Black Sabbath

RIP Ozzy. Great, great album. Probably the first heavy metal album.

I like it quite a bit, although I'm not sure any of the singular songs on it stood out to me as personally essential.

Heavy. So heavy. Could I say more? Sure. Do I need to? No.

I actually liked this more than I thought

Black Sabbath. the album values the instrumental passage as much as the vocal - love it. There's a kind of cohesion, sonic vision, depthful exploration within a sound that these 60s and early 70s albums have. It makes for a very dreamy listening experience. rip Ozzy Osbourne, a life of sound. Best tunes: black sabbath, the wized, n.i.b, evil woman warning

Sorry Ozzy this ain’t it for me

Nothing really stood out, old rock. Not really my thing this time

The so called Prince of Darkness. The first song lives up to that title. It was dark, creepy and a prefect song to set a dark tone. Then the album shifted a bit, faster rifts and what sounded like a bit of country guitar to me. Overall decent, but I wouldn't listen to it again.

Rest in peace Ozzy. This was a cool glimpse into the origins of heavy metal and doom metal. I liked it, but BS would go on to further improve this style.

Not surprised to be getting this one the day after Ozzy died. But let’s face it this was always getting 5 stars.

Discardo discardisimo

Jao, baš je teško ovo slušati danas 🥺 legendaran album, legendaran čovjek, nema se što više reći. Emotiva će prebaciti ovo na 5/5, 9/10. RIP Priče Tame 🖤🌈

From today's perspective, the album is a 3.5/5. Still holding up, which is impressive given its age. But imagine listening to this in 1970. Some fuckers have just invented Heavy Metal and you are holding it in your hands, unaware that this will help to establish an entire culture.

recommending this to me 2 days after ozzy passed away, RIP

I mean it's the first Sabbath album. It's the best. Instead of a review, I will write my assorted Ozzy/Sabbath stories. - I watched a VH1 documentary which told the story of Bill Ward writing the lyrics to Black Sabbath about a sleep paralysis type episode where he was visited by a "figure in black". I listened to the song alone in my room that night and I was very scared indeed. - I saw Ozzy at the San Jose Sharks arena when I was probably 14 (Gus G was the guitar player then). My mom bought me two tickets but I was a lonely teen and had no one to go with, so I had two seats to myself. Ozzy had a giant hose that shot foam all over the crowd and security guards. He really seemed to be having a blast up there. - I saw Sabbath play the Shoreline Amphitheater (full lineup minus Bill Ward) around 2012. At the start of their set, my mom texted me that our dog Jack was very sick and that she was taking him to the doggy ER. I spent the first half of the show super stoned and wondering if my dog was going to die. Eventually she texted me that Jack had eaten and edible wrapper and had "all the signs of marijuana toxicity". He was fine, and the Sabbath show was A+. Most impressively, they really sounded like Black Sabbath. When I saw Metallica l, everything from their guitar sound to Hetfield's voice sounded totally different from the records I knew. They rocked, but I didn't feel like I was seeing Metallica. Black Sabbath sounded exactly like Black Sabbath. - In college I spent a while getting Toni into heavy music. This was the album that finally made it click for her. Ozzy dying feels a lot like the Queen dying. He was just always around, being a strange and comforting presence in my life. Now he's gone, and an important piece of my culture dies with him. Album cover: A (Scary Mona Lisa)

Not my usual jam but I can get into the mood. The shows must have been sick. RIP

We are listening to "Black Sabbath" in the wake of Ozzy's death. His death has made gigantic waves globally, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by how big of a moment it is. His final concert was a week ago, and it was a legendary event, but I didn't hear about it until after his death. I had also forgotten until now that he was the original 'Keeping up with the Kardashians" on MTV. I was never a huge Ozzy fan growing up, but that isn't because I didn't like his music, it's because the various older brothers who instructed me in the ways of metal weren't Black Sabbath fans. I've never listened to this album, but listened to "Paranoid" frequently in a certain period of my life. "Black Sabbath" was sick. When the guitars come in around ~4:40, that gives me some chills. They were quite good at that 'now the guitars are here' type of moment. Ozzy's vocals are awesome. I was not expecting harmonica. The intro to "The Wizard" is so sweet. Some elements of "Wasp..." are like "Ironman" but slower. It's funny to see some of the guitar ideas transplanted and done differently on their later work. 'My Name is Lucifer, please take my hand' is a nicely delivered line. I see why the metalheads had to hide their records from their parents. The guitar on "N.I.B" is shredding. The guitar on "Wicked World" was awesome. The bass came in hot on "A Bit of Finger...". The bass has continued hotly in "Sleeping Village". This song feels like they just wanted to shred a little more before the album came to a close, and yes sir they did shred. I'm 31 and it's kind of making me want to play guitar. This album is a lot proggier than I thought it would be. It has more instruments than I expected, the songs are long, and they sing about wizards. I can see why this made waves I can see why they took off. Their music is simultaneously totally from the 70s, but also so different from their big-name contemporaries like Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Led Zep. 9/10

Prince of Darkness sets the stage for a new genre. The opening eponymous track (song, album and band name!) is iconic and opens a new world of music. The riff over the last minute and a half is stellar.

This was probably manually pushed today, in honor of Ozzy's passing. Black Sabbath was a very heavy band, a possibly bordering what I would normally enjoy, but I love their main hits, and their guitar solos are always great. Overall, not a bad album, although it doesn't have any of those hits that we've all heard of. I would say pretty nice and in honor of the Prince of Darkness himself - you will be remembered.

not sure if this was completely random that I got this the day after Ozzie died or intentional on the part of the site managers...but was definitely fitting to get this one today. RIP Ozzie. In any event, I can see how this album would be hugely influential for future bands, but it didn't really hold my attention.

Not particularly memorable but fine enough for what it is.

Fun album. Nothing stuck out like Crazy Train, but it was solid all the way through.

RIP Ozzy. I happened to listen to this album today and didn't mind at all to have to listen to it again. Definitely a very influential album in the development of heavy metal, although only a couple of songs here would only be considered metal/hard rock. But it pointed the way to a darker vibe of rock music that would inspire generations of bands later. Title track gave me goosebumps the first time I listened to it. It's minimalistic, doomy, and heavy. So good!

Sabbath’s cradle of the Brit blues scene is clearer on this record, but even on the modish improv track, Iommi’s proudly workmanlike, unfussy playing sets out different intentions. The ideas are all present, the opening to “The Wizard” is killer, and the title track and “N.I.B.” sit with their best. Uneven, but they’re a band I would’ve loved to have seen during this early spree.

Highly enjoyable, esp. "The Wizard" which is superbly silly. Not quite sure why this album specifically is credited with inventing metal; there isn't much daylight between here and Led Zep I to these ears (at least, sonically) but it's all good RIP Ozzy - my tribute highlights the first time I heard the Prince of Darkness: "Shot In The Dark", a fun chart hit leading me to place him closer to Meat Loaf than he probably deserved!

No.

First heard this album at a friend’s when it came out. It was something I’d never heard before and was hooked

OK, a bit dated

5 stars for the legend

OZZY FOREVER

If you don't like Black Sabbath, go fuck yourself.

Can you imagine putting the needle on that record for the first time in 1970 and "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath comes in. Damn. The world would never be the same.

Bom, bem experimental, os solos são sólidos, queria que todo o álbum seguisse o caminho da primeira música, que é a melhor

Black Sabbath First song being called black sabbath on the album black sabbath by the band black sabbath. They ran out of names clearly. 4 minute mark is so sick, the guitars launching pay off Ozzy’s annoying singing. The wizard Ozzy’s voice is significantly less annoying in this song. Guitar tone is really sick in this track. At around 2:20 there’s a singular cowbell, it was almost comedic to me idk why. Behind the Wall of Sleep Intro sounds a lot like something from Fontaines dc’s dogrel, cool to see the influence this band had. N.I.B Main riff is gas, this is iron man before iron man. Tony Iommi’s guitar work is insane. I feel like a recurring theme of this album is Ozzy cramming in as many syllables as possible into each line. Evil Woman, Don’t Play Your Games With Me First song on the album where the bass really stands out to me, the tone is like a Beatle bass but he’s punching the strings for every note. Sleeping Village Drum work on the whole album is sick. The grooves are all really dialled. The spring in the intro is also really comedic, must be a sign of the times. Warning Personally I like a Longer song, this however drags unnecessarily. As opposed to having captivating sequences, it feels like the song was copy and pasted twice over. Wicked World Enjoyable outro to a good album overall. The music may not hold up amazingly however there is no denying the influence this band had on the scene at the time.

Rip ozzy

RIP Ozzy

MASTERPIECE! BEST OF THEM ALL!

A genuine classic. Defined a genre. The most important of the heavy rock bands to come out of post-Beatles England and their impact is still being felt now. It’s heavy blues with elements of jazz, more subtle and elemental than many would think.

Normally I prescribe to ‘it’s not who had it first, it’s who had it best’ but the songs are really good here too.

MY NAME IS LUCIFER PLEASE TAKE MY HAND The instrumentals on a bit of finger are epic

girl no estoy en mi época metalera pero bueno ha estado bien

No me suele gustar demasiado el rock pero sorprendentemente me ha gustado mucho. Mis dieces jiji (soy fan de los solos de guitarra).

Trisha Paytas ha parido a la reencarnación de Ozzy Osbourne y por eso hoy toca esto. a ver qué tal bah no me gusta como canta I meannnn a mí un buen solo de guitarra me mola, pero no me gusta la voz, es muy aburrida XD probablemente no lo vuelva a escuchar, prefiero a led zepelin sé que tiene mejores canciones 2.75/5

EN: With Ozzy's passing, listening to this felt like a real necessity, so I'm glad the random album generator got me to appreciate this amazing piece of art again. First of all, it's almost impossible to be as authentical as this album is. The shift from 1960's music to what Black Sabbath has done here is simply unbelievable - and even though the seeds had already been planted by other groups, one must admit that a completely new genre was created with it. The overall consistency of the music is also amazing, especially for a debut album. The almot 40 minute lenght definately helps it not drop the ball and solidifies the work. I don't think it is greater than some of the following albums, especially Paranoid, but it's not by too far, though. Ozzy's contribuition to music shall be forever remembered. PT-BR Com a morte do Ozzy, ouvir esse álbum pareceu uma necessidade real, então fico feliz que o gerador aleatório de álbuns me fez apreciar essa incrível obra de arte novamente. Em primeiro lugar, é quase impossível ser tão autêntico quanto este álbum. A mudança da música dos anos 1960 para o que o Black Sabbath fez aqui é simplesmente inacreditável - e mesmo que as sementes já tivessem sido plantadas por outros grupos, é preciso admitir que um gênero completamente novo foi criado aqui. A consistência geral da música também é incrível, especialmente para um álbum de estreia. A duração de quase 40 minutos definitivamente ajuda a não deixar a peteca cair e solidifica a obra. Não acho que seja maior do que alguns dos álbuns seguintes, especialmente Paranoid, mas não é por muito! A contribuição do Ozzy para a música será lembrada para sempre. 8,75

This album created an entire genre. I’ve loved it since the first time I put my mom’s original lp on the record player. Could listen to it every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.

RIP OZZY 🙏 I like to believe the reason we got this album was divine providence. This is somehow better than Paranoid- it is SO GOOD for a debut album. They are the first people ever to make music sound EVIL! It’s awesome. 5 stars.

Legendäres Album

more in common with Led Zepplin than statan worship.

This was released five years before we were born. Crazy. The transition from Black Sabbath to The Wizard is nuts. The blues influence is so front and center. This is an album that I wish I could experience for the first time back in the day when it was released. It must have been wild to hear this then.

I bought this on CD 20+ years ago, listened to it once, found it boring, and haven't touched it since. Now I think it kinda rules?

Opening track kinda freaks hardcore. RIP

I didn't save any songs, but it was almost as good as paranoid. Since I was an older album of theirs. I understand that they were still finding their voice.

Black Sabbath's self titled debut album is legendary. With it's gritty, heavy, rough sound it brought something entirely new to rock at the time, and defined what metal is today. The record contains what are still some of the best riffs played on a guitar. The lyrics may be a little edgy, but this is peak counterculture. I could only imagine finding this in a record shop when it released.

Fantastic sounding heavy metal way earlier than most. It's a little before Black Sabbath found it's voice, such that I like their later stuff but it's still great.

Music to scare your parents. RIP Ozzy

C’est pas ouf un espèce de rock du far west Pas fan

Ca commence très fort avec le premier son Il aurait pu aller chercher la cinquième étoile mais des sons qui ne se démarquent pas assez

Well, Ozzy's time had to come eventually. My little metalhead brain was pretty sad about it, but what better lens to view the album that started my favorite genre through? The first track is the prototype for all doom metal to come, one done by countless bands in Sabbath's wake, and it's easy to see why so many saw fit to take influence from it. Ominous vocals, a good riff, and a strong buildup are really all the ingredients they need, and yet the bass and drums equally add to the atmosphere. The Wizard follows, and it's here that you remember just how strongly metal was influenced by the blues at its beginnings. Who wouldn't listen to metal if every song had a harmonica, right? Those two are my highlights, but I don't think there's much more I need to add. This album is the single biggest reason most of my favorite music exists. What more reason could a man need to give an album a 5?

The first half holds up to today’s standards. Incredible opening track, worth 4 stars alone for that.

RIP.

Listened to this with reverence. Not my favourite Sabbath record, but it’s where it all began. Love how raw and heavy it is and how powerful his voice was. RIP Ozzy. A legend, always.🖤

Forged the foundation along with Hendrix for so much heavy Pysch

Metal af before metal was a thing. Givin' it a 5 cuz Ozzy Died.

🤘😭🤘 One riff started both heavy metal and doom rock. I'm not sure there is a more influential record out there in the history of music. That said, there are better Sabbath albums. But this is still 5 stars on history alone.

Did you know Ozzy bit the head off of two animals? A bat and a pigeon. So that's fun. I do enjoy a little bit of black sabbath here and there though.

RIP Ozzy 1 - would not listen to again 2 - if some one played it, I'd probably just zone it out 3 - didn't hate it, didn't love it 4 - saved some songs from the album 5 - would buy the album or already own it

this was rad... that opening song is perfect

RIP in hell ozzy!

A classic for a reason.

glad I heard it

Solid debut. Can definitely hear their influence. Always loved “The Wizard.” I saw Magic Mike Marvin open his magic show, “Magshit,” with this song. Incredible. Like RATM, feels like a solid debut should get a 5 from me.

Fantastic stuff.

Keep your Beatles, your Stones, your Cream. Give me Sabbath any day of the week.

This shit rips. What else is there to say? It's a classic for a reason.

RIP the Prince of Darkness

Very appropriate to review this week, stands up well. Wasn't really into them that much at the time, but they were pushing boundaries. Good to hear again as the whole album rather than the usual selected tracks.

8/10 While there are a few bands that can claim to have laid the foundations for metal, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple being the two most obvious others, I truly feel like Black Sabbath gave metal it's soul with this album. The opening ambience of the rain, thunder and tolling bell that build into a crashing, heavy riff that lands on that disturbing, unsettling tritone interval that wavers as it rings. The devil's interval indeed. It's just so atmospheric, evocative and as heavy as a tonne of bricks. Singing about wizards, figures in black, Lucifer and all of those themes that will forever be entwined with heavy metal, Sabbath kicked the doors down with this and it's impact has been monumental. From a musical point of view, the guitar and bass create such a heavy sound, and there are some really fantastic hooks and riffs across this, and Bill Ward's drumming just drives and rolls it all forward. And then you throw Ozzy over the top of it all. Ozzy was never a great technical singer, but he was the perfect singer for this band and the birth of this type of music. He sings like a possessed madman. I remember an interview where he said he only ever heard people singing at home when they were hammered, so that's how singing sounded to him, which kind of tracks. Trying to listen to this impartially the day after Ozzy left us is difficult, but the second half of the album does lose focus and drift a little bit. That first side though. Wow. It's hard to really state him much of an impact it had. Hard to know if I'm trying too hard to not let emotion get the better of me, but it doesn't quite hold it's level enough for it's duration to get as high a mark as it possibly deserves when looked at on it's own. Black Sabbath - This track is so evocative. It's simple, but it's all about the atmosphere and broiling sense of doom that it brings. And then, after the slow burn and dread of the first section, it just bursts into life. Great riffs, heavy sound and a twist of psychedelia. Phenomenal. The Wizard - An absolute classic. Iommi's riffs. Ward's beats. Even Ozzy's harmonica. It's heavy and driving with a unrepentant push and pull between that calm and the storm. Every player gets their turn here too. There's definitely a more bluesy edge to this, but it's still building the base for metal. If Black Sabbath (the song) brought the thematic tone, The Wizard brought the musicianship. Behind the Wall of Sleep - A very Led Zeppelin intro and altogether this is more bluesy. But it's still got that darker edge to it. Less iconic than the two openers, but it still rocks hard and has some fantastic riffs. N.I.B. - More of a psychedelic edge to this one, but it still has that weight to it and it absolutely rocks. They never hang around on a section for long so there's always a sense of driving momentum and the little accents and fills they drop in all over the place, even Ozzy's little "oh yeah!"s just add so much flavour. Evil Woman - Geezer Butler gets his mention here. He's anchored everything up until now, but is more prominent here. It's a more standard bluesy rocker really and is one of the album's weaker pure songs. It's still decent, but loses something of the weight and atmosphere of the album up to this point. Sleeping Village - The unsung hero, producer Rodger Bain, gets in on the act with the Jew's Harp to add some boingy flavour. There's plenty of atmosphere here, particularly in the opening, but it's less focused and gets a bit sloppy in places. It's a bit more of a jam track and again, it's not bad, just not quite up there with the earlier stuff. Warning - Again, there are some great bits and pieces in here. Some really heavy, sludgy, driving guitars and some dirty rolling bass lines, but it's a little unfocused. It reminds me a bit of Hawkwind, but without as much instrumentation going on through the middle section to hold the interest. Wicked World - This is more like it again. Heavy, driving and atmospheric with another edge of psychedelia. The vocal recording has issues from a production point of view. Sounds like he's clipping the mic levels. Other than that, a solid way to finish the album.

Pretty gewt

Absolutely phenomenal. Every song has something about it and this album clearly changed the world of music!

Snelle inhaal review #7: Zo grappig dat dit ooit het begin was van Heavy Metal. Gaat nog steeds hard daar niet van en rip Ozzy ofcourse, maar voelt relatief zo tam. Eigenlijk geen slecht nummer te bekennen, dus dat is verder geen kritiek ofzo

Ik had eigenlijk geen verwachtingen van Black Sabbath, maar werd toch wel positief verrast. Het doet me toch wel veel denken aan de inspiratie van de oude huisband gorified abomination die we vaak luisterden back in the day, do you remember 420-serge-it?). De afwisseling van ingetogen stukken met opzwepende gitaarstukken verkoopt het voor mij wel.

Solid

Very atmospheric and will produced album. RIP Ozzy

Absolutely legendary. Wish I could have been there when they terrified the world with that opening track.

RIP OZ!

Very interesting to hear their early sound compared to what I know.

Easiest 5 star so far. While this is here for Ozzy, for me Iommi is what made Sabbath, followed by Geezer.

Just so good and this was their 1st album.

Oh hey, that sample used by Enigma! Music is quite simple. A lot of unison play in here where the vocal/guitar/bass are all doing the same thing. Decent mix. Good guitar solos. Nothing really going on in the last 15 minutes of the album. A 4 before that, a 3 including it.

Imagine having the balls in the year 1970 to say “yeah our lead off self-titled track is going to be you being dragged down to Hell while crying out for God”. Even with the triple recordings, this album flows incredibly well. End to end it just fuckin rocks, every piece of the band sounds unified, and it’s no mystery how this set the standard for heavy metal.

Another fresh and timeless classic - the opening track still sounds like all doom metal released 55 years later, riffs all over are gargantuan, drumming and basswork are excellent, and Ozzy is ... there Too much meandering in the final track for a 5 but it gets pretty close!

With Ozzys death, yesterday, I was listening to this album in the morning. Of the run of thier self titled debut, Parinoid and Master of Reality, Black Sabbath cemented themselves as the standard others would build upon for the next 55 years. With the lens of the accolades following Ozzys death, it is easy to overlook Tony, Geezer and Bill, and they are all phenomenal. Sabbath is a band to be revisited and closely listen to!

I'm surprised the music isn't as raw and intense as I expected. Frankly, it's a bit of a disappointment, though I understand it was a source of inspiration for other bands. RIP Ozzy

Talk about sonic exploration, what a fucking album. Not a huge solo guy, but the way that they’re used throughout this album he’s pretty satisfying also for how much face whipping in court changes and dark chaos this album has I think my favorite part about Black Sabbath is the conversations are having with each other through their instruments they really mastered the art of letting it breathe. Each member gets a little spotlight on them like the lion King holding each other up to the sun more Sabbath, please.

Rest in Peace, Ozzy. A damn good vocalist who lived and went out like a legend. And this album is a hell of a good one. Even without the factor of Ozzy's death, this is a beautifully dark and atmospheric affair, and arguably the first ever metal album. It's a very well crafted sound, and Tony Iommi's guitar and compositions are memorable and sonically satisfying. For its place in history and for being awesome, it gets the 5 stars

Rip Ozzy

“I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” By this logic, Ozzy is going to live forever, because I for one am never going to stop talking about how much ass he kicked. This is the debut album of not only Black Sabbath, but the debut album of Heavy Metal as a whole, and it is absolutely packed with bangers from top to bottom. I could listen to only this on loop for a year and still enjoy it. “N.I.B.” is my pick for favorite here. I can’t believe he gifted us with that gem right at the start of his career. I’m here to pay my respects and give this man the 5 stars he deserves. Fuck it, I’ll give him 6 stars. 10 even, we’ve just lost one of the last true pioneers of music, and I’m still grieving. We love you, Ozzy. Until I roll your next one and rate that a 10 as well. Rock on you absolute legend ❤️🦇!!

Goodbye ozzy

I don't believe I've ever listened to Black Sabbath's debut album. The only song I recognized was "The Wizard," and it is very similar to later Sabbath material, which is, of course, great. What pleasantly surprised me is that the other music on here was more blues-inspired than their later music. RIP Ozzy

Last week was 'Paranoid' which I loved and now 4 days later Ozzie has passed. RIP Prince.

Olihan se upeaa, ja osui vielä merkittävään ajankohtaan. Mutta Paranoid oli parempi, tämä menee enempi taustamusiikkina tai auton radiossa kuunneltavaa.

Rock

Kyllä toimii!

I appreciate the algo tweak to get this in now. Lots of opportunity for hyperbole here but for me in general this is just a generally epic album. Brand new genre, the tone is at the right level to not be either overly serious or silly on the more ‘doom metal’ tracks, with other really high quality songs as well. There’s so many tracks on this album (if not all of them) where you can absolutely trace the heritage of other albums and artists that followed back to the industrial wall of noise from brum. The bass, guitar, drums all play their part in allowing Ozzy to shine. My first instinct was a 4 but for the combination of great music, its outsized influence and the fact this is the first thing they even released I’m happy to pop my 5 cherry. Not even necessarily my favourite “Slack Babbath” album.

First song is great. Like a dark meditation and probably best song on album. I can see how people learning the guitar would love this stuff. Steady rocky riffs and when you overlay Ozzy you get instantly elevated to rock god. Few songs interlaced with some great guitar sections but ultimately the magic is when Ozzy comes in. Great voice and suits this church of rock / dark world style. Great stuff and RIP!

I was really glad to dive into this in tribute after Ozzy's death. This album rocks and it's influence alone bumps it up a level. I was surprised by the quality of his voice which cuts through the music perfectly but also the guitar performance which is fantastic. The distortion has a rich and nostalgic tone on the solos which put me in mind of Hendrix. I was starting to think that structure of some of the verses were perhaps a little simplistic, but then as a counterpoint there is the 10 minute rock epic of "Warning". I'm really getting into my metal at the moment and this was a great listen.

i rated paranoid a 5/5, and this was close - if anything, this excellent debut album could walk so paranoid could run.

This deserved another listen, but on first rip I liked it. The use of the bell in the first song was pretty dope. 4/5

Okay, so it's definitely not *totally* random. I was skeptical after Brian Wilson but there's clearly some manipulation happening. I don't mind it though. RIP Ozzy. I loved Paranoid, and I hope to get into more of your work over time. The date on this is crazy early. [note after teeing this up: oh my, Paranoid is also crazy early. They did two albums that year? Respect.] I honestly was only aware of two Sabbath albums (and only familiar with Paranoid). So this should be fun. It feels like more should be written about the relationship between metal and non-mainstream music and genre literature: we've got Lovecraft and Tolkien here (and Tolkien is all over Led Zeppelin too; ironically I'm sure he hated both groups). But I'm not the person to write it. Anyway, a reminder that reading is always critical. Listening notes: -I admire the chutzpah to just go ham on the mildly corny doom/gloom mood. The slow high distortion that opens the album is cool -Interesting the way the songs are organized as sets of several songs. Weirdly similar to the way trad irish music works. -Wicked world is such cringe-worth writing that it damages the album just a little. But the music is still pretty solid -Second listen: title track slaps. I was interested for a little while, but the late build up and finish is such an incredible release. -The Wizard has an incredible start. I also just love the harmonica on the whole album so much. -Oh hell that bass solo is nuts. -Jaw harp at the opening of a bit of finger. They're just operating a such a high level. Review: I'm leaning towards a 5. There's a residual corniness here that I feel like should bother me more, but I think because it's such a full-throated embrace, it works where it might not for a more self-conscious act. This album just feels very genuine. I feel like I want to write more, but I think I'm pretty much spent on this one. It's really good. a tad corny, but always earnestly so. And just some wild stuff being done musically.

Black Sabbath defined their sound early on in their career with this debut album. It took them a while to perfect it (which is why this isn't a five-start album for me), but the pieces are all there in an album that starts to lay out their sonic signatures (like the Devil's chord).

He really was the goat from the start, wasn't he.

Should be a four for influence, but not my taste.

Sabbath were never my jam but I can see how influential they’ve been. This is stepdad music for sure.

Momma, he went home. RIP

Didn't like this one as much as Paranoid. RIP Ozzy

Quite liked the opener, Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath from the album Black Sabbath. 3 Sabbath albums deep now though, and the only song I really like is the atypical spacerocky one from Paranoid. Obviously influential but ultimately not my Band/genre.

Right, before I get into the review, please, please, please whoever is generating these lists would you stop serving albums from artists who have died the day before as this clearly leads to the potential for bias in reviews. It’s not a good idea. Anyway, rant over, again. I was pretty disappointed in this album overall I really enjoyed the last Black Sabbath album that we got served but it didn’t really cut the mustard for me. Appreciating that this allegedly is the first heavy metal album ever. I guess it’s paving the way for things that followed, but that doesn’t make it necessarily that good. I’d usually be generous enough to round it up to a three, but because I feel obliged to counteract the inevitable positive bias from other reviews, I’m gonna rate it a two star album.

É um album bem anos 70, com as mesmas caracteristicas de outros álbuns da época, mas de alguma forma se destaca. Tem um diferencial. Não sei se é o vocal do Ozzy, ou a guitarra do Tony Iommi, ou algo além. Destaque para The Wizard, N.I.B e Warning

a abertura do album bem soturna e te mostra perfeitamente o que vem ali. gostei que só. rip ozzy osbourne. 3,5

Black Sabbath isch hald wükli nie so Metal/Rockig wie mer immer s gfühl het.. het mer gfalle! 4 mal es "Rest in Pease"

Ozzy spzieller typ Ozzburne Hed mi abgschrevkt aber immer meh inecho. Sowit so guet, vlt sogar durschnittlichi schwarz brännti currywürst?

This surprised me.

RIP, Ozzy

RIP Ozzy Same feelings as the last two Black Sabbath albums I got (Vol 4 and Paranoid). I love the guitar work, but I don't really like Ozzy's voice. The Wizard was pretty fun. Best song: The Wizard

Perfect album to celebrate the Prince of Darkness. One of the most important albums ever released and holds up very well. Even some harmonicas thrown in there. I don’t think it’s as perfect as Paranoid but still a classic

May have ozzy tinted glasses on but this was a great listen. Self titled into wizard was great and finished strong. Very listenable lengthy songs

Great album! One of my all time favourites.

Rest in Peace Ozzy. I loved that it recommended this album the day after he passed. I think I would have been a big Black Sabbath fan back in the day. The music is eerie, doomy, and it’s different than all these other types of metal bands from that time.

Apparently yesterday was Black Sabbath day for everyone here. I've never listened to this album in full, pretty great =)

RIP OZZY.

Rest in violence Ozzy. I was barely familiar with Black Sabbath before starting this project but I've really enjoyed both the albums that have come up here. Out of the list's metal albums so far, I think Black Sabbath takes both my #1 (Paranoid) and #2 (this one).

What a wonderful rock album. Had not listened to this album of theirs before, but just as good as the albums to come. Rock at its finest! I'm so glad I finally got over my fear of Black Sabbath too.

Dude. Fucking AWESOME. Holy shit I loved it I think I like it better than paranoid. The third song is unbelievable. 4.5 for me

Most quintessential rock sound of all time? Might have to be sabbath for me. Only problem is I think as I get older I start to lose some love for the genre of rock as a whole… definitely an interesting development as I’ve moved out of my teenage years… but this album is awesome and reminds me of why I was obsessed with War Pigs when I was in middle school and HS. Fuckin awesome stuff.

doesn’t move me. rip ozzy though

This gets better as you go. RIP Ozzy but not the best thing in the world. Cool to hear how it evolved from Led Zeppelin though. 2.5

Not a fan of this type of music but Sabbath is good at it. RIP Ozzy

It's shocking how versatile Black Sabbath was. Sure the first track invented doom metal whatever I don't care. Some of the progressive and psychedelic grooves are next level awesome. Tony Iomi is the man and the riffs are all genius. I was suprised when this album kept getting better after the wizard.

How appropriate given Ozzy kicked the bucket yesterday. This is a masterful beginning to metal and it's not only easy to see how it evolved from here forward, but how it sprung from the more rock and blues oriented stuff of the sixties. There's even a harmonica in here, and it's not even that out of place. The lyrical themes are in between the prototypical metal satan/death/misery stuff and outright blues/love songs. It's a weird mashup but it all works. The real greatness of this album though is introducing the idea of the monster riff to metal/rock. Every track has one pervasive riff that isn't difficult to play but is just the very definition of heavy. Nobody was doing that before this, and few have done it this hard since. Could easily listen to the whole thing multiple times.

It's not often you can identify a single work where something definitively started. This is where heavy metal started.

My favorite Sabbath album, and arguably my favorite album ever made. Nothing like this existed before and it influenced over 50 years of music. This is a perfect album start to finish.

Probably why Black Sabbath was as popular across rock genres. Masterful guitar licks and a cacophony of delight, melancholic dread, passionate adrenaline that helped define them as pioneering Metal superstars!

I liked it, but I like most of their other albums better

Leaves something to be desired relative to the other Black Sabbath albums but still RIP to a legend

Not a personal favorite of mine generally/of the Black Sabbath I’ve listened to, but still fun

RIP Ozzy but I didn't like this as much as Paranoid

for not liking metal I'm surprised at how much I'm liking the Black Sabbath albums. RIP Ozzy

I didn’t dislike this as much as I feel I have disliked my previous goes with Black Sabbath. Nevertheless, not my cup of tea. Rest in peace.

RIP Ozzy

I go back a long way with this one. RIP Ozzy.

Classic, the actual "birth" of metal as I understand it. Doesn't hit quite the same as some of their other efforts but impressive and fun to listen to all the same.

One of the most important debuts. Start of a great 4 album run that basically started a genre.

Et album som er så solidt at min 3 årig nu vil lære at spille mundharmonika som "ham den døde" på The Wizard. Et album så solidt at 2 piger på bagsædet ikke brokkede sig over musikken så længe de lange riff passager blev fyldt med fortællinger om hvem Ozzy var. Hvil i larm du mærkedes fyrste. 🖤

Vi der elsker tung og mørk musik skylder Black Sabbath uendeligt meget. Ikke det heavy’este metal der nogensinde er lavet, men det holder stadig 100%.

Surprised by this one. I'm not really a metal fan, but this is really the blueprint and I'm glad to hear Ozzy didn't really like the term Heavy Metal. He just considered it rock and I agree. It is heavier, but the basics are there and at times you can really hear the blues influence when you slow down the riffs.

The birth of heavy metal. Thanx guys. Rock on, Ozzy. 5

No words. Just rock.

This was way calmer than I was expecting!

We listened to Paranoid some while playing cards in high school, but not this first album. This was better than I thought it would be. RIP, Ozzy.

For obvious (ozzvious?) reasons, I was listening to Ozzy more than I usually do. Guys, I think he’s pretty good. After the first three tracks (US version), I was contemplating 5 stars, but I think it settled into 4. Honestly, a relief. If I had to consider dethroning Paranoid as the best Black Sabbath album, I might spiral.

Black Sabbath were a band born out of sheer bloody mindedness with their unique sound being a combination of guitarist Tony Iommi’s adapted playing style after losing the tips of his fingers in an industrial accident and Ozzy Osborne’s doom laden vocals that were a perfect fit for songs about the occult. The album opens with wind, rain and an ominous tolling bell, before that famous tritone chord kicks in like something out a Hammer Horror movie, with a song inspired by a nightmare that bassist Geezer Butler had about waking up to see an ominous black figure pointing at him. Other songs take Tolkien and HP Lovecraft as inspirations, although we are now a long way from the hippy, dippy sixties. This is widely regarded as the first true heavy metal album (although Ozzy was reluctant to call it that), and it’s certainly one of the biggest influences on the metal scene as evidenced by the bands that contributed to Black Sabbath’s final show just a couple of weeks ago as well as the outpouring of love for Ozzy himself from fans and fellow artists. It was a fine way to bow out - rest in peace Ozzy!

This album is really something, with its heaviness, Iommi's riffs, the possessed voice of Ozzy... It is a foundational record and you can hear years of music to come in these 39 minutes.

A nice tribute after Ozzy’s passing. Despite some of the evil references, overall the sound and guitar were impressive and enjoyable.

I respect them and like them a lot and I would say it would be a 4 but in respect to Ozzy it will be 5

Really solid debut. Not as good as some of their later work but still really good. Guitar is phenomenal. RIP Ozzy

once again-not nearly as heavy as I expected it to be. almost a bit mellow. certainly see how this was influential in the music styles

I know this list is “random” but when I get Sabbath the day after Ozzy dies it’s kinda hard to believe.

Fun fun fun

Ozzy and the boys debut is nothing short of greatness in essence. It challenged all anyone knew about rock and roll music at the time. Rode the tail end of the British blues rock wave and blew it up with TNT. High production value and well crafted rythmn sections lend to this albums added success. Its simplistic rock excellence and beauty. RIP Ozzy, Tony Iomi inspired a generation of musicians.

How many of these reviews today are going to start with R.I.P. Ozzy? Honestly this is such a good album and it holds up really well. Wow! such fuzz, many doom, much metal. This album and early Black Sabbath in general has influenced a lot of bands that I love and I can definitely hear it. It also always surprises me that Black Sabbath had such a stoner/psychedelic sound. Big fan.

What a rad piece of music. Is it as good as Black Sabbath Volume 2? No. Volume 3? Not even. But its still pretty incredible. Especially given that this came out in 1970. Its evil and sinister and full of dark mythology. They incorporate the blues with the whining guitars, and even really cool harmonicas. The bass lines are heavy and fuzzy. This is fantastic. We're lucky to have it.

A note to all bands: 5-10 songs, less than 40 minutes. Bring your best, leave them wanting more. It always works, and it has rarely worked better than it does here.

listened to this totally coincidentally of knowing this was the selected album today to commemorate Ozzy. But of course, when it comes to Black Sabbath, Ozzy was a very important cog in a machine that arrived, accidentally and purposely, with a singular vision that birthed an entirely new world of rock music so many of us still cherish. So: viva Black Sabbath, viva Ozzy Osbourne, viva metal.

Requiescat in Pacifica Potentia

R.I.P Ozzy.

First listen and much respect to all those who knew before. BenP <3

Diggar soundet. Inte riktigt lika mycket som förra dock. Men älskar att de kombinerar munspel och hårdrock. Funkade rätt bra tycker jag (iaf i the wizard). RIP Ozzy!

Den är förjävla bra den här skivan och i kombination med nostalgi och att den var så banbrytande så skulle jag egentligen vilja ge en femma, men det blir tyvärr ändå bara en fyra då den skulle behöva ett par till låtar i stil med N.I.B och Black sabbath för full pott. RIP Ozzy! ❤️

This is a tricky one to review with Ozzy’s death just yesterday. I hadn’t heard this album before and enjoyed it. I was going to give it a 4 but then realised that was just down to sentimentality. A solid 3

Rest well Ozzy

Ok, so this one has obviously been interjected here because of the passing of Ozzy Osborne. It is said that Black Sabbath invented heavy metal, and that after seeing a horror film of the time (I think it may have been Witchfinder General) they decided to play a style of music that frightened people, and the rest, as they say, is history. On listening to this eponymous album again, you can hear each of the instruments playing their own part as well as their unique combined sound. Which later versions, although brilliant, could not replicate without Ozzy's vocals. This album contains some iconic tracks including Black Sabbath itself and N.I.B. Though Warning and The Wizard are two of my personal favourites now we come to the important bit. It is without doubt an excellent album, but there is just something I just can't define that is preventing me from awarding it a 5. I mean it is a 4.8, but just not quite there for me, so 4 it is.

Did the 1,001 random daily album generator deliver this to me coincidentally on the morning after Ozzy passing? Or did somebody at List HQ override the system? I’d like to think that the Rock Gods made it happen. Ok, so I’m determined not to let yesterday’s news drive some kind of misty-eyed overly generous rating, so I’ll simply just give it the 5 stars it deserves. It is absolutely brilliant and genre defining. RIP Ozzy 😢🤘🏻

I don't believe in coincidences. The day after Ozzt's death? Are they trying to pull on my heartstrings and give this a high score and glowing appraisal? I have never had anything to do with Black Sabbath or Metal as a genre, so this could be a hard task for me. Turns out it was pretty good for what it was. The title track was a beast and the rest was better than I expected. But this stuff will never enter my rotation. As a one off it deserves a 4.

RIP Ozzy. This was good but not as good as Paranoid.

RIP Ozzy, this is where it all started for many a rock/metal band. Absolutely epic

Half of this sounds very much like hard blues rock, the kind Led Zep, Cream and others had already tried their hand at. There are some nice grooves but nothing too memorable, song-wise - it mostly just passed me by in the background. But I don't want to focus on the negatives on this day of Ozzy-mourning; there are a few aspects that are very recognizably 'heavy metal', so even if this album doesn't fully fit that genre IMO, it's clear to see how it would've birthed it. Which is pretty neat for 12 hours work by four lads from Birmingham. Also, it contains a rare but satisfying instance of a track, album and band name all being exactly the same.

Not really my thing, but I get it. RIP Ozzy

Pretty good. I’m so used to Paranoid, it’s hard for this to even come close. RIP Ozzy

Better than expected

Really liked

historicamente fundamental musicalmente fundamental só pedrada cabulosa

ou o CLIMA pesadíssimo da primeira música desse aqui vai tomar no cu. eu me CAGARIA se escutasse isso na época, sério mesmo. além dessa capa que é top 5 capas. acho lindíssima, pprt além disso, apesar de N.I.B ser minha música preferida deles, eu acho o resto do album meio bobo. mas fazer o que. eh literalmente um album que SE DEVE escutar antes de morrer. eh isso né vamo que vamo rock neles!

Every so often a group will come along with a debut album that is so unbelievably good, you can't help but wonder where the hell did these guys come from and can they keep it up? Well, this was a sign of things to come for as good as their opening act was, the albums that followed immediately, were even better. It was the dawning of a new sound, and it was spectacular!

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath... Is this the one with Black Sabbath on it? Black Sabbath: Indeed, this is the album with Black Sabbath on it. Black Sabbath on Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath. This is really crazy! The guitar is so slow and gothic and melodramatic. The vocals are similarly intense. The tortured pleading really makes it feel like I'm listening to the top 40s in Hell. Then it speeds up and there's a bit of a guitar solo. Pretty cool. Pretty spooky mormon hell dream. The Wizard: This is a little more rock n roll and a little less oops-stumbled-into-a-vampire's-lair. Is that harmonica? Like the cowbell. Like the vocals. Pretty solid. Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B: Confused as to why this song has 4 different titles. I like Bassically the best. Anyways, the song itself does have a couple different vibes. Ozzy's vocals are remarkable and sort of perfect for this kind of music. The guitar is very cool. "My name is Lucifer, please take my hand," is a fun line. Wicked World: Really solid wow nice A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning: Another song that's WAY too long with way too many names. I guess that's the point. Like, every song title is probably an act of the song. But it's a lot for me. Very unique. And it's very good rock n roll. I wish they were separated into different songs. Gets into a good groove. Edit: Dude, he died 2 days after this review. RIP Ozzie hope I didn't have anything karmically to do with your death

Sacrilege, but I don't think this is as good as it is influential.

I keep trying but it’s just not my genre

Ei ollenkaan niin raskas kun muistin. täytyy ymmärtää et eka metal levy

Modern heavy metal sounds very different from this origin point. I didn't expect to hear harmonicas, for example. I'm sure the guitars are loud and brash in concert, but they felt muted in the recording I listened to. The singer's voice doesn't quite work at some places (which probably accounts for the large number of instrumental breaks), but when it works, it works very well.

The birth of heavy metal! Classic album.

Dawn of metal. It's primitive but aye good enough.

Easy first album for me to rate!

Aqui eu entendo a importância desse álbum para o heavy metal (ele é uma referência para o que veio depois). Ouvir esse álbum é quase cinematográfico pela atmosfera que ele traz: sombrio, falando de coisas macabras, a instrumentação ajuda no ambiente. Entendo o contexto por traz dessa atmosfera pesada (desindustrialização e desemprego no UK), mas mesmo assim sinto que não lembrarei das músicas.

FUUUUCK !!!!!! 8+

One of the best debut albums to come out of metal. Point blank period.

Klapa iz Birminghama❤️

Had high hopes for this one but disappointed

Cool music, don't love but don't hate. Legendary duh but not something I would throw on every day. 5.7/10

This is where it all started. Black Sabbath wasn't necessarily the first heavy metal band, and there were other heavy metal songs before this record was unleashed, but this was where blues rock and hard rock crossed over to the other side, quite literally. Every single doom metal band to this day owes everything to the title track, and the gnarly, nasty funk of "N.I.B." inspired a litany of sub-genres. It was just about a week ago that these legends played their last show ever, sending off a career of over 55 years. Long live Black Sabbath.

Influential, great, but not perfect.

So clearly a lot of the talk around this is Ozzy and the guitar riffs, but that bass man. That bass.

Really interesting hearing the Ozzy's earliest work. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. This felt actually approachable. And although it doesn't sound groundbreaking to my ears, no doubt it was back in 1970. In a vacuum, I would give this two stars, but since it was such a crisp reset of assumptions for me, I'll score it more generously.

A load of mad Brummies go on a no-frills garage-psych blues rock tip and heavy metal is born. Can't fault them on that front - their brutal take on the prevailing sounds of the late 60s went harder than what had come before, partly through necessity (Butler was new to bass and was keeping it simple, detuned strings were more forgiving on Iommi's home-made fingertips). Throw Osbourne's morbid lyrical leanings and full-tilt vocal style to the mix, coupled with the fact the album was recorded in just 12 days with virtually no overdubs, and you have the key to the formula. Here's the rub though - it's a formula that runs out of ideas fairly rapidly. The second half in particular is a real chore to get through, and by the time you have reached the end, there is little from the opening couple of tracks memorable enough to have stayed with you. If air guitaring round your living room to endless pentatonic guitar gymnastics is your thing, then fine. For me, there are nowhere near enough real hooks to reel me in and hold my interest. Historically notable, of that there can be no doubt - but then, so is Stonehenge... ultimately, it's just a load of rock that really does nothing special or relevant in 2025.

I don't think I'd quite appreciated how Zeppelin, Sabbath are. This album was not as dark as I maybe expected and funking rocked basically.

thoughts: hey, another album with some harmonica! this is a lot blues-y than i would’ve expected, but still very much the black sabbath sound i’ve heard in their most famous songs. a lot of doom and gloom here, very methodical pacing songs: “black sabbath”, “the wizard”, “wicked world” rating: 6.5/10

The original metal album. Where it all started. Front loaded. Back half isn’t perfect but overall, solid stuff. Paranoid is better but this belongs in the book.

Sad timing, this record showed up the day Ozzy died... The album is good, most songs I would call rock rather then metal, but a few songs are prototypical metal. Influence on other musicians is obvious. For that alone 5 stars.

Not a criticism, but it's funny how many times you hear the pentatonic scale during some melody lines or guitar solos. Overall a pretty good album, a little unpolished, but not one I'll revisit. Not my favorite sound.

Really disliked this style of music. I fully understand why people like and listen to it, but not for me.

This is is an Iconic metal album. This was a starting point for a lot of metal and the tritone in the intro of Black sabbath was the start of the rumor that tritones were banned by the church and demonic(it wasn't). I have only heard black sabbath and N.I.B prior to this. It's very bluesy but i wouldn't say this is the strongest album. As a amateur guitarist i really love Iommis solos on allot of the songs but it can get a bit noodly at times.

Very fat

Buen comienzo, para nada mi estilo pero vamos por más. Destacado Black Sabath. Nota: 3.0

Amazing. The first Sabbath song I ever heard was The Wizard, and it's still amazing. I never used to like the title track, but now all of a sudden I'm a fan!

Good album. It was clear with this album that they were onto something it did sound different and spawned a whole genre. Ozzys vocals were excellent strong tunes lyrics a bit daft.

I was lucky enough to see Ozzy live a couple of times, both with Randy Rhodes on guitar but never saw Sabbath. I guess I won’t now as they’ve just played their last ever gig and are all geriatrics! This is a great album, dark, heavy and played with feeling. Musicianship is first class and always surprising.

Well, what is left to say...legendary.

spooky

The groundwork they laid was better presented on later records. The more blues inspired ideas on here mostly fall flat.

Automatic 5 stars for first heavy metal album in history

Nib was the highlight song for me, but I can't disagree with 5 stars. Great instrumentals. Must've been kind of mental hearing this in 1970.

First time I’ve heard Ozzys vocal before they were shredded by time, coke and bats. Pretty interesting listening to proto-doom.

It’s Black Sabbath 👍 4.5

Interesting

Was super excited to get this one. Haven't listened to it in probably 20 years. It definitely holds up! My non-teenager brain can better handle longer songs now so I could get into it much more. I can also only imagine how novel and exciting this was back in 1970. Solid 9/10

Solid bitch

6/10

Never really got into Black Sabbath. I understand their importance in the history of metal and so on but I always preferred other metal. I guess I can say it was heavy before its time and that's cool but it was tedious.

RIP to the Lord of Darkness, very good album

Wicked chaos of mythical proportions

Often said that black sabbath are the first true metal band. So they are to blame for all the rubbish that follows. As tuneful as a group of people falling down the stairs, comedy vocals and irritating solos. No redeeming qualities

I bought this on CD 20+ years ago, listened to it once, found it boring, and haven't touched it since. Now I think it kinda rules?

Not as epic as their very-shortly-thereafter follow-up album, but all the parts of a legendary band are there, and mind blowing that they apparently recorded and mixed all of this in 2 days.

I really enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Not over the top as most metal eventually became. Solid musically and Ozzy could belt it out.

This is heavyweight and the foundation of so much modern hard rock including grunge.

Hail Satan.

Black Sabbath... cmon!

Did not love the intro track, really liked the second. Kept going back and forth between songs that were extremely melodramatic and ones that I liked better. Overall a 3 for me. Don’t hate it, don’t love it

Was actually blown away by the blues influences in this. Also the base lines were played much more like a regular guitar vs just providing the rhythm. Also did not expect harmonica on a metal album 😃.

Gran álbum. Nunca habia escuchado a Black Sabbath detenidamente y me gustó bastante, lo escuche dos veces seguidas y tiene tremendas rolitas como dicen por ahi. Muy buenas instrumentales.

5/10 Mid voor muziek Slecht voor black Sabbath

Really solid listen for someone who's only heard a few songs from Black Sabbath before. Length of some of the tracks are long on spotify but really feel like different ones. The guitar is downright glorious, its hypnotic and incredibly impressive.

adri: 8'5, heavy metal. Se nota los inicios de un nuevo género, asi como el estilo hard rock de la época. Es muy reconocible cuando una canción es de Black Sabbath. mar: 7, me ha sorprendido bastante y se me ha pasado rápido, lo esperaba más tosco

One of the rare albums that "disrupts" music, to borrow from Dimery himself. I learned that they recorded this beast in one day, mostly single takes. And it sounds like it. Fresh and spontaneous, very stripped down, not a lot of production - just four dudes playing music. That said, there is some complexity and innovation going on. The guitar and bass tone, the heavy handed drumming, Ozzy's off-kilter raspiness, all coalesce around a sense of foreboding and pain. Like the fact that it was made in a day or two, everything about the album is strange, from the guitar sound to the jazzy interludes to Ozzy's weird vocals. Somehow this all worked to produce a heavy metal masterpiece.

The album that birthed metal as we knot it today, screaming and praising Satan. Prince of darkness is on fine form making for a very atmospheric album without being too "brutal" for it to be unapproachable.

did they invent heavy metal or something???

If I were in a better mood, this could have been a 5 for me. Strong 4 though

Nice slow shredding rock

I would usually say that the longer some genre exists, the better it gets, as over time artists get a bigger and bigger catalogue of pieces they can reflect upon to find a way to improve. It doesn’t always happen, but it is usually the case; and in the instances it is not, most of the time, the genre is past its peak of popularity, and the improvements are not as noticeable because fewer people make it. Judging by that logic, Black Sabbath's self-titled, which is widely believed to be the first metal album, could only be mediocre at best... Except it isn't. Yeah, sometimes someone makes something so good that it is still arguably one of the best the genre has to offer even decades later despite technological advancement and countless talented musicians it’s seen since. And it’s not like metal lacks bangers. It’s the riffs, man. This record is a collection of some of the best riffs out of any album ever, in my opinion. They’re simple but so satisfying and appropriately heavy (well, as heavy as they could make in the 70s, at least), further amplified by fantastic bass performance. One thing can’t usually carry the whole album for me, but the riffs from early Sabbath albums absolutely can. They’re just that good. I like Ozzy’s vocals too, and the writing is atmospheric and sounds pleasant. One problem I’m going to mention is that the treble can be a little obnoxious at times, but it might be the quirk of the specific version I listened to (I hate bad remasters, but most of them are bad somehow). This might not be the heaviest or most technically impressive metal album, but the songwriting absolutely stood the test of time, and it is still incredibly catchy and fun. Your left ear is going to love this! 9/10

A classic

Favourite tracks - Black Sabbath, N.I.B., Evil Woman, Don’t You Play Your Games with Me

I love guitar it would seem. I really seem to enjoy this type of music for working to, and kinda love the whole prince of darkness aesthetic

There are several versions of this album; I listened to the 2009 remastered version. There was no music like this in 1970 - this may be the very first heavy metal album. Apparently the band recorded the whole album in one day, which is almost never done. Overall it’s pretty well done for a heavy metal record. I give it three stars.

We had another Black Sabbath just last week! This one has the wiki genre "traditional doom metal", though, which sounds pretty cool. Lotta Satan and/or Gandalf talk, which I guess is (mount) doom-themed content. Unlike on "Paranoid", I don't think I've heard any of these songs before, even though one of the riffs is supposedly famous. But I don't know if there's any riff I'd recognise, to be fair. (By the by, for those wondering (future!me?), the etymology of "riff" is a mystery.)

1970! Such early metal! VERY bluesy. Some harp even, but it actually feels right. Guitar tone is so hollow somehow. Mid scooped and treble boosted? NIB slaps. Evil woman though - surely it's parody! Warning sounds like Dave Soper - it's the kind of progy epic that I didn't really know existed back then though. I made the mistake of following with led zeppelin iii which would always make it look bad, but I had a lot of fun

Great Debut album that hits hard the whole way through

Dark and hard-hitting. Unique sound.

good

super classic

Earliest metal, simple and doom-filled

Great hard rock, less hard than I remembered actually!

5/5

Black Sabbath was one of the most influential rock bands in my lifetime.

CLASSIC DEBUT! I F***ING LOVE SABBATH

First half is basically flawless and drops just a wee bit in the second. Black Sabbath always find ways to create so much space and atmosphere for being heavy metal and Ozzy’s voice just fits so well into it all. 8/10

The mother of metal

I mean it’s alright

Pretty cool to be fair. Quite 'classic rock', but I'd say on the more interesting end. Favourite tracks: Black Sabbath, The Wizard, Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games with Me.

27/1001. I think I had this - or my sister had it, about 35 years ago… Anyway, most songs are familiar, since I also had tabs for the best of Sabbath and probably still would know most of them by heart on a guitar. The album must be considered a classic, basically it is one cornerstone in the history of metal. No blues scale really here but riffs and power chords. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece though, a few easy to forget songs here and there and some jamming. But the sound is tight as ever, 55 years and it sounds as fresh as an ancient graveyard after rain.

A legendary album and legendary band. I remember as a young kid seeing this album in my parents vinyl collection and the first time I heard the title track...holy shit! This is an easy 5 star in my book.

Not a sabbath fan but did go with my son to the location on album.

I understand it’s importance, but I really didn’t care for this.

The instrumentals in this are insane. First of its kind in a darker style metal. The lead guitarist sliced 2 of his finger tips off at age 17 and put melted plastic bottles as prosthetics so he could play.

I have never willingly listened to Black Sabbath so it’s no surprise that having to suffer through their debut album was less than enjoyable for me. I tried to imagine myself in 1970 hearing this new sound for the first time … I kind of get it, but also, I so don’t care

Legendary. The album that started metal. ... and I'd probably be giving it five stars if it didn't sound like the band warming up in preparation for Paranoid. Great, absolutely significant, it merits its place on the list, but it's not Black Sabbath at their best.

Classic and not the Ozzy who became his own caricature. Genuinely foundational metal album.

Good ol' fashioned metal. That's what I'm talking about, baybee.

Sludgy psychedelic blues, downtuned with morbid lyrics. Great jams to be had on here. Fully agree with the book on this one.

The original and the trend setter.

A perfectly cromulent Black Sabbath album. It starts off nice, but then kinda stays in general Black Sabbath sounding things without really making any strides into the iconic. It was a decent listen, but not compelling enough to want to listen to it again - at least immediately.

Überraschend geil, bisschen viele Gitarren riffs. Gute Abwechslung mit frischen Elementen in den meisten Songs und guter gesang bei einem metal album 🤯. 4/5 fetzt

This was creepy and not in a good way. Also, 5 songs in a 40 minute album was a bit tiring to listen to.

This is short album went on forever. Felt like a heavy metal dirge. I was expecting it to be great after listening to Paranoid in the first week of ratings.

Iconic.

historically great album

I grew up loving Ozzy Osbourne but never really listened to Black Sabbath before hearing this album. For this being their first album they ever made, it was completely and utterly fantastic. The musicianship was top notch, and of course Osbourne’s voice is just incredible. I could go back and listen to it again and again, and there isn’t a single song I would skip. I feel like I’ve been missing out all my life on this band!

A great classic metal record. The title track is so good probably one of the best songs of all time. The bass playing and guitar as is consistent with future Black Sabbath releases is mesmerising. 9/10 Favourite: Black Sabbath Least Favourite: None

I loved it when it came out, and still do! I wonder how many other musical genre's owe their start to industrial accidents?

Really fun to listen to all the instruments in the band jam together. This would be really fun to hear live. Felt the album grew into itself all the way through

Personally prefer paranoid, but still a solid album!

Had never heard in full, enjoyed this a lot. 3.5? 3?? I think if I kept listening it would be a 4

-holy shit this was just. awesome. i will need to relisten but i might even come to like it more than Paranoid someday. i really like the slow, hard doom metal stuff -might also be a contender for some of the coolest guitar sounds i’ve heard in metal. not knowledgeable enough to describe it but damn… solid -Favorites are Black Sabbath, The Wizard, and Warning