Vol. 4

Not sure if it's the remastering or what it is, but this sounded a bit flat to me. It has got some really cool guitar riffs, and the drumming is not too shabby. Overall it is a pretty good album, but the sound is a little bit too flat to my tastes. Maybe the "remastering" is to blame? As it so often is. I also learned that Snowblind is not a System of a Down song, which is pretty damn cool!

I feel like I’m supposed to like this more than I do.

Ágætis bárujárnsrokk en ekki góð vinnutónlist. Þéttur hljófæraleikur, kraftmikill trommuleikur. En þetta sírenusöngvaragól á engin önnur kynslóð en boomerar að þurfa að þola, þau tóku út þjáninguna fyrir okkur hin. Eins og að vera fastur í eilífri rokkóperumatröð. Hvað Under the sun hefði t.d. getað orðið flott með almennilegum söng. Changes sleppur einna skást frá þessari misþyrmingu. Black Sabbath - Ozzy = 3 stjörnur.

i really liked this album, but metal and rock aren't exactly my fav genres so i'd give this like a 7/10

Fun to listen to Black Sabbath songs that aren't the hits. Solid listen, the instrumental songs like FX are pretty bad. Snowblind was a heater though.

Classic and good heavy-ish metal.

This is a good album overall, but it suffers by comparison with the other Black Sabbath albums on this list. The production is much cleaner here, but in a way that doesn't really help their sound. They should be gritty, Black Sabbath is better when it sounds like they're crawling out of the grave. Still, there's very little else to criticize here. The elements that make their other albums great are here as well, it just doesn't feel as inspiring as on the other albums 3/5

felt appropriate spooky for halloween season. probably closer to a 3.5 but i can't do half stars.

This was decent. I like the sound. I especially liked the really proggy opening track and some of the more subdued songs. By the end of the album, though, songs were starting to kind of blur together and I was getting exhausted of the sound.

Changes❤️

This is now the third (and it appears final) Black Sabbath album in this collection, which feels like two too many. In many ways, I wish our Black Sabbath exposure had started and ended with "Paranoid"; that album leaves you wanting more, while this album and their debut makes you (or at least me) question whether even "Paranoid" was all that great of an album. And it is/was. This is not. It's not horrible--and "Supernaut", "St. Vitus dance" and "Under the sun" are solid BS songs--but much like their debut album, it's just not all that distinctive or memorable, even with Ozzy's fantastically distinctive voice and Tony Iommi's distinctive guitar style, and the somewhat odd interludes interspersed throughout the album. And that doesn't even touch all the crazy substance abuse and demented behavior during recording. I'm just glad they survived the experience, honestly. I don't feel like I can ding Black Sabbath for this, but I just discovered that there are *no* Ozzy Osbourne albums in this collection. This is almost inexcusable; how can we have so many truly mediocre albums (and I'm on the fence whether this album should be included in that category), and we don't get the pleasure of (at least) "Blizzard of Ozz"???? Bizarre, and so very sad. I try to accept what we get in this collection, flaws and all, but this is the closest I've come to feeling like the "1001 albums" collection has jumped the shark. I mean, millions of sports fans can't be wrong about "Crazy train", after all. :) (Not to mention the tragedy of living your whole life without hearing "Mr. Crowley" even once.)

A pleasant surprise from this project is how much I like Black Sabbath. That said, this isn't their best album, though it's pretty good. I wish the recording was a little sharper.

Eh. Better than I expected. Not Ozzie screaming and yelling.

not my type.

Great storytelling, compelling and profound lyrics! I liked it overall

Not hugely for me, but I can see the appeal.

Jao! 😁 Okej, kužim, sve pet, ali stvarno ih ne volim. Nikad mi nisu legli, čak ni u mojoj tvrdoj fazi. Jedine stvari tu koje su mi dobre su Wheels of Confusion i naravno legendarna Changes (tu stvar iskreno volim). Nema mi čak ni nešto zanimljivu priču iza albuma kao svi dosad, osim da su se rokali kokom i jedva snimili, how rock'n'roll of them 😅 Ne znam koliko trojki mogu podijeliti u iščekivanju Godota 😁 3 (5.5).

"Supernaut". What a great riff. If you combined this album with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, you'd have an absolute stomper. Here, we have Changes, as well, which is a superb contrast to the other tracks. All told, this is a solid album - but it lacks the punch of their earlier work, and lacks the refinement of its successor. "Supernaut" almost lifts it into 4-star territory, but unfortunately, it still falls short.

Never really got into Sabbath, but this is decent. Shows an interesting, more refined side of the band that I wasn't previously aware of.

It's meh

Very nice little album, great guitar work on most of the songs. I haven't heard of any of the songs, and the one that I had - Changes, I didn't know that it was theirs. I can't really give this album 3 stars because it is good, but at the same time, I wish there were middle ratings, so this would be 3.5 and other slightly better albums would go for 4.

I DON'T CARE FOR THE BASIC BLUES But this was decent. The non-metal songs (Laguna Sunrise and Changes) are the best ones here tbqhfam. I just don't find the overreliance on I, IV, V, tritones, and stepwise motion terribly interesting... plus Vanilla Fudge and Blue Cheer generally did this style with more action and attitude. Blablabla not much variation in the phrasing and chords blablabla- oh the solos are too triadic and/or pentatonic and uninteresting too, but that's not terribly unheard of for this kind of music.

A cromulent album. Changes is the standout on this record for sure. It’s a welcome change out pace on the album.

na enkele kopstoten zijn onze vriendjes aan het verzwakken...

Solid but not spectacular. I thought the whole story behind "Snowblind" was interesting. Would not have wanted to party with Black Sabbath in the early 70s.

Not terrible, but not my favorite.

01) Wheels of Confusion - 8,0 02) Tomorrow's Dream - 7,5 03) Changes - 9,5 04) FX - 3,0 05) Supernaut - 8,0 06) Snowblind - 8,0 07) Cornucopia - 7,5 08) Laguna Sunrise - 7,5 09) St. Vitus Dance - 7,5 10) Under the Sun - 7,5 TOTAL: 7,40 (74/100) Current ranking: 154/291

Track 1: sounds like metal 🤘 Track 2: sounds like rock 🎸 Track 3: most listens on Spotify. Super boring ballad. Maybe it's a grower not a shower 🚿 Track 4: cool sound FX! Track 5: we rocking again Track 6 / 7: more of the same Track 8: awesome acoustic interlude Track 9: same old Track 10: finally another metal song and it slaps. Best track on album

-I come from a long lineage of Black Sabbath enjoyers (my dad) so I’m pretty familiar with the style even though I haven’t listened to one of their albums in full before this. it’s pretty cool tho, the guitar makes the entire album -Favorites are Wheels Of Confusion, Snowblind, and Under the Sun

there's a hilarious picture of black sabbath performing in the gap between heavy metal music appearing but before people had worked out the heavy metal visual aesthetic, so they're still in full on flower power, folk music uniform, looking like they should be singing Build Me Up Buttercup. ozzy is singing under a rainbow with glittery silver boots. tony iommi doesn't have a moustache. this album's ok. too much cocaine in this one (or not enough, cf bowie's station to station)

Better than I thought and a little more diverse.

Caveat: three BS records is at least two too many for this list but one can't be bothered to sort out which is best (or least worst), though this seems less tedious than so much of the genre as a whole. Starting in media res as they do on opener is cool (in a statement-of-intent sort of way). And overall, BS delivers the good on basically every cut – with the goods being indisputably heavy-sludgy-bombast throughout. Certainly one prefers Ozzy's work with BS to his silly and execrable solo outings. "Changes" breaks the drudgery early and is surprisingly affecting, if beyond simple musically (Nigel Tufnel's piano fugue "Lick My Love Pump" would be the Spinal Tap comp for those keeping score at home.) "Laguna Sunrise" does the same toward the end of the record and it's fine, but less credible, with strings beyond syrupy. They probably couldn't have done any more of this variety, if only because they weren't Led Zeppelin. And anyway their fans woulda soon got massively bored. One likes that BS stays within a middle register, not trying to play set land-speed records for soloing (which keeps thing somewhat coherent to people less than fully fluent in metal) and instead working out and extending their hooks to build heavy vibes, as on "Snowblind," probably the best cut here (and an obviously better album title), and on the more than decent closer. Indeed, the end of the record rather recommends it. But all the usual hazards of metal apply here (e.g., sameyness of sound, pomposity, utter tedium). Fans will love it. Non-fans will either loathe or be utterly indifferent to it. Put one in the latter category, apathy division.

The older I get the more I can lean into Sabbath and abandon the pearl clutching of the boomers who scared so shitless of this band. It sounds more aligned with Led Zeppelin to me now than as some death metal or whatever they labeled it. Really it is a lovely and well paced album. Enjoyable rock.

They sure were going through “Changes.” Some of this boilerplate Sabbath, but then they mellow out and show you their softer side, and then throw some random sound effects at you. The heavy stuff not only works, but blazed trails and inspired many. However, there were too many other detours and distractions on “Vol. 4.”

This album starts in what feels like the middle of a guitar solo. A few too many "Changes" from their classic sound on this one (e.g., Laguna Sunrise was not an unpleasant surprise but it was not identifiable at all as Sabbath).

FX was unexpected, really cool, Changes was bad. The rest was better than their earlier albums, more variety in melodies, which I like

Reminds me very much of Iron Maiden. Too bad I didn't know much about this band (only the typical stories about the bad and others) at that time.

This is a solid album, not quite as good as their earlier 'Paranoid', rated a few months back. Love the Tony Iommi sound!

Ok - I preferred Paranoid

They’re n Kyuss

It’s ok

I’ll be the first to admit that I had much lower expectations

Good not great

Changes is a five star song but overall not really our thing. Paranoid is the best Sabbath album by far.

I'm not a metal fan but this seems like a high water mark for this type of music. The reviews talked about heavy and dark music, but I found it to be surprisingly tuneful and hook laden. Maybe metal has moved on in the intervening years and a lot of Nordic black metal and industrial noise metal raised the bar for what is considered heavy in this era. But a listen through I found this to be almost mainstream. Good song writing, recognisable hits and lots of fun to be had.

Way more melodic than I was expecting. ‘Changes’ is a standout.

I enjoyed the longer songs on this one. Actually a lot calmer than I was expecting with my small teensy tiny little knowledge of Black Sabbath, especially with the two instrumental tracks. Not too shabby for the lads.

solid, but not sabbaths best

Enjoyed the whole thing, I didn't really personally connect with it that hard though

Ma non erano metal? mi ricordo un altro gruppo? Paiono i Queen in versione da camera

Surprisingly I enjoyed it, I even prefered the more energetic over the quieter

It's fine, I see why this would change your world if you were 14 when it came out.

Pretty good

My son enjoyed this one more than I did, which I'm considering a win. 3/5

Solid album, not nearly as good as Paranoid or Master of Reality. Never realized "Changes" was a Sabbath song.

It's firmly in the OK category.

Production: 4/5 Lyricism: 2.5/5 Sound: 4/5 Enjoyment: 3/5 Overall: 3.3/5

I almost want to give this a 5 just for Supernaut one of the most fun songs I've ever heard. Ultimately there was a lot of just empty space imo, very enjoyable album.

Disappointingly underwhelmed, reading the other reviews first probably raised my expectations higher than they should’ve been

I like black sabbath and this was a pretty decent listen

vantar sjarmann og riffinn.

I love Sabbath, but this album isn't their greatest. Some good tracks but quite boring and forgettable overall.

I liked it okay, it is pretty repetitive but I like the changes song.

Decent

Some really beautiful songs (changes), unexpected but broke up nicely and kept a balance… keen to listen to the one with purple writing

This album is good, its Sabbath, so obviously really good. But it's not great and it's not as good as their previous 3 albums. So while I'm glad I listened to it and I enjoyed it a fair amount, I don't really see why we needed this one on the list (assuming the self titled, Paranoid and Master of Reality are already on the list). Other artists have 1 or no albums on here but yet this makes at least (probably) four sabbath albums. Whatever, cool album anyway. Fav songs: - Wheels of Confusion - Changes - Snowblind - Under the Sun

Not super exciting to me, pleasant and has good moments, but overall found it a bit boring. Under the sun is a highlight for sure. It's grown on me on second listen and it's a pretty solid background listen, but I probably won't revisit it much. 3/3.5

Ok.

Missing a lot of the darkness and rawness that I love in the very early Sabbath. This is trending a bit more in the direction of Les Zeppelin, which might be good for some, but not for me.

Fairly enjoyable. Interesting how stuff which was supposedly unfeasibly heavy at the time in retrospect seems quite tame.

I like this Black Sabbath album. It is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be

Great album, some super heavy stuff here. High 3.

basic

They were going through Changes.

Wheels of Confusion 3.7 Tomorrow's Dream 3.8 Changes 3 FX (instrumental) 2.7 Supernaut 4.2 Snowblind 3.8 Cornucopia 3.6 Laguna Sunrise (instrumental) 3 St. Vitus Dance 3.4 Under the Sun 3.5 Score: 3.47

Good album, but a bit uneven in quality. It has my favorite Black Sabbath song of all time ("Snowblind"), and some bangers such as "Changes" and "Supernaut", but it isn't as solid as the previous Sabbath albums.

The guitar is the main character here. Ozzy's doing a solid job on vocals but there were so many times I wanted him to be quiet and just let the guitar go off. Thankfully, there's plenty of those moments on the album. Changes was a weird one to listen to, not because it's bad but because Eminem sampled it on Recovery and that song is bad. I do think the first song was my favorite on the album.

lots of guitar and drums and then you get Changes... pretty big change but I actually liked that one the best!

Fairly familiar with Black Sabbath already, but somehow this album flew under my radar. It's not as good as I thought it would be, but still pretty good.

Meh

Good

good riffs, not blown away though

Less “metal-y” than I would have assumed Most songs sound great Didn’t know Changes was by them Overall good sound, pleasing to listen and move to 66

I feel like 5 stars is a bit of a blunt instrument for this one, for me. It sits somewhere between 3 and 4 - the best songs are a 4.5 and the worst probably a 2. I’m going 3 because there’s more Sabbath to come and I don’t want to be locking myself into a 5 star rating if I think it’s better than this one. Dilemmas!

Surprisingly good.

The production is terrible, even on remastered, and does the music no justice so I’m knocking a point off. Would be much better live

classic sabbath

It almost feels like heresy to rate this a 3 because it's fucking SABBATH, but I didn't really get much from this album. Only a few of them really spoke to me. The first half of Wheels Of Confusion was a little repetitive - which fortunately meant that The Straightener knocked me over when it kicked in (I listened to the deluxe edition.) Wish I could've gotten more from this album.

Works best on the riff-heavy tracks like Supernaut. I quite liked most of this. Wasn't so sure about the slower tracks. A pretty strong 3

this is not what i was expecting. I thought black sabbath was like heavy metal not "I'm going through changes"

Never realized changes was originally Black Sabbath

It ight. Not my thing

Underwhelming

After listening to Paranoid recently, I feel like Sabbath sort of lost their "ahead of their time" attitude with this album. This is from the 70's and it very much sounds like it. I was trying to figure out if I'd actually heard any of these songs before and I have, especially "Changes" which is actually the worst song on the whole album! It sounds more like the worst of Ozzy's solo stuff than Sabbath really. "Supernaut" is the standout for me and it shows that the sound did develop from their previous albums in to something more complicated and less sludgy. Whether that's good or bad is subjective really. The latter half of the album is heavier except for "Laguna Sunrise" which sounds like a Zeppelin track (not a bad thing, just strange to hear). Overall it's pretty good, definitely a "put it on while drinking beer and doing something else" album.

The best parts of this one are the parts where they’re just kind of jamming and Ozzy isn’t singing Don’t think I’d ever play this album on purpose

Grew on me as it went along.

Whatever, it's fine.

I've never listened to black sabbath before so this will be my introduction 1. Wheels of confusion / The straightener : Cool Vocal timbre with very repetitive guitar riff. Second section of the song is very cool with punk drums and goes into cool vocal slide of some kind. Goes into third section with much better riff. The guitar solo in this section if sick. The song is way to long. 2. Tomorrow's Dream: Really like the drums and aux percussion. I like the guitar a lot better on this song then that start of the last one. Its still repetitive though. Guitar solo with some type of synth getting higher and higher sounds really cool. Lyrcis are cool 3. Changes : Woah lol, Very different song. WTF. Way more slow and mellow. Not metal at all. Piano in this song for accompaniment. Lyrics about love not working out and the regret that he feels. 4. FX : Very cool start. Don't know what sound that it is. Some electric thing. Ope. Just realized how short this is. This is the whole song. welp. 5. Supernaut : Back to metal, Pretty catchy guitar riff. Drums are cool at start but get kinda boring. Guitar solo pretty good, not to catchy. Drums have some cool parts when on its own. Really cool percussion part with an acoustic guitar or something 6. Snowblind : Really good start, guitar line is awesome. Chorus is fucking awesome with really really good guitar solo after. I think its about a person in denial. Best song so far 7. Cornucopia : Fucking hard guitar riff at start of song. LIttle bit different song than the rest. Second part of song has these cool cymbal parts. 8. Laguana Sunrise : Has Acoustic guitar. Sounds very cool. A little spanish? I dont know, Im stupid. String parts come in. Very peaceful song. Contrasts with rest of album. Very Pretty. Sounds a little western. Like an epic cowboy duel is about to happen. No vocals on this track 9. St. Vitus Dance : Back to metal, more rock and roll than the rest of the album. Also has metal parts. Switches between the two styles. Tambourine gives the rock and roll sound 10. Under the sun / Every day comes and goes : Much more metal than the last song. Really good guitar riff. Kinda repetitive though. Lets go DRUMS!! Second part of the song has more energy. Don't know how I feel about the guitar for most of this song. Woah just changed a lot with weird transition. This parts much better. The guitar solo is actually pretty good in this part. The last part of this song is a good conclusion to the whole album. Whole album was pretty good overall. Some of the songs were really similar and repetative. But the songs that deviated from that like changes, Laguana sunrise and snowblind were really really good. I give the album a 7/10

Not my favorite

I expected to hate this and I didn’t! It was far less screamy than I thought it would be. I love “Changes” but admittedly didn’t realize the original was by Black Sabbath. Probably won’t be adding the album to the regular rotation, but liked it well enough.

Would I buy or download it? - no. Would I listen to it again? - possibly, it wasn't a complete assault of my senses but long guitar riffs are not really my thing.

Not for me. Don’t hate the vocals though and see the influence they brought to this genre. no hate if you like it.

Gotta love going from Al Green to Black Sabbath. Not really sure if I have heard this album, at all. Always like listening to albums I wanted to but never have. So far, through 5 tracks, I have not heard any of these, besides Changes. Which I thought was performed by other artists.

Hard rock, not my fave

Not as hard as I expected, pretty guitar focused

Pretty good. Better than I was expecting having really only listened to their hits in the past...

I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. I did not appreciate Black Sabbath’s musicianship. Really enjoyed Changes and Laguna Sunrise.

Never been a huge fan of Black Sabbath. They’re ok, just not great….and I like great. So there are a lot of other bands I’ll listen to before BS.

Tbh I wasn’t expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised

If you want to live in their dark and hazy world for a bit, it’s a damn cool place to visit, but maybe a bit unmemorable. Oh, also, why is the bass guitar buried on this thing?

Solid album that falls off after the first three songs. Oddly mastered however the 2014 one seems to have the best depth.

Cool but oddly no bass. Less heavy than I expected

Listened to the 2021 remaster and also found the mud of the low end noteworthy. Wasn't blown away by the album but liked it. Changes slaps (and OO's voice shows some real quality and dynamism on that track). Also, a guitar style I find myself enjoying these days is "people who can play technically tight, but choose to play loose af".

Doesn’t quite match up to their first 3 albums, less inspired/innovative. Still a couple bangers though. I didn’t realize the Big Mouth theme song had its origins from this album.

The worst of the two Black Sabbath albums I’ve heard. But it’s not bad at all. 6.5/10 Top 3: 1. Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener 2. Snowblind 3. Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes

Good album, not as heavy as I expected. Ozzy sounds good. Not a lot of guitar solos

Slow, heavy, and enveloped in a thick fuzz, but enough about me! Badoomtish. A bit disappointing since I love the first three Sabbath albums. This one has never stood out to me even though I know it has a big reputation, so I was eager to give it a close listen. But, I was right. Vol 4 is a bit samey and the production isn't great. It sounds a flat and doesn't have the huge sound you'd want from a stoner metal album or the high energy you'd get from metal later in 70s/80s. This album also doesn't have the terrifying sense of dread and foreboding they captured on their debut. There are some great riffs though, Iommi rips some sick solos, and Ozzy wails all over it...but still, kind of Sabbath-by-numbers. It's like they woke up from a binge and forgot how to play Master of Reality, heard it once, and then had to recreate it. I'd take that album over this one 100% of the time.

Wasn’t too bad, couple of decent tracks

Lately the algorithm has been giving me a lot of potential “Father’s of Heavy Metal” Blue Cheer, Deep Purple etc… they are not the ones. Black Sabbath are the ones. Vol 4 is a surprisingly dynamic album, from the originals of Metal to a changes. 7.5/10

this is mid zepp. on the soft side.

Decent album, many new songs. 3.5/5 rounding down as I don’t think I would seek it out

3 out of 5

Honestly, didn’t get this one. Love sabbath but this record didn’t do it for me

Loved how the first track ramped up from strung out to excited. FX felt ahead of its time (no synths, I assume). Much less satanic than the name suggests.

I kind of thought that a Black Sabbath album would be a little more memorable. Most of the songs blend together. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but nothing really stands out. The only song that stands out to me is "Changes", and that's because it's the intro song in the Big Mouth.

It's good, but nothing really stands out to me as much as on some of their other albums

I really expected to hate this, but I don't! I'm not a fan of metal but this works for me. Granted, I'm not at a show getting pummelled with drums that are too loud in the mix (typical these days and possibly back then.) Listened to at a reasonable volume, it's pretty good! It also breathes, likely beause it's not recorded with a click track which I believe wasn't customary in 1971. I need space in my music. The vocals are really good. The distorted guitar sound works well here, and it's not so full of annoying pyrotechnics, i.e., trying to cram as many notes in as possible to prove the guitarist's dexterity. Sometimes there are cliche riffs, but not too many. Drummer is great! Grooves vary from song to song. Laguna Sunrise - what a lovely surprise. OK then, 3 stars. Not bad for a band I expected to abhor.

3.5/5. Good. I like Paranoid more, but I enjoyed this as well.

Black Sabbath, schon wieder? Diesmal aber besser wenn auch immer noch etwas lahm.

Supernaut and Snowblind fuckin rip, and Under the Sun is real solid. The rest I can take or leave (ESPECIALLY Laguna Sunrise).

This is decent, without ever hitting a real high. Starts off OK, then you hit Changes (which is the most famous song on the album, but really really doesn't work here if at all) and then a 2 minute instrumental with none of the pace, energy, or guitars that most of the rest of the record has. Then it picks up again, Supernaut is one of if not the best track on the album, and the rest is exactly what you'd expect from Sabbath; plenty of oomph, nothing earthshattering in the lyrics. Final track is a bit more sophisticated and even a little proggy. Overall gets a 3/5.

What's with the Blue Man Group percussion interlude?

I appreciate how impactful this sound must have been when it came out. I won't listen to it again, but I'm happy I heard the songs I did not know.

Tommy and Geezer are great. Ozzy not so much.

Good Album, I liked it def not the strongest or weakest album tho.

This was alright, listened to it on the way home from work

3.4

Great Album. Love Black Sabbath.

Can't remember much, but solid

Nowhere near as seminal as the last one, but still a decent listen. Safe to say that this version of Changes was significant better than the duet Ozzy did with Kelly

Pretty good. It's no Paranoid that's for sure.

good "generic" rock. I know the only reason it sounds generic is because I've heard every derivative work from it. no strong emotions for me on this first listen

The first album I ever heard from Black Sabbath was Paranoid, which is hard to match.

Is good. Never really vibed when this era of metal, but I can respect it for what it is.

This was a fun listen! Only downside was the random slow songs every now and then which switched the pace of the album

It's a little hardcore metal for me, but it's still a good album.

Changes and Snowblind are my personal highlights. Definitely has a lot of more slow/beautiful tracks and a great record

Enjoyed a few of the tracks more than I expected

Rock with some lazy rhyming

Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. Quite a lot of the Black Sabbath sound, but some very different, unexpected tracks.

First listen to a Black Sabbath album. Most of the songs were kind of what I anticipated hearing in a classically early metal vein, but a few were surprises - Wheels of Confusion sounded a little more Led Zeppelin-esque and Changes was a straight ahead piano oriented song, and Laguna Sunrise was an acoustic number with Mellotrons (!). Of the more classic Metal sound I liked Supernaut the best, with Snowblind and Under the Sun standouts as well. Tony Iommi has some solid riffs!

Maybe I listen it again one time, but for now it's not my favourite

Rock on 🤘🏻 Changes was pretty good

great stuff

Can't say i loved it, but i didnt hate it either.

Too much filler instrumental, did not like changes

Not my best listen but is better than their other record on this project

Classic Black Sabbath sound. But the tracks that are outside of their normal sound like Changes and Laguna Sunrise give them more dimensionality and elevate the album for me.

Was surprised to hear “Changes” was a BS song. My favorite of the album. Otherwise it’s kind of a generic 70’s rock album.

some of my fav drumming ever. so timeless.

Changes is so good That kinda shows where my music taste is at rn. Still better than AC/DC I think Actually way better Insanely solid 3 here

Fantastic musicality. Ozzy’s voice and timing are impeccable.

Very decent rock album, worth listening to if I the mood for the genre

Heavy metal. Ningún megahit. Ni fu ni fa.

Early 70's metal, which was honestly better than I would have expected except for the track "FX" which is annoying filler noise.

There were very few moments on this album that felt like they were made by one of the pioneers of metal. Their characteristic stoner sound is present, but it just doesn’t feel as polished as some of their other albums. Obviously, if it were too polished it would lose its charm, but maybe something more sonically appealing would be nice. Outside of “Changes” it really isn’t very memorable either. Overall, it’s not bad, but if I saw it in a record store, I’d pass. Best track: Changes

A perfectly ok album that's not really my taste in music.

Better than I expected

Pioneers of hard rock, headbanging rock. Hadn't listened to a whole album before. Not bad, but not really my thing.

Ehhh, it’s some heavy metal with a few softer cuts sprinkled in. Can’t say I was super impressed by too much of it, but I did still really enjoy Ozzy’s vocals. 5/10

Changes- big mouth theme song This album is exactly what you want it to be

Fine. The tone on the guitars plus Ozzy’s voice kind of make every song sound the same. There are brief movements away from that - like Laguna Sunrise and FX.

Tandon Scale Rating: 3.25 Best Songs: Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener, Supernaut, Snowblind Foot Notes: 1 Ozzys voice was made for heavy metal (stolen from Tad) this album is for sitting in the garage type listening 2 (also stolen) someone described BS as sludge rock and I don’t know what that means but I totally agree 3 Still lots of shredding even if this isn’t there most iconic album Would I Listen Again: Only some songs

Loved Changes. FX put me in a bad mood. Snowblind goes crazy. Album grew on me, but still not my style of music. I think I'd need to be listening to this outside on a speaker. End riff on Under the Sun made it a 3. I wanted more of that throughout.

Harde rock/Metal is niet echt mijn ding. Had wel een paar mooie ballads, “Changes” en “Laguna Sunrise”. Ozzy is een leipe gast maar wel met een goede stem.

Laguna Sunset was not a song I expected, bit I really enjoyed it

Hit the post on getting a 4, just lost the run of itself at times but very solid. That's 2 now they've surprised me with. Am I becoming a fan?

Some good tracks here and there but ultimately it was forgettable. Highlight was their cover of changes.

I like the reengineering but the songs are all monotonous

Typical good heavy metal

Ég hef aldrei verið mikið fyrir Black Sabbath. Mér finnst tónlistin frábær, gítarriffin og allt það, mér finnst textarnir skemmtilegir en mér finnst Ozzy bara svo leiðinlegur í flestum lögum. Það eru einstaka lög sem henta honum, t.d. Changes sem er á þessari plötu en annað bara dregur ánægjuna niður.

In my opinion, only the first 3 Sabbath albums belong on this list. This one was OK, but nothing special.

not as bad as I thought it would be. some good melodic spots.

Yeah it's alright

A+ for the guitars. F for the vocals and lyrics. If only this band could find a competent singer... someone with a short, catchy last name... someone American perhaps... I bet they'd move heaven and hell to find someone like that. Ah well, best not get hung up on "what if's". Take these three devil's horns for your efforts. 🤘🤘🤘

6/10

Not really my kind of thing, but gave it a listen

Listened to while completing the annual photo album. I continued thinking "this is pretty good"; the songs that stood out to me were: Wheels of Confusion (the guitar at the end is so good) and Changes.

3/5. A metal album from a metal band that refuses to fit into that stereotype. With songs like Laguna and Changes, Black Sabbath really try something different and sometimes it works, and other times it doesn't. Any of the heavier songs are some of the best in their discography (Supernaut, Snowblind), but also some okay ones like Dream and St. Vitus that bring it down. And many people say Laguna is one of their favorite Black Sabbath songs but just because it's different than what they normally do, does not mean it's good. That is the worst song on the album, so annoying. I appreciate them branching out but don't think it works all the time. Still a great album but nowhere near perfect.

Good, but sometimes a bit to progressive

Oh yeahhhh I thought this was pretty fun this was my first sabbath album I like how it’s clearly heavy but not overbearing and still is more psychedelic than metal. Enjoyed

Surprisingly good. It's not something i would have chosen to listen to, but more fool me for having preconceived ideas.

Has that classic Sanbath sound. Not what I’ve been into lately so I enjoyed the instrumental and piano tracks best during my listen.

Sounds like the birth of Paranoid. A simple soundscape with surprisingly tender tracks.

3.5

I can appreciate the foundation Sabbath laid for future heavy rock, but it’s just not my thing. Changes is a great song.

No bad. Could imagine listening to this to chill out. Best song was Changes rest sounded quite similar to each other

Splitting hairs here, because I love me some Sabbath, but Master of Reality is superior.

No feelings either way. I could have this on the background not be distracted by it.

It was fine. The guitar sound was great. I just don't see me listening to it again.

A bit mellower than I expected given the Black Sabbath with which I'm familiar.

This album surprised me quite a bit, in a good way. I have historically not cared for Black Sabbath at all, and I think this album starts out weak, but it picks up from there and became really enjoyable. I am now quite intrigued to check out more of their work.

Had not listened to much early metal before, was not expecting to find such a diverse array of tracks and interesting melodies. Favorites include Changes and Tomorrow's Dream.

This was interesting. I avoid Black Sabbath as I've never really connected with Ozzy Osborne, his voice, or Black Sabbath's music and aesthetic. I only knew their hits, and didn't expect to hear slower, lighter pieces like 'Changes' on this album. I came away not liking Black Sabbath any more, but understanding they're a little more nuanced than I assumed they were.

It was fine, liked that it was varied with softer moments. But probably something I won't return to much. Standout was "Snowblind".

I am familiar and fond with the first 3 Sabbath album, so I was excited to see this appear. However, definitely didn't hit me the same way as their earlier stuff. Reading up on it it sounds like this was the first Sabbath album fueled by coke rather than booze and weed, which I think is the perfect summary for the deficiencies of this album.

decent album. definitely not one of their bests though.

Good but not my favourite Black Sabbath, Changes and Under The Sun are class though

Review 2.0: Seems like I get to review this twice within a week's time. The first time was solo, now as part of a group. This was my first review on this app. The original score was a three and therefore was my measuring stick for each subsequent review. I kept thinking... How does this album compare to Sabbath? Tomorrow's Dream, Supernaut, Snowblind, and Laguna Sunrise still stand out. St Vitus Dance riff is very nice, but lyrically doesn't do much. Changes still feels meh compared to how I used to like it. FX doesn't do much besides acts as a bridge between Changes and Supernaut. It honestly lowers my opinion of Changes even more if you need to add a minute long effects track to ease back into a rocking mood. Cornucopia doesn't really move the needle for me. Something about Under the Sun doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it's the quicker segments where Ozzy's vocals seem off? I definitely like Every Day Comes and Goes, and The Straightner more than the song segment that precedes them. Okay, given my love for a few songs, heavy riffs, and varied song structure I'm now leaning towards a very high 3, but with no half stars it'll still be my measuring stick album. ----------- Original Review: I've been familiar with many of these songs for years. The 2nd half of Wheels of Confusion was a treat. Changes seems so dull to me now. I used to have a higher opinion of that song. Tomorrow's Dream is my favorite track.

O álbum é bem sólido, seguro, bem tranquilo de ouvir, mas senti que faltam novidades, coisas mais.. marcantes talvez, diferenciadas. FX não entendi kkkkkkk me lembrou a mosca do Breaking Bad lá. Minhas preferidas foram Supernaut, Snowblind e St. Vitus Dance gostei bastante delas até. Um álbum que é bem bom, mas não me chama muita atenção. Se parar pra pensar, acho que essa é uma ótima definição pra um 3 estrelas pra mim.

Supernaut and Snowblind are worth a listen alone. Rest of the album feels like filler. Not the heaviest hitting album they have.

Not my favorite genre

Intstrumental

'Heavy metal' in a similar vein to Deep Purple in as much as it's more like rock music. Pretty solid album for something I wouldn't have naturally picked out. 'Changes' is an absolute banger of course.

Fuck, Sabbath is cool. Tony Iommi and his fucked up right hand created some iconic riffs. Ozzy's just cuts. Hail Satan. I don't always agree with whatever boomer made this list, but this is a decent entry. I typically favoring more main-stream Sabbath songs, but 10 minutes in this is pretty good..and then changes.. what? I guess they were trying something new. Wait, I *have* heard that. This one has a decent wikipedia article and it's always fascinating to read aboutthe recording process. Seems this album is definitely a reach by the band to try more experimental stuff... on copious amounts of cocaine. If I compare this to other albums of theirs I am not sure it would even be top 3 or 4, but when they stick to sludge/stoner metal it's top tier. Review of Reviews: The people like Black Sabbath, even those who did not think they would. Best Track: Wheels of Confusion.. me likey epic metal songs that are over 7 minutes.

I've been familiar with many of these songs for years. The 2nd half of Wheels of Confusion was a treat. Changes seems so dull to me now. I used to have a higher opinion of that song. Tomorrow's Dream is my favorite track.

Fairly repetitive grooves, but overall a great rock album. Ozzy’s voice absolutely carries, it’s so powerful.

It's funny to me relistening to thes albums that when they were released they were HeAvY MeTaL and now they are pretty tame as far as agressive albums go. I enjoyed the album. Never had listed top to bottom and enjoyed it. Had a few songs that were familiar and i enjoyed them even more in context.

This is a pretty standard rock album that lines up with how the genre sounded during this time. Not much on this album really sticks out to me and there are so many songs that are 2 minutes of random playing only to put in a great song towards the ending 3 minutes. Consistently inconsistent. I do love Ozzie on this album and his singing is such a highlight throughout. At the end of the day there are better bands with better albums in the genre at the same time so they're lower on the totem pole. 6/10

First song=very good, Second song a bit boring, i waited for the day it ended Third is so melancolic (that is not how you spell that word but idc) and pretty I LOVE IT!!! Fouth one is just like a filler episode i guess?? Btw im in a train and someone is moaning and the song and the moaning go well together 👍 i think black sabbath should think about this when they remaster the album :* they dont need to pay me for the idea just credit me Peta je brate motori motori vajb, hajmo dalje skip skip skip Kroz ostatak sam malo pretecala ali mi je laguna sunrise zapalo za uho i toeto sve u svemu ovo je zabavno hihi

pretty good! not necessarily my vibe but i can appreciate some great guitars

not their best by any means but Definity some good stuff.

It's okay, less exciting than I imagined it would be but still good. 5/10

Too patchy to be their best album but Supernaut is one of the best songs they ever recorded

Felt like this kinda lost steam

Decent

I was expecting it to be death metal, but it was very enjoyable. Changes is an all time song.

Good album, a little too all the same-ish and homogeneous. Since exceptional songs (Changes).

Black Sabbath is not exactly my piece of cake. "Changes" is a legendary song though, I enjoy it. I was also pleasantly surprised by "Laguna Sunrise", it doesn't sound like Black Sabbath at all. Otherwise, the album is alright, I can listen to it, but it does not evoke much emotion.

Nice simple old rock

it was fine. more bluesy then I thought

Some nice songs but not my type of music.

3/5

I'm a metal head, but Black Sabbath bores me to death.

It was better than I have anticipated, some songs that I knew and weren't what I thought were typical Black Sabbath

Not bad, stylistic variety. Not too metal for me?

Not my preferred genre but definitely some good tunes, really cool discovering "changes" which I've heard before but never knew where it came from

Beginning of the album was boring. The middle was pretty banging, and the end was alright. I'm feeling a solid 6.

Not as good as the other sabbath albums. Still good though.

Pretty chill. Some cool blues rock which I was not expecting. RIP Ozzie!

Pretty good. A bit of a different sound than I'm used to for them, some bluesy stuff going on.

6 5. Stupid page deleted my detailed response lol. Not bad for what it is. Just, rock, bleh. It's nauseatingly lame and both harmonically and rhythmically uninteresting.

Paranoid & Master of Reality are two of my all time fav albums, this is a good listen but just doesn't quite reach that level for me. I was today years old when I found out Changes wasn't written by Charles Bradley.

Meh Rating: 3.0

Legendary percussion and Ozzie too

Middle of the road album, extra star for "Changes"

Top songs Supernaut. I know if from the cover by "1000 homo djs" Snowblind Wheels of Confusion

Don't usually listen to this kind of rock but noteable tracks - Supernaut and under the Sun

This was perfectly fine, which is high praise from me on a heavy metal album. I get the appeal of this type of music, especially for a live performance. It just doesn’t typically land well with me in practice, and I can’t imagine actively turning something like this on to listen to. My favorite songs on this album were honestly the ones that sounded least metal. Changes was great, and then it’s followed up by FX which is an avante garde-y noise track that I liked a lot. I’m a sucker for these kinds of avante grade things, and this delivered. Most of the rest of the album though is more or less what I’d expect from 70s heavy metal. I generally felt neutral on most of it, which frankly exceeds expectations. Not much else to say here, it more or less was what I thought it would be (Changes and FX aside). Minor point, but I felt like the vocals were washed out a bit by the instruments on a lot of the songs. Not sure if that’s just on the 2021 remaster I listened to (or if that’s typical for them) but I found that a little annoying. Favorite song: Changes Other: FX, Supernaut

Siellähän oli pianopoppistakin välissä! Ihan menevää tavaraa, mut eipä taaskaan nouse keskimääräistä korkeammalle. 3/5

Me gusta más lo melódico y folksy, pero tiene un buen balance.

Actually pretty good. I was not aware of the variety in Black Sabbath music. This was varied and interesting. Still not my favorite thing, but pretty good.

Interesting mix of melodies here. Because I'm unfamiliar with rock and metal, I only have the impression of it being loud music played by sweaty musicians. I appreciate the diversity of sound on this album. Changes has a tenderness, while FX left me quite curious. I didn't understand what the sounds were supposed to be about, if anything. But then we pick up the pace again with Supernaut. Laguna Sunrise is pleasant. It sounds like its title. And just like before with Supernaut, St Vitus Dance picks up the pace after a moment of tranquility. While this is the only Black Sabbath album I've heard, they're just ok to me.

3.5/5 Changes+Laguna Sunrise+Snowblind schöne Tracks

The first pieces are maybe too long, but I really enjoyed the instrumental parts, even more than when they sing.

Mainly gritty rock amd roll, driven by that guitar. A couple of differemr slow songs (including Changes) and what is FX all about - sounds like some studio clatter ?!

Dimery clearly struggles with ‘importance’. The next album sabbath bloody sabbath is worth a must listen. So is the debut. Just because a band changes the world doesn’t mean everything it does is worthy. Notable exceptions do exist. To think we don’t have little Richard because dimery would rather show he knows rock music man. Black sabbath is cool. It’s a fine album but not the one you need to understand sabbaths place in the pantheon.

I’ve never been a fan (except for Paranoid) but I did quite enjoy a lot of this album. Mainly the music, because I do have a problem with Osbourne’s voice. Still, I really liked Supernaut - the one where the drummer appears to have ripped off the intro to Theme from Shaft. And the bluesy intro to Wheels Of Confusion (& most of Iommi’s playing on that). And okay, after a couple of plays I found myself rocking along to this album. And I don’t know why???

Ta bien

I have no clue why I find Black Sabbath to be so mediocre, as it seems like it'd be something I'd be far more into, but even the hits don't do anything for me anymore, and considering this album doesn't even have those, it's hard to understand the praise. However, it is still alright overall and easy listening (for metal) that doesn't have any ridiculously annoying parts. Although just making random noise for a minute-and-a-half is definitely pushing it. Again, this is okay, but I've gotten all three Black Sabbath albums on the list now, and none of which have switched me into thinking anything more of them. Definitely influential, but outdone by all their pupils.

7/10 Good Sabbath tunes, however not as cohesive as other releases. Also struggles with the issue of following Master of Reality and Vol 4 does not bring much else to the table, musically speaking.

Solid album. I primarily enjoyed the songs that felt unexpected to me from Black Sabbath. “Changes” is a highlight along with the instrumental “Laguna Surprise.”

In 1972, Black Sabbath were in a rut. Two years after the shattering success of second album "Paranoid", they finally took a break after their world tour, opting to take their time with album four. Amidst this leisurely pace, Sabbath began to embody the full excesses of rock and roll. Speaker boxes full of cocaine were flown in on private planes, drummer Bill Ward was struggling to record his parts for being inebriated, and the band were constantly paranoid over being busted. Several years later, we have the benefit of knowing they made it through, but their 1972 situation points to a lack of direction, as they teetered on the edge of tragedy, at risk of becoming buried and snowbound completely. Their fourth album, then, lingers on their classic metal sound with moments of inspiration. Opener "Wheels of Confusion" is a grinding, queazy metal riff turned to sludge, bass rumbling unintelligibly and Osbourne's distinctive vocal ringing out over it all, heralding the end of the earth. So far, so Sabbath. But for better and for worse, the biggest surprises in "Vol. 4" are the band's attempts to diversify. As if to show off their songwriting chops, they bring out a piano ballad for Track 3! "Changes" is one of Sabbath's most popular songs, and it feels a bit unnatural to hear them do something slow and sensitive. The lyrics are boilerplate heartbreak: "I feel unhappy, I feel so sad / I've lost the best friend I ever had." The piano in the verses feels a little clunky, and to me the chorus doesn't soar so much as half-heartedly flap above ground for a while. Later, "Laguna Sunrise" is a pleasant acoustic guitar interlude in the vein of Led Zeppelin's "Black Mountain Side" or Yes's "Mood for a Day"… not quite as good, but what is? "FX", meanwhile, is a sloppily done, very lazily named 99 seconds of a guitar being hit with various objects. When compared with what, say, Zeppelin were up to- having released their four self-titled albums at this stage and moving towards Houses of the Holy- "Vol. 4"'s experiments come off as underwhelming, even embarrassing. Sabbath were perhaps better off staying in their lane. So with that in mind, I reserve special praise for "Supernaut", my favourite track here with an excellent grinding riff. It was supposedly John Bonham's favourite Sabbath track, and it's easy to see why it would appeal to a drummer as much as a guitarist, bassist or vocalist: the whole band are on fire through its four-and-a-half minutes. "Snowblind", which follows it, is similarly vast, doom-laden, epic. These two tracks are superb: it's a shame the rest of the album doesn't live up to them, but it's still a decent, coked-up time in metal's oldest hands.

I had low expectations for this album, but I shouldnt have. I actually enjoyed it.

Heavy metal. Ningún megahit. Ni fu ni fa.

Wheels of Confusion- 3.1/5 Tomorrow's Dream- 3/5 Changes- 5/5 FX- 3.5/5 Supernaut- 4/5 Snowblind- 3.8/5 Cornucopia- 3/5 Laguna Sunrise- 3.4/5 St. Vitus Dance- 3.7/5 Under the Sun- 3.9/5 Total- 3.6/5

Considering the release year of the album... it's surely pioneering. Not really my type of music but would say it's some interesting stuff.

Definitely a genre defining album for rock and heavy metal. I hear a lot of influences for later bands. I thought that it was interesting that one of Black Sabbath's main influences is The Beatles. They sound nothing alike!

Dece

Changes would have to be one of the best ballads ever!

Great riffs, but vocal lines are unintersting and repetitive. Ozzy's voice is a bit thin so the combination is less than the sum of its parts.

Not what I was expecting from Black Sabbath at all. The styles are kind of all over the place. Good individual songs, but doesn't hold any sort of theme together.

I had to sit on this one for a while because I wasn't sure how I felt upon listening to it. Know it that it was fueled by cocaine helps to make sense of some of the crap that's on here. Overall, I think this was mostly fine. Supernaut is fucking incredible. The bass part in particular really grabs my ear. Sadly I found most of the rest of it to be run of the mill Black Sabbath stuff (Snowblind and the last two tracks), boring as hell (Changes, Laguna Sunrise) or just totally unnecessary (FX). Idk I went in really wanting to like this but really only one song blew me away. 3 for its legacy though, I definitely feel as though I'm in the minority on this one...

Solid throughout, didn't wow me outside of the few prog-metal type influences.

wicked and good to experience

Leuke muziek, allemaal prima nummers. Er springt alleen niks echt bovenuit en dat maakt het een klein beetje meh. Gewoon heel solide dus.

Good melodic metal. Not an album I knew but certainly an enjoyable example of the genre.

Not nearly as good as pranoid

Wtf this was actually really good. I'll be taking away "Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener" and "Changes". I also want to say something clever regarding "Changes" being the perfect drive-into-the-sunset-with-the-windows-down moment at the end of an A24 film (there's a shot of the main protagonist on the side mirror gazing introspectively out the window with a soft smirk plastered across their vanilla face), but I don't have the energy to search for the right adjectives or come up with a backstory at the moment.

Album was good, but not really in the right mood for it

Good but not there best

Fun to listen to, not sure I'd seek it out though.

Not bad overall. Shows another side to Iommi with the quieter tracks.

Not as good as earlier efforts, but still pretty awesome.

Like the other Sabbath records, this is so ingrained in our culture, and so much has changed, that this really isn't heavy anymore. I liked a few songs, but I could leave most of this.

I forget how bluesy Black Sabbath was. I don’t know much about their overall catalog, but this one is just okay for me. Solid, but just okay.

Moet ervoor in de stemming zijn maar met een goede box is dit ergens wel oké.

Cocaine-gedreven metal album van Black Sabbath. Vooral hoog aangeschreven binnen het muzikale circuit met loof van Frank Zappa, Beck en Led Zeppelin. Waarschijnlijk best luisterbaar wanneer je zelf ook hebt gesnoven en gezopen, maar best aardig verder. leukste nummer: Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes De band leefde in paranoia in de drugsvilla na het zien van The French Connection omdat ze vreesden voor een soortgelijke inval.

Highly listenable black Sabbath. I need a less distracted relisten.

Can't say I'm a fan of Ozzy, but when I need to hear Ozzy at his best, the first four Black Sabbath albums is all you need. This is hard rocking, stoner rock at it's best, when heavy metal wasn't about hair spray and wanna-be posers and all about loud guitars, heavy bass, tight drums and worshiping the devil. Oh, the early 70's was a good time for music!

Not as dark and heavy as earlier Sabbath. Better song development and singing, but lack of knockout riffs. Easy enough to listen to, but relatively forgettable.

Better than I expected

The "I'm going through changes" song, good

Good. Not mine.

Not bad! I liked Black Sabbath more when I was a teenager, so I still have a bit of fondness of ol’ Ozzy. I didn’t mind it but I have no plans to return to it.

The songs are kind of all over the place on this album. Supernaut rules. I've always liked Sabbath's extremely plain and matter of fact lyricism which shines on Changes. Further, I appreciate a Mellotron in any capacity so the songs that feature this instrument stand out. Beyond those three sparsely related highlights, this album is OK. The cover art is awesome as well. For me, this is a 3.99 rounded down to a 3.

actually liked it more than I expected. not as metal as I was thinking it would be

Really good. My first doom metal really. I will listen to more of them.

Way more sophisticated than I thought it was going to be. Nice job Sabs.

Have found BS to be very miss and sometimes hit. This is a very heavy collection which kept me interested featuring strong guitar work and an almost tolerable Ozzie.