunch of guys who very consistently denied all the Satantic connections, they sure do love them that devil shit. And sure a fascination with the dark side of human nature here is handled in a pretty literary fashion, but I think these guys knew exactly what they were doing. They weren't the humble steel-town rubes they played themselves up to be in some interviews. This is well thought out ,carefully considered stuff. Side B "Evil Woman" - For a VERY long time I did not know this was a cover. In retrospect it seems more obvious ( I've still never bothered seeking out the original as it can only pale in comparison, right?) as it has a sort of sing-songy chorus and feel that feels more by the numbers than most of their other stuff, and more like something that would be Thin Lizzy's speed. Is it still great though? I'd say yeah, but mainly from Ozzy's vocals. That said - I prefer the American choice to replace this track with "Wicked World", but not the track arrangement itself, which is kind of a mess and not a fan of the combined tracks. That said, the mid 90's U.S. CD release is the version I have probably listened to the most. "Sleeping Village" - The somewhat haunting, elegiac atmosphere opening this track is not effected in the slightest by the twangy mouth harp, and the transition into the more guitar heroicy section feels very natural. Ward's jazzy drumming needs a special callout here as we get some damn finessed bits that interweave with the layered multitracked guitars to create a very dynamic contrast when things slow down to flow into the next track. "Warning" - Another cover, but one that feels like a much more natural fit ( again I still have not heard the original) though does give off blues rock vibes from a mile away. Sabbath I am guessing turn the tone WAY down on it and make it their own. ( I did look this one up as I was much more curious about the changes and was surprised to find it to be adequately heavy, though as suspected much more of a standard blues rock piece with some off-putting Toms Jonesy sounding dude at the helm....ugh). It's worth noting that as unique and distinctive as his voice is, Ozzy has a crazy malleable delivery, able to convincingly pull off whatever mode the band tries, be it slow and doomy, fast and screechy or lazy and bluesy. Our man can even do vulnerable. But that comes later. When this one powers down around the middle and then revs back up and starts swinging into maybe the most self-indulgent jammy territory on the album, Ozzy doesn't miss a beat and ties everything back up with a bow at the end. "Wicked World" - Yeah, dig that crazy jazzy drumming you cats! Crazy that they left this off the initial UK pressings. While not at the level of the first two tracks or some of the iconic riffage in later hits like "Iron Man" the stuff on this track is no slouch AT ALL, and is up there in the B-riffs for Sabbath. Which is saying something as most guitarists would chew the tips of their fretting hands off to be able to come up with something like this. HIGHLIGHTS - "Black Sabbath" - "The Wizard" - "Behind the Wall of Sleep" - "Evil Woman" - "Sleeping Village" - "Warning" - "Wicked World" MIDLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS After listening to this I can't say I've been moved to change my rankings at all, and the debut is maybe even more cemented at 1st place than it was before. I can't deny that the band's writing, composition, and arrangements get bigger, bolder, and more complex as the albums go on, but they never again feel as spooky and imposing as they do here. There's an electricity that is missing on those later albums that is replaced with confidence and mastery. Paranoid's the better, more competent and fully realized album, but this is still my favorite. There's only one more Sabbath album on here, unfortunately, and while it might not be the one I would have picked ( aster of Reality would have been my choice) it's still going to be a great one, and I look forward to it. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - As presented above is my ideal track listing FURTHER LISTENING - Vincebus Eruptum by Blue Cheer - First Daze Here by Pentagram - Budgie by Budgie - Death Penalty by Witchfinder General - Bullhead by The Melvins - Dopethrone by Electric Wizard - Great Haunting by Earth Tongue
Ostensibly the birth of heavy metal. I’m a headbanger for sure and this still delivers. It’s the best atmosphere the band ever achieved. From the opening track with the rain into that heavy riff to the first lyrics, “What is this that stands before me, Figure in black which points at me.“ Crazy to think that an accidental at a sheet metal factory might be what lead to all of the heavy metal of the next few decades. Tony Iommi lost the tips of two fingers, down-tuned his guitar and played mostly power chords, and the rest is history. His methodically thick sound is the true star of this production, but Ozzy earns the Prince of Darkness title. His vocals provide the perfect compliment to the dark lyrics. The first time and now again here I was struck by how bluesy it sounds. Metal would lose some of that over the years, unfortunately. It’s always good to remember the roots were there though. So come for the track “Black Sabbath,” stay for “N.I.B.” This is the second Black Sabbath album I’ve encountered on this list. Paranoid had all the iconic songs, but i might prefer the debut slightly more. Also, crazy to think that these albums both released the same year. So yeah, Black Sabbath gets all of a 5/5 from me.
Ozzy and his voice are icons and while I don’t love heavy metal overall, I can appreciate this album as Black Sabbaths first, and also a foundational album in the heavy metal genre of music.
It took me a long time to get Black Sabbath. In the late '70s, a friend put together a heavy rock mix tape with "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" on it, and I liked them, but the first Black Sabbath record I bought was Heaven and Hell, on which Ronnie James Dio sang. I heard the Live At Last record which was put out to compete with H&H and it wasn't good, and I therefore considered early Sabbath as monolithic and relatively monotonous. What did I know? "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath from Black Sabbath started a new genre. It would be difficult today to find a metal band who didn't owe at least something, even indirectly, to Sabbath. They were responsible for the creation of Heavy Metal, even if they were not trying to. They took the heavy blues of Cream, jazz influences (especially in Bill Ward's drumming and Tony Iommi's guitar. They were heavier than anything else, primarily due to the great riffs, particularly in Geezer Butler's bass doubling Iommi's guitar. They were progressive and inventive, much more than they were given credit for. Sabbath would make better albums. My favourite varies depending on where I am; Masters of Reality if I am in a Doom Metal mode, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Sabotage if I'm feeling spacey and proggy. But this is where it started and, if you don't know the band, this is where you should start.
These dude's really like the devil hey
was very scared this was going to be boring dad rock but im shocked i fuck with it heavy. definitely keeps you attention the whole time and cohesive doesnt feel like its dragging ever damn!!!
Good stuff, and a pretty fun album. Favorite track on here was probably The Wizard. Black Sabbath doesn't always scratch the metal itch for me, but I also can always enjoy their albums.
Its ok, but i dont really like metalish genres, so its just not my type, maybe 3 or 3.5 out of 5. There was some good riffs and parts of songs, but as a whole porject it didnt impess me enough to add this to my catalog of musthave
I've heard about this album before, and I know a couple of songs. I can't say I'm into it, despite the fact that I like some of the black sabbath's sobgs
4. 1st side is a 10 out of 5 but the second side plods and meanders. Pivotal album for what it represented and spawned, for good and ill.
Very few albums make me want to travel back in time and hear it during the time it was released than this.
I went into this quite curious about the apparent "first true heavy metal album." It seemed I'd gotten a historically significant album as my first one on this journey. The album began promisingly with a foreboding riff, but things quickly took a turn for the worse as soon as the guy opened his mouth and started singing. It should be evident by now that I'm generally not a huge fan of the traditional heavy metal genre, and I don't know what I was expecting, but I was hoping the vocals and lyrical content would be a little less 'Iron Maiden' (who this album makes me appreciate even less, seeing where much of the heavy metal tropes that I dislike and they embody apparently originate from). The musical content grows more repetitive over the course of the album, catchy riffs growing stale and one song barely-noticeably blending into the next. The first track (a self-titled track on a self-titled album, fun) might've been my favorite--it at least stands out as most memorable after my listen. Perhaps it was because my hopes for the album hadn't yet been shattered, or maybe it's a sign to explore more doom metal (a sub-genre apparently stemming from this song). The ending took me by surprise on my initial listen, the album concluding abruptly after a final track about ruined love that might've been better suited as a sad harmonica ballad. To be clear, there are plenty of great moments that are easy to miss if you let yourself zone out, and the band's playing is solid. I'm sure if I had a greater understanding of music history I'd appreciate this album more, but I don't think there's much that could make me like it more. Not a bad album, and very good for what it’s trying to be, but not my thing at all. As a first album on this journey, I’ll say it serves as a lesson to not let your expectations dampen an experience too much and to judge the music on its own terms. My ratings are ultimately subjective and primarily meant to track my personal enjoyment/appreciation though, so… Rating: ~3.5-4.0/10 _____ Album 1 / 1001+
Good intro to black sabbath i guess!
not my thing, probably a 3
3-4 songs, I likey. Damn so this is the birth of the Metal genre, it is such a fairly tolerable kind of metal, not the death metal stuff which is generally associated with it Loved Black Sabbath Wizard A few jiska naam mujhe ydd ni
It is like most debut albums: scrappy, hungry, (over)ambitious... but there are no growing pains to speak of. The Sabbath you get here are in proper fighting form, harmonicas and all. Among the best A sides in all of metal. It took Metallica a few records to change (ruin?) metal music, but it only took Black Sabbath one to make it something worth carving into your notebook.
Сара 4 Марко 4--------
I suppose I should blow the dust off some D&D books, scrounge up a Ouija board, and start worshipping the devil. At least that's the way I was told I might react to listening to Black Sabbath or any other heavy metal. The only spell this cast on me was one to engage my ears. The tone is absolutely dark and raw, but it has a level of polish that screams of professionalism. Amazing to read that this was all recorded in a single 12 hour session. I bet the live shows were fantastic. Black Sabbath
Not for me, as it sounds less relevant today than when I last heard it. 1. Warning 2. The Wizard 3. N I B
It was a really good album. You can feel the roots being planted for some of their later hits.
literally grew up on black sabbath lol black sabbath - 5/5 the wizard - 5/5 behind the wall of sleep - 4/5 N.I.B - 4/5 evil woman, don't play games with me - 3/5 sleeping village - 3/5 warning - 5/5 (omg this one is so long) wicked world - 4/5 33/40 = 4/5
My rating 4.2 I think this is a great album. Quite the debut!
I love Black Sabbath, i listened to them even before this review and album listening. This is the first Black Sabbath album that i fully listened to and honestly, it's great. Not because it's first heavy metal album, but because it's just great. Fav tracks - Black Sabbath, N.I.B., Sleeping Village.
This is an alltimer. Ozzy at his peak, and an absolute fundament for a whole genre.
It could be worse. Evil Woman has a nice tune. Warning being 10 min long is ridiculous but I got through it. It's just not something I would ever choose to listen to.
First Song was really good, rest can't compete and all kind of sound the same, While I like the aesthetic and understand how important it is to metal as a genre existing, I like it less than Black Sabbath's other albums. 3/5.
I mean…it’s Black Sabbath. It’s not as polished as their later releases but the grime and grit is rather endearing.
Bro wicked world is so good! Guitar solos are fire.
Maybe I was primed for it, but I swear I heard every metal technique of the future, at least in passing. The rest was all blues! The mix and production are dated but still pretty great too. Nice to still be able to hear bass.
It's really nice, when i listened to it first all songs sounds same.but then i started listening it multiple times ,these songs are crazy
This is not for me at all No hate at all
I am aware of and slightly familiar with Black Sabbath. I currently have 8 songs liked by them. 6 songs from the Paranoid album (which I gave a 4 star rating on this site) and 2 songs from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. None from this album. Thoughts after listening 3 times ... Was surprised there was so much harmonica on "The Wizard" - definitely showing their blues rock roots there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any songs that I want to listen to again. It's disappointing as I was hoping this would be good (like the Paranoid album), but it just didn't grab me at all. It seems like a lot of folks dig this - and it looks like I am in the tiny minority of people that don't. I recognize everyone says this album invented heavy metal. Props to them for that, but frankly most (not all) heavy metal is just crap anyway - so to me that is not a big positive - haha! I base my scoring solely on "how many of these songs do I actually want to listen to again?" - and not on how supposedly influential something is. Liked songs on Spotify: 0/6 NOTE: Spotify only has 6 of the 8 songs available. Sleeping Village and Warning are blanked out and not playable. I don't know why - but I am only reviewing the 6 songs I have access to. Rating: 1/5 (should be zero)
- An almost perfect debut, the "Evil Woman" cover being the weakest track by far. Literally creates a genre. I can't imagine hearing this for the first time a the time it was released. There was nothing close to this. -
Ah the OG metal album. What a shock people must have got when they played this for the first time in 1970. Unprepared to say the least. This is still a great album. And it's still pretty heavy even at 56 years old. Tons of great riffs here. Ozzy sounds amazing. Drums and bass are both fantastic. I think I like Paranoid a little better but this is still up there with the best heavy albums of all time. 5/5
After getting Volume 4 I decided that maybe I don’t like Black Sabbath very much, but this was actually a pleasant surprise. Still not a ‘fan’ but I’m much closer to getting it.
Favorite Track: Black Sabbath
I've never listened to really early Black Sabbath before, this is great. 4/5
Love love love. Riff after riff, great solos, great rhythmic devices, fun storytelling and good basslines too. I love how murky and eerie it is (that opening! so much atmospheric!), and the way they leave space/silence in the music. Would love to have been around when this first came out and seen the reaction/excitement. Will definitely be listening again.
Minder slecht dan gedacht... maar nog steeds prut
I really liked this. Definitely a unique piece for its time. Lots more bass features than I remembered, but then I've never really given BS a chance. It's so nice to hear all of the influences that other artists I love have taken from them - I need to do a deeper dive on their Ozzy-fronted library.
5/10
we would be nowhere without the darkness and aestheticism of metal. this is widely (though not universally) considered where the genre begins. deserves to be one of the 1001? ohhh you bet
PEAK.
./,,/
Classic fucking doom, brother
I appreciate it, but I don't particularly like it.
- Nice intro - great guitar and drumms -harmonica top -10/10 transitions
"Mom, where did Black Sabbath come from?" Well, son... one day Daddy Blues met Mother Metal. One time they felt like they were made for one another. And when two musical genres really like one another enough they can make a beautiful album. They called it Black Sabbath. "But Mom, *why* did they think they were made for one another." Well, son, they did drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. "Wow, so we all should do lots of drugs" Now you are reading directly from the gospel. Osborn 3:33: Doeth all the drugs and don't let anyone stop you. "Is Ozzy a messenger angel from God?" Oh honey, he isn't from that direction.....
Infant metal. A wonderous, grand experiment that's darker, distorted, louder blues which is an oversimplification of what metal is. This isn't even Black Sabbath's final form but the blue prints for some wonderful new genre takes form. 4
I've never been a diehard Black Sabbath fan. I only know the hits. This album was a surprise, as it's pretty far from what comes to mind when I hear the band's name. It was kind of bluesy and led zeppelinish. Not my favourite stuff, but I can appreciate what's going on.
Angry stuff. NIB stood out
I've never been a huge Black Sabbath fan but they have my utmost respect for practically creating heavy metal as we know it. I can't imagine what it must have been like to hear this in 1970. That title track is bonkers especially when you consider when it was recorded. What at the time was even close? The Who? Deep Purple? Was the world ready for this in 1970? The album has a few low points for me, the lyrics are particularly meh in places (so it's a pretty good thing that I don't hold lyrics to a high standard in rock). Despite those moments it's got great instrumental work and is undeniably original. Big props for the harmonica on "The Wizard" (who knew Ozzy played harmonica?) and mouth harp on "Sleeping Village". Gotta' love a good mouth harp in a metal song (so basically this one and "Cockroach King" by Haken). I heard the Static-X cover of "Behind the Wall of Sleep" ages ago and had no idea it was originally Black Sabbath. It sounded like Static-X. That's a testament to both a good cover (they made it their own) and the fact that Sabbath is so fundamental to metal that decades of development later and their sound still works. Good stuff.
Baby metal.
OG Heavy Metal
I'm not much of a heavy metal person, so I've never really been into Black Sabbath much, but I definitely appreciate what the band and this album meant to the whole heavy metal genre. Outside of their more commercial hits that everyone knows, I haven't really listened to them and didn't know anything on this album. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. First, while it definitely had a lot of that "heavy metal" sound to it, the music also had a surprising amount of blues sound as well. Second, the guitar was just amazing. And third, the fact that this album was recorded in just one 12 hour live session makes it worthy of the list alone. I enjoyed listening to this one a lot more than I thought I would.
Solid, even though I'm not a big Ozzy guy. More bluesy than I expected, in addition to of course metal rocking classic rock.
Enjoyed the wiki article for this album, seems like they were just stumbling around and a bunch of music fell out. Songs are better on second listen as the guitar and bass combo push the heaviness on. Kinga grungy but clear enough that its distinctive and they are comfortable letting a moment sit and not rushing it. Ozzy's voice is solid, no issues on his style even if its not exactly my thing.
That was interesting. Never heard of Black Sabbath, the songs are very atmospheric and sounds cool with headphones. Not my type of music but I have to give my flowers to this.
Really good, not quite perfect but that makes sense if this is the first metal album
Short and sweet and absolutely slays
Surprisingly easy to listen to, not as hardcore as I was expecting, but nice all the same. The NIB song made me prick me ears up, but apart from that not really
Very solid, seminal metal album.
I had never heard any of these Black Sabbath songs previously. I believe I listened to the American version of the album. I was shocked by the harmonica on "The Wizard," in the best way. I could see myself listening to this again, in the background, or with more focus.
What more can even be said here? Not much, a heavy metal masterpiece and pretty much where it all began, easy 5 stars.
Un clásico y algo que definitivamente debes escuchar.
It bangs. Cracking guitar and drums.
Every Black Sabbath album is a jewel.
unfortunately kind of unmoved by this record's bluesy sprawl - very much feels like a band figuring it all out. the style is here, the heavy fear-drowned blues, but i don't find the songs and lyrics all that memorable. the band's never unpleasant to listen to, and the title track is iconic, but the rest of this is kind of drawn out and weak
Very unexpected 4 star here. Good stuff.
Bluesy metal, what's not to love?
C'était exceptionnel. Tu m'étonnes que ça lance un genre. Comment tu pourrais ne pas essayer de recopier un truc pareil. Pas de mot pour décrire ma surprise j'ai jamais entendu un truc qui me fait autant kiffer à la première écoute (dans le métal en tout cas). J'imagine même pas l'effet que ça doit faire en 1970 quand le truc le plus hard c'était les Led Zep, Hendrix ou Clapton. Là c'est tellement sombre les mecs veulent juste faire de l'horreur, mais en même temps c'est blues. Bref, un grand oui pour moi. Le nombre de fois où j'ai froncé les sourcils parce que je comprenais pas ce qui se passait.. Si ils ont vraiment enregistré ça en 12h je sais plus quoi dire
needed to be listening to this at full volume with surround sound
Loving it, not listened to much Black Sabbath N.I.B straight onto liked songs playlist. Definitely one to listen to again and again.
Prior, my only full length album experience with Sabbath was Paranoid which btw is perfection and their debut holds up just as well. As soon as the intro to the self titled opener kicks in I knew this was just as great as their follow up. Not to mention that outro had me ascending. Just an incredible start to the record and a great introduction to this band and what they would go on to accomplish. Its so impressive to me that they found their signature sound so early into their career, especially being the first of their time to take this sound as create an entire project around it. Everyone is in top form here and gives everything they have to these performances. The riffs, bass, and drums are all creating this desolate sounds scape that allows the vocals to drag you into this dark and spooky world the band builds throughout. Not to mention some very interesting choice for a record like this with stuff like the harmonica in The Wizard. Widely regarded as the first heavy metal album and what a beautiful start to a genre. Great instrumentals, dark and at times unnerving lyrics, and incredible vocal delivery from metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. This thing is concise at just under 40 minutes and they fill every minute up with engaging music. Just an incredible piece of history that still sounds as flawless, if not better than it did at the time. R.I.P. Ozzy
I've been absolutely sleeping on Black Sabbath. If I had listened to this in high school, I think my life's trajectory would have shifted. There's so much to love here, between evocative lyrics, heavy chords, and a healthy dash of blues rock. Each performer is playing like their lives depended on it, together forming an unholy harmony of sound. This is the type of album this list should be highlighting.
I love everything about this album. Sabbath didn't just invent heavy metal in 1970, they perfected it right out the gate. There was also some serendipitous timing to getting this album today; Ozzy Osbourne was, and Geezer Butler still is, a big Aston Villa fan, and today was Villa's first European cup final since 1982. This album (turned up loud) became my soundtrack to the build up to, and celebration of, them winning the Europa League trophy.
birth of heavy metal!
Great listen!
no es muy mi estilo la verdad
Widely recognised as the first heavy metal album. I don't really like heavy metal so do I mark it down for that? It probably is worth hearing but, one and done, for me I'm afraid. 3.5 stars and we'll see whether that goes up or down.
I could almost say I enjoyed that. I can absolutely say I wouldn't if I listened again.
Banger
Excellent debut album, although missing the correct vocalist for the band, Ronnie James Dio.
fun album, very good musically and definitely good for the gym!! probably wont add any music to my playlist but now I can recognize their music!
Love.
Not my fav but a goof sabbath album
Buen disco, el arranque de todo, Ozzy cantás como el culo pero te banco le pongo 4 por Tony. Sape
Good guitars, vocals bit weak
Black Sabbath is truly an album that inspired a generation but to me I just can't hear it anymore. Don't get me wrong it is good and certain songs let me know why it was so popular but I can't really get behind it. Fav Song: Warning or The Wizard Least Fav: Sleeping Village
De los mejores debut albums de la historia
Some of the songs were pretty long but that wasn't a big problem. The melodies and the riffs were so beautiful, and I love the vibe
Quelques solos incroyable. Un album dans une ambiance assez mystique que ce soit dans des côtés sombres ou lumineux.
This was a very pleasant surprise. I know thr hits but have never listened to them otherwise. It made me feel like I could actually be a fan of their stuff. Great guitar too.
5/10
The occult and dark mythology mix w guitars and Ozzy’s haunting vocals
9/10
This was super interesting. I never realized how much metal took from blues
Big fan
Onhan tätäkin tullut aikoinaan kuunneltua mutta ei aikoihin enää. Ja nyt kun kuuntelin, niin syy on selvä: tämä on kitarapornoa, ei niinkään erityisen mahtavia biisejä. Eli tylsä kuin mikä. Black Sabbath toki on kova bändi mutta tämä on tylsääkin tylsempi albumi, olkoon miten vaan merkkiteos mutta ei pitoa mulle. Ehkä vähän tyly 1/5
Just top notch, and the autoplay changed albums and I didn't even notice at first. Top notch classic metal.
N.I.B. is pretty good. Middle level in general.
So freaking innovative.
A solid start to a successful career by the band. You can hear so many elements that made Black Sabbath and Ozzy a big star
Yeah, it's alright. Pretty definitive sound. Can see why it's so iconic. Not going to stick it on repeat any time soon though.
I was immediately interested by this record because I had thought "Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath album. I wasn't too surprised to read that it had been recorded in one day. It sounds like a live album, warts and all. It means there's a good energy and presence to it, but it also feels like it's begging to be tightened in places and have production touches added in others. The best track is probably the opener -- setting the tone as one of gloom and doom. I think I'd hoped for the mood to get gloomier and the songs faster and louder after this... but The Wizard is an odd duck. I don't like the harmonica. It just sounds like blues rock with fantasy lyrics. Definitely the album's weakest track. The next medley of three songs is another highlight. It always seems to be threatening to break into one of their more well-known riffs, so it's never fully satisfying. Wicked World feels a little too Led Zeppelin for my liking. I expected the final medley to bring everything together into some grand statement, but I don't think that's what they were about at this point. It just kind of meanders. What this record does show is a band with a lot of potential on the cusp of something great. They just don't have it here.
Absolute bangers, classic groundbreaking fathers of doom metal
And so, the birth of heavy metal as we know it happens and the world was never the same. If this was rated by the importance of this album, it would be a 100/5 stars. But besides the importance and influence, this is an incredible album by itself. Is this Sabbath's best album? Maybe it's not, but it could be argued that it is. The songs are standing the test of time and being recorded in two days, it has great production and sound quality. An amazing album by one of the greatest bands ever to take up instruments. 5/5
enjoyed. not my fav.
Mi favorita; The wizard. No es mi estilo de música, pero reconozco que me ha gustado.
Ablsolute classic. The best one. GOAT. Listeted more than 1 million times and going to listed again and again. I remember when I've beed listening to this album for the very first time - oh my god, what a moment. Every, every god damn song is a true masterpiece, true gem. Oh man I love this album
The original metal merchants. Riffs that go on for days, vaguely satanic lyrics and the sound of impending doom. Interesting that it was panned by critics when it first came out, but now regarded as a classic. Black Sabbath, The Wizard and N.I.B. all great tracks
Side A of this is pretty good. Side B less so (still good but doesn't reach the heights of there coming albums)
Me pareció excelente, hubiera sido increíble crecer y escuchar esto por primera vez, realmente crearon los sonidos que los representan
music is love
me gustó demasiado pero es un flow raro que no se si me convence full, como que es bacano pero de forma rara
Legendary name. Interested to try, though I'm not sure I'm quite in the brain space for darkness... Let's go! 1) Self-titled song in the self-titled album... Got a bit bored really. 2) Wizard. more like it - know it from Guitar Hero lol 3) Wasp - cool headphone balance of the vocals. I like the quality to the lead guitar. honestly just a bit all of the same. not necessarily a bad thing to have a common theme, a vibe... just not my cuppa. Solos at the end of the last track are nasty and wild and I really liked that.
I love this band and songs. Reminds me of when my dad introduced me to rock and metal.
Black Sabbath has such a repetitive style but this is 5/5 at the pool hall or scary bar
Good instrument and Ozzie is a good story teller. Not my type of music.
Fuckin cool
I cant believe I was missing out on this. I normally avoid this genre like the plague, but this was great. No ear piercing scream vocals, no overstimulating one note guitar, no shitty performative lyrics? What is happening? The only negative is that I don't love the idea of a fourteen minute song, (closing track no less) but it wasn't too bad. The vibes/aesthetic of this record are very cool. Opening with the thunder and keeping that somewhat sinister sound throughout the track list. Four stars. (Favorite track: Black Sabbath.)
I don't like metal or Hardrock. But this album has some great guitar riffs.
non avevo mai ascoltato questo album perché solitamente il metal non è il mio genere, ma ora, avendolo ascoltato, direi che per me non rientra nel genere. lo sento più appartenete al rock ci sono delle sequenza acustiche con la chitarra elettrica pazzesche ma che ritrovo ripetute nel corso dell’album. ho trovato un po’ difficile capire quando finivano e iniziavano certe canzoni il che mostra che comunque l’album è ben collegato da un punto di vista della produzione musicale che rimane simile per ogni canzone. nonostante io tenda ad apprezzare la produzione più rispetto ai testi per black sabbath devo dire avrei sperato avesse un po’ più di diversità nella produzione. in generale l’ho trovato sicuramente un album originale per l’epoca ma allo stesso tempo piatto, in quanto molte canzoni alla fine, al mio orecchio,sembravano simili
Insanely good guitar playing. Never have been a huge fan of Ozzy’s voice. Guitar on NIB and bass on Evil Woman went super hard. Overall a pretty great album, last three songs had a hell of a run to finish the album. 4.5
Been waiting for this one. You pricks. Also, can I just say right now, I’ve been waiting just to listen to this album! As for the songs. Well, title track is incredible. So is The Wizard. NIB is kinda corny but I like it! And everything else is just there. Sadly not much really pops out. I mean like this is supposedly the 98th best album of all time. It doesn’t feel like it. That doesn’t mean it’s bad though. It’s just kinda rough around the edges. Not everything here does that much for me. 7.2/10
Sabbath with Ozzy, dude! (a common refrain from my stoner, rocker friends in the early 80s) Among the first, if not the first, metal albums this was incredibly innovative. This album contains all of the signature sounds that would define early Sabbath, albeit somewhat less developed that the albums that followed. All the same, it is remarkable how well many of the tunes hold up today. Many of the songs are instantly recognizable by anyone who has not been living under a rock. This is iconic and highly influential music. I owned this album 40 years ago. It is telling that I enjoyed listening to it just as much today, despite ever evolving personal music tastes. RIP Ozzy.
Absolut perfection
What an album! This is perfect.
Meget genredefinerende album. Det er basicly Heavy metal men man kan stadig høre lyden af hard rock og blues. Det er meget stemningsbaseret gotisk, mørkt og med kirkeklokker og alt muligt shit. Virkelig fedt album fra start til slut og har haft indflydelse på at lave genre som doom, grunge osv. så meget indflydelsesrigt album. Synes det er et godt album med gode riffs og massere af andet godt. Det er også meget intenst lyt synes jeg. Har lyttet til en del Black sabbath albums nu og det er altid en glædelig fornøjelse, men ved heller ikke om Heavy metal er min sådan go to genre at lytte til. Ved ikke hvornår jeg ville sætte det på selv for bare at sidde og lytte. Det er jo meget mørkt og skal sikkert også bruges i en lidt mørk sammenhæng, som jeg ikke er så villig til at dykke ned i ofte.
Awesome
Fun but overall just alright at best, wish it was a bit longer
3.5/5
Actually just listened to this. Not as good as Paranoid, but truly solid. 4 stars. Boolean rating: yes, for sure
I find myself constantly turning up N.I.B. whenever it comes on. What a debut, game changing
Großartig. Unvorstellbar, wie das 1970 geballert haben muss. Und das haben sie einfach mal in 12h aufgenommen.
Aber keine besonderen Highlights. Deshalb fehlt Stern Nr. 5.
I liked this. Proper grooves and excellent bass lines. But short of stand out bangers but very listenable
Pense que no me iba a gustar por lo que junaba de black sabbath, pero la verdad que me esta gustando mucho. No es tan heavy como pensaba, y la verdad, bastante piola. "Behind The Wall of Sleep" me gustó bastante. Me gusta eso de que sube la voz. Después me parece normal, no lo elegiría escuchar. 7/10
Already an all time favorite.
5/10
inmaculada selección de instrumentos. Una locura la armónica y la pandereta. Una guitarra y bajo tan centrales, la batería espectacular. Todo en magnífica sintonía. No soy una aficionada al rock pesado pero este disco sin duda demuestra que una buena composición musical siempre será fácil de identificar independientemente del género en el cual se presente. Mi letra favorita? Wicked World -parece que el mundo no ha cambiado tanto después de todo. Mi composición favorita? The Wizard
Good album
Si bien no es un género que me guste, reconozco que musicalmente es bueno
Not bad. But not my taste
Classic- puts you in the right mood for listening right off the bat. For all of the satanic panic this may have kicked off, it was surprisingly tame.
The birth of metal!
The intro to the opening track is an amazing almost slow burn and im genuinely kind of in love with it. Disappointed ive never heard this before. Not a fan of the vocals or the lyrics on the first track at first but ozzy osborne grew on me but even after a second listen the lyrics are still so corny. Very cornball, harmonica isnt helping. Im not as familiar with metal as I am with other genres so I did look into the history and its really cool. Honestly something im shocked about is, considering their reputation, that a song like Brutal by olivia rodrigo has much heavier instrumentation (very extreme example i know) thsn this album. However at that time it was consideredably heavier than like any other rock so it birthed an entire genre which is wild and really cool. 3/5
I think I have to finally accept i dont like black sabbath that much
Оце вже інша справа))) Я їх люблю!!!
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 OH NOOOOO, OH PLEASE GOD HELP ME!!!!! When I was an angsty thirteen year old and Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Wolfmother were my lifeblood, I thought this album—even that first song—was just okay, a little slow for my liking. Why then, have I kept waking up with little licks of "N.I.B," "The Wizard," "Wicked World," and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" stuck in my head for nearly the next thirteen years of my life? A fantastic album, especially considering the historical context. My rating would be higher, but I had to hold myself back and admit this album does meander quite a bit, squiggling over into Iommi spaghetti or else devolving into sort of yawning, atmospheric sections without much resolution. For as strong of a debut as this is, they wouldn't be the Black Sabbath everyone pretends to know and love without Paranoid first. But still—incredible start. 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing
I like this more than I expected. I was impressed by nearly everything about it. I’m not super into his voice, but I got over it. I see how it’s a classic album.
I can't imagine being a teenager in 1970 and hearing this record for the first time. Like, you have no concept of what heavy metal is, but maybe your friend loans you this or the guy at the record store suggests you should buy it, who knows... anyway, you drop the needle on this for the first time and you hear the rain and then, I guess, you probably just black out and wake up to your dad screaming at you to turn this record off? I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure your life is different forever.
Heavy music has been such an influence on my life and listening habits. Some might say that all might have started right here in 1970 with Sabbath’s debut album. Not my favorite Sabbath album but when you press play on this thing you realize it’s pretty flawless. And that’s why I’ve spent so many hours listening to this thing. From the rain and thunder of the opening (and title) track to the bombastic drum fills and Toni’s riffs cutting through Warning at the end it’s hard rock poetry. I love this album.
10/10: what a start. One of my favourite and most listened albums of all time. Every song is a masterpiece and deserves its own place in music history. Every musician on this album is outstanding, but oh my god Ozzy Osbourne blows me away every time. If this album does nothing for you, chances are we simply have no common interests musically. As good as it gets, good luck to whoever’s next. Favourite song: N.I.B. Best moment: when Ozzy goes “ooooooooh noooooooooo” on Black Sabbath For fans of: any electric guitar-based music
Great album, awesome mix of heavy, sludgy songs and more traditional bluesy stuff. Didn’t love all the songs on it and it sounds a bit tinny at times, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Almost a 5-star album just based on sheer influence, but not quite there for me as a whole in terms of personal enjoyment. However - the opener is just stunningly evocative and is pretty much ground zero for heavy metal. Nothing really sounded quite like what they conjured up here in 1970 with the doomy, occult atmosphere and the slow crushing riff. The rest of the album has its moments (NIB is my favorite of the later tracks) but is less overtly metal as we know it and more just hard blues, which is why I'm probably not 5 stars here, but hard to deny the importance of this album.
doggo/10
Not my kind of music
Not the best. But still strong fundamentals. Great guitars and iconic voice.
Was always curious why rock, metal and prog bands have song of over 6 minutes. The song is usually fine except for the 5 or 6 minutes titting about on the guitar or even worse the drums. Clearly early Sabbath and the lyrics reflect this about Lucifer. Good listen except I would trim the length of song of the songs
Uniikki nimi
Good atiff
What else can be said. Overrated but influential
Only a 4 because I know Paranoid is on the list. But oof, what an angry sounding jazz quartet!
Oh yeah, know this one is great! Been getting more and more into Black Sabbath lately, and damn they were legends for a reason. This is an awesome album and basically started it all for metal, but their following albums were even better imo.
Such a cool debut album. Considering the time it came out, this was very different than anything else. It was darker than the psych stuff before that, definitely heavier than the popular stuff at the time (few bands withstanding) and really helped drive what became a "metal" sound. Those three tones at the beginning of Black Sabbath are something you can never really get out of your head. From there, its just you pulled into the mind of a madman.
This is from 1970 so I'm going to keep that in mind as I review the album. I love the aesthetics they've got going on, and over all the sound isn't bad. But it's just not as good as what came a couple of years after. It's hard to be both accurate and recognizing the influence of an album in a simple 5 star review. I kind of enjoyed the album, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites. 4/5 bumping up for 1970
I don't know why I've never actively sought out to listen to Black Sabbath records. It seems a pretty large misstep by me.
Excellent.
hyper agréable j'avais ecouter leur plus connu et la je suis surpris c'est vraiment chouette j'ai beaucoup aimer en arriére plan
Hell yeah.
Not my favorite album of Sabbath, but definitely the most pivotal intro to kick off the band’s theming & direction.
4.3 Estrellita a 1, 4 y 7
Absolutely perfect,it would be a crime to rate it less than 5
Toimiva ossi. Hyvääää settiä!!
A good record, I think sabbath were a bit primitive at this point, and it doesn't hold up as well as some of their later records, but it hit quite hard nonetheless.
It's just so good
Rip ozzy. Me gustó mucho, puntos extra por la excelente duración para el viaje a la facultad.
that's cool but not my taste
This is alright
Was really good for my squats but otherwise nothing really caught me. This would blow my balls off if I listened to it on release but unfortunately it's older than both of my parents and I was thus unable to give it a go in 1970.
Not as good as their later work, but showing a lot of promise and quality regardless
Enjoyable
Friedhof Vibes im Intro Psychedelic, Doors-mäßig Schweine Rock/ Hair-Metal Gitarren Solos Weniger satanistisch als erwartet (?) Hat sich die Toleranz in der Gesellschaft seid dem gesteigert, was so "düstere" Musik angeht? Das ist ja wirklich mega früh erschienen! Da waren die Beatles noch zusammen (vor Let it be)! Auch klassische Rock Einflüsse- so die einfachen Riffs und so der klare Ton der Stimme. Würde Friedemann gefallen.
Glassikko. Monesti miettii että kumpa osaisi ajatella aikaa jolloin levy ilmestynyt. Tämän kohdalla se on jotenkin helpompaa. Seitkytluvun alku, ei oltu kuultu vielä mitään vastaavaa. Hyvää riffii, mukava kuunnella.
On kauheen hankala olla hevi ja dark ku levyllä on huuliharppua ja lehmänkelloa. Kyllähän tääki klassiko on ja Ozzy ei ärsyttäny ees kovin paljoa tällä levyllä, ei oo ehkä vielä sitä "saundiansa" tai efektiänsä löytäny vielä mikä ei omaan korvaan istu.
No private session used for Spotify. I listened to this album several times, I like its. It's dark, dramatic and heavy.
In my opinion, this is a cool album, it has a slightly spooky feel, but in my opinion, the mysterious or horror feel can be improved. I only found that in Sleeping Village and Black Sabbath, although there are others, but those two are the most impressive. The instruments are clearly extraordinary and very cool but I think its like other heavy metal bands instrument in general. Favorite tracks: Wicked World and Evil Women Don't Play Your Games with Me
Cool, but again a bit heavy for me. Maybe it's beacuse I've had two black sabbath albums in 4 days...
Oh, having just heard Paranoid I am excited! Yes, and after Jamiroquai a nice palate cleanser. Not as good as Paranoid. Still really good. 4 stars. Boolean rating: yes, I am glad I heard this before I died.
Good but not as good as vol 4
solid album, might need alot of listen, but i get the influence of black sabbath
Enjoyed them, maybe like 4.5? Again, much more chill than I assumed they'd be
3.5 I much preferred this album over Vol. 4, the other album of theirs I listened to. Feels a little closer to what I imagine metal to be, or more rock-y and fun. Still waiting for something to really feel like hard metal. I didn’t realize until reading, Black Sabbath is where Ozzy Osborn came from
it has 8 songs ill listen to them on my way home the first four werent my favourite but i really liked the last few Warning was my fav
Not as good as Paranoid unfortunately. Still, it's fine... I wouldn't have a problem listening to it again.
Me volvió loco este álbum, tiene temazos que no conocía. Voy a empezar a incursionar más en su mundo.
Black Sabbath - 4.5/5 The Wizard - 4/5 Behind the Wall of Sleep - 4/5 N.I.B. - 4.5/5 Evil Woman - 4/5 Sleeping Village - 4/5 Warning - 4/5 So that's what early heavy metal sounded like. It's a really good start for them and the genre, but I really feel they perfected their craft with their next album that somehow came out less than a year later. Overall: 4/5 Favorites; Black Sabbath, N.I.B.
Reasonable album, not a huge fan of Black Sabbath
3/5
All time classic
whismichu
It was fine, but I wouldn't put it on.
Это один из важнейших альбомов в истории музыки. Он был прослушан мной сотни раз и будет прослушан еще тысячи. Это такой монолит, такой памятник, который невозможно сравнить с чем-либо еще. Абсолютная легенда, вне конкуренции. Это нужно преподавать в школах, на всех уроках одновременно.
Perhaps the greatest debut record of all time. Opening track immediately knocks you off your ass and prepares you for what's to come. Side one features 2 very important songs for this band accompanied by 2 of my personal favorite Sabbath cuts. Side 2 is my favorite easily, Wicked World and A Bit of Finger bang so hard. For an almost 60 year old record this is a masterpiece and is more contemporary sounding than nearly anything else that came before it. If you can make one record like this in your lifetime that's all you need. But then they made like 6 more that were just as good if not better after it. Unreal
Los solos de guitarra son una locura. NIB es un temazo. En general el álbum logra mantener la atmósfera durante todas las canciones. The wizard me raya un poco e interrumpe la vibra momentaneamente, pero probablemente es porque la he quemado demasiado. Extra points for Cadence of Part Time Poets reference
Darker, but still enjoyable
This album has really been overshadowed by some of Sabbath's later work, most obviously the cultural touchstone that is Paranoid, and to a lesser extent some of Ozzy's solo releases, but if Paranoid ran the self-title did much better than merely walking. A lot of the metal staples this album would perform such a major role in bringing into being, but of course that's because everything has to start somewhere, and metal started here. Perhaps more of a historical curiosity than a truly conventional metal album, or even conventional Sabbath album ironically, this album is well worth the time if only to understand how we got to where we are, and does a lot more than just educate during that runtime. Perhaps not as loaded with hits as the albums that followed, the self-title still includes a healthy amount of super tracks. Shame in an album with not many tracks on it that two are covers, never my favourite, but you have to invent the wheel before you can do much with it, so this is more forgivable. Thanks for all your hard work, lads.
Rock identity crisis.
cool guitar but I'm not super into guitar only music
Good album, not my style
This really is an excellent album. It really is incredible to think about this in context of the time- imagine hearing this in 1970. Honestly, an entire genre of music may not have existed if not for this band, this album and Tony Iommi.
Considering this is the first metal album ever, it’s impressive just how developed this sound already is. This doesn’t sound like a newly emerging genre, which still retains certain qualities from more conventional music of the time. This sounds like a metal album. A really good one too. “The Wizard” rocks so hard, I love putting a harmonica in a metal song. Same with “N.I.B..” “Wicked World” is so good too. Why am I even listing songs? The whole album rocks like crazy! RIP Ozzy Osbourne.
Black Sabbath de Black Sabbath me gustó mucho, a pesar de que no es el género que normalmente escucho. Me sorprendió lo creativo que suena: la guitarra tiene un estilo muy llamativo y las voces le dan un ambiente oscuro e interesante. Sentí que es un álbum bastante experimental y “raro”, pero no en un sentido negativo, sino como algo diferente, fuera de lo común y casi vanguardista. Ese tipo de sonido poco convencional es justamente lo que más me llamó la atención. Le doy un 4 de 5 por lo innovador y por lo bien que logra crear una atmósfera distinta.
Didn’t care for Black Sabbath much when I was “in the moment” and honestly 50 years hasn’t helped my appreciation of the end product. I can appreciate the guitar work, but the whole death culture BS is off putting - as bad or worse than the nihilism of the 90s artists (whose music is just worse).
Classic, definitely not nearly as consistently interesting as their next couple of albums but still undeniably important.
Eh… nothing stood out
Black Sabbath has retained a lot of their technique but l like the vibe of this album. Its hard to pic a favorite track because the motifs I really liked hearing were across all of the tracks, and they were all very long and me
While I don't mind the instrumentals, I do find the tracks a little bit bland, but not bad. It's enough for me to give a few listens but not much of a favorite.
epic
Surpreendentemente bom
Lowkey ominous.
Includes three of their best songs but the others aren’t at the same level. Master of Reality should be on the list as a better album but I suppose this is historically significant.
Hell ya
Eerste nummer begon folklorig, maar daarna kwam de stijl van Sabbath en de beginselen van heavy metal goed naar voren. Warning is fantastisch
I'm pissed at Ice T, I had the Iceberg long before I heard this album so the intro is tainted. I first heard this several months ago on the recommendation of Mojo Reiser, really like the variety. I thought it would be pretty one note but there is a lot going on here. Pre-brain melt Ozzy is something else. 4.5
Feels like this is them discovering a whole new thing. I like this early stuff that doesn’t get too “metal”
Dark, Slow And Sludgy Riffs for days. Kind of badass. My kind of metal. ~ Review in haiku
Listened to before? Partially Context? The debut album of THE foundational metal band, explored a never-before-heard dark, sluggish, heavy sound *Reviewed in a holistic format* The fact that this album came to be due to a factory accident is all too fitting. There's a horror here that's very specifically working-class—a B-movie horror lurking beneath the lives of your average laborer and church-goer. It's the darkness webbed between the bare trees lining your walk home from school—the spirits flitting between the unkempt graveyard of the local chapel—an occult secret hanging like fog over the dreary Birmingham streets. A seminal heavy metal album, Black Sabbath's self-titled debut, in all its detuned guitar work and building tension, was something novel to the world of 1970. It drew upon classic literature such as Lord of the Rings (similar to Led Zeppelin) and H.P. Lovecraft to bring a fantastical darkness to life. Characters include mysterious figures, Satan, a wizard, corrupt politicians, and demons, positioned against vivid imagery and a gritty sonic landscape. The album is extremely focused, with only five songs spanning the length of forty minutes. The guitar work is impressive. Listening to this album, you can see why the genre is called "metal." It's as if Tony Iommi never quite left that sheet metal factory. Even the faster-paced riffs and solos have that detuned, sludgy bite to them (solo around the three-minute mark of "Wicked World," for example.) Outside of the heavy metal sound, there's a harmonica riff, as well as some clear blues and jazz influences. As unique as the album was for the time, there's a clear line of influence, which only serves to add more credit to the album. They managed to take the raw emotion of that blues sound and turn it into something dark. This is clearest in the melodies, sludgy riffs, and Ozzy Osbourne's style of singing. In front of any other instrumentals, he would be a blues singer. His vocals are another majorly impressive part of this album. The whole world of music fundamentally changed after hearing him yell "Oh, no, no! Please, God, help me!" on the opening track. And I'm glad it did.
this is the first album of represent of metal, but they were cooking for the pinnacle next album "paranoid". i lov'it N.I.B, is my favorite song of BS poetic, nice rithym of bass and diavolic
Me gustó mucho, es variado pero te tiene q gustar el rock más pesado
No sé que decir sobre este álbum, la verdad no me gustó para nada
album full of bangers
10/10 masterpiece
Great fucking album, and the foundation of Heavy Metal. I fucking love The Wizard 🧙♂️. Nativity In Black fucking shreds too 🤘🏻🤘🏻
It's hard for me to rate this in a vacuum - their following albums are so much more up my alley. This shit definitely rocks, and is obviously a landmark album for heavy metal....just doesn't have the replay-ability for me. 4.5
I can define see why they are one of the most influential bands in rock history. Not my cup of tea but guitar solos are incredible
This album was unreal... Wicked. The guitar was absolutely shredding, the vocals were crisp, and the drummer was very talented. I enjoyed this listen very much!
once again just not my thing but obviously people like it highlights: Wicked World
Debería escucharlo otra vez
I am very new to this genre of music so I will avoid rating but as I can not skip rating this album due to the website fk up.
I hate it. Whining men who can’t sing and just scream/talk 😒 ok the music gets better but it would be even better as an instrumental
Ooky spooky Halloween
Maybe more of a 3.5
Day 238 Some of the best riffs in rock Highlights The Wizard NIB Evil Woman..
No estoy familiarizada con el metal, si rescato que los solos de guitarra son una puta locura mal. Es muy adictivo y te quedas como sedada escuchando, sali de mi zona de comfort, la verdad me gusto. Eso si, no me obsesiono nivel lo quiero escuchar todos los días o es el mejor álbum, lejos de eso porque no es mi onda. Pero banco, en resumen.
Мне не очень нравится этот жанр, но этот альбом понравился
pretty alright. Nothing jumped out crazy
Tremendo este discazo, lo mires por donde lo mires. Empieza tétrico, desde la portada y siguiendo por el tema homónimo, pero es tétricamente bello. Viniendo de unas raíces blues rock y psicodélicas, Black Sabbath crean algo nuevo, dando luz a lo que hoy se considera el primer disco de metal. Más allá de las consideraciones históricas, la banda de Ozzy Osbourne y Tony Iommi se marcan unos temazos descomunales que hacen escuela, llevando el rock un punto más allá de lo que otros ni siquiera intentaron.
El álbum es muy bueno, aunque no suelo escuchar este género, pero me gustan los ritmos y los solos se guitarras.
Understand the skill but not for me
Franchement bien, on n’est pas sur du métal.
Pionnier du heavy metal, évidemment, le premier son envoie de ouf avec son aspect lent et profond, mais j'ai moins accroché sur la suite, des sonorités que j'appréciais moins et des musiques que je trouve passables Son impact est inquantifiable mais d'autres (notamment Paranoid, dans la même année) ont poussé la chose plus loin pour la rendre plus poignante et appréciable
Put aside some of barmy lyrics it's pretty good.
This is the one that started it all. It still holds up. Heavy music has been a huge part of my life for the last 11 years and we owe it all to Ozzy, Tommy, Geezer and Bill. I can’t imagine how out of this world this record sounded back then. All time classic, groovy as hell and invented metal. 100/100.
Wowowowowow
Yeah pretty good! A solid three stars.
If you don't give this 5 stars you don't have 5 brain cells.
Hell yes. Most important album of all time.
Very good but severely overrated
I enjoyed it thoroughly.