Vol. 4

Changes always makes me cry. It’s just so unexpected and sensitive in the middle of a rock album. So good.

good

Black sabbath at the height of their powers here

4.5

Yum

Heavy early stoner metal. Some prog transitions. Hard and sludgy. Great vibe.

Maybe not as strong as the first 2 albums. Still filled with great riffs and playing throughout. Every other band had to catch up 10 years to sound anything like Black Sabbath. The non metal interludes aren't as nice as in their self titled and Paranoid though.

:)

A great album from the godfathers of heavy metal.

This is one of my all time favourite albums. Black Sabbath did so much for the heavy music movement, that it is difficult to ephasize how important the band is, especially the first four records. They almost single handedly spawned the doom metal genre, but also had huge influence in all of the heavy and extreme forms of music today.

Love it

Super biased here, i love Black Sabbath. This was never my favourite Ozzy’s Sabbath era’s album, but the riffage is massive, the sound one of their best and compositions are quite different. I would chose 4.5/5

Really enjoyed this album. Quite a range of songs to savour. Some may argue that 'Changes' and the drug induced FX don't sit well and interrupt the rythym of the album. I think they add some reflection time to the album. The pioneers of heavy metal finding a more experimental approach to the discipline. Is this the best Sabbath album? Probably not. But is this better by a country mile than any other Heavy Metal album at the time or even since? Probably. No reason not to give 5 stars.

I wrote one of my GENIUS reviews about how Black Sabbath is weird and iconoclastic, etc. But the machine ate it somehow. One of the main points was how unusual it was that at the nadir of the soft rock era, these blokes went to Southern California and came back with Supernaut. Brilliant. Not even going to take off a star for "Changes" as much as I want to. God I hate that song.

топ за свои деньги

Another brilliant album - never knew I like black sabbath so much. Great variation, lyricism and overall vibe. Not quite as strong as their debut but still brilliant.

An amazing mix of accessible prog rock and classic heavy metal

So great !

This is my first time seriously listening to Black Sabbath and this is definitely a 5/5 record. Simply fantastic. I’m going to dig deeper into the discography this weekend.

Perfect

enjoyable album, havent listened to enough sabbath

Excellent instrumentals. I could never get fully into the vocals though. Still, overall amazing album! Tossup between 'Supernaut' and 'Snowblind' for faves though.

Awesome Riffs. Powerful and melodic

Black Sabbath is a foundational band for me. Iron Man was one of the very first things I learned on guitar in 8th grade. Even though its been almost 20 years, I'd still never listened to Vol 4. It's been a to do list album forever, but never executed on. In short, it rips. It does everything I love in a Sabbath Album. Ozzy sounds great, Tony is running the infinite riff factory at full production, Bill is shuffling out jazzy yet heavy beats, and Geezer is thumping and noodling all over the place. I loved the background organ on The Straightener. That part marked a bit of a departure from Sabbath albums past. I am also always a sucker for Tony Iommi's melodic soloing jam sections (e.g War Pigs). My fun fact for this album. Charles Bradley does an amazing cover of Changes. There's a live youtube video of him describing how he heard the song after his mother died, and how hard it hit him in that moment. He then goes on to give one of the most emotional performances I've heard anyone give. I like the Sabbath version, but I'll always see that as Charles Bradley's song now. Snowblind is also one of my favorite Sabbath Riffs. Album cover: (A) Very impactful graphics.

This is a very diverse and mature album. A dark and foreboding sound with a lot of lighter surrounding elements, and even a decent amount of swing make this an excellent album to listen to, head bang to, or reflect to. No skippable songs, and everything has a reason for being there. A complete masterpiece

(for dramatic effect) have i never listened to rock before? they might have done something w this heavy metal business.. im a first time sabbath listener so i just realized this is ozzy osbourne's band.. wheels of confusion - starts w that distinctly 70s sound 10/10 on easing me in changes - simp sad boy music is a tale as old as time. i feel like i just heard this song in a movie too & needed to know the name first 3 seconds of supernaut had me thinking of mitski nobody lmao. ok but forrealsies i think i declare supernaut my fav but sheeeesh talk about a no skips album im impressed

Just awesome

I like this significantly more than I thought I would. Peak Sabbath.

Back when Ozzy was on just enough drugs for the music to sound good

Very very good album loved every bit of it except FX. Supernaut is my favourite number here but changes and snowblind are a close number 2

Sabbath at their best. Album rocks.

Ya know this is a really good band if they can take their foot off the gas a little and still come with all of the horsepower.

not as good as paranoid, but still a phenomenal album in its own right.

A really good album that I'd listen to again, I liked Tomorrow's Dream and Changes the best.

Love this album from when I was 12 years old, still sounds great.

Jacking off

This is just stunning, so excellent

Loved every minute

The first Black Sabbath studio album I ever heard (well, after some compilations) and it blew my mind...

9/10 Ma to, vozi me Ozzy jutrom ranim. Nisam slušao ovaj album do sada, mislim da sam samo njihova prva dva albuma preslušao, ali baš puno puta. [..] Jao što ja volim ovaj rokenrol jebote. Krene mi pjesma i kao ma da, nije loše nije loše, ali kad krenu u solaže, ajme meni, oči idu naopačke [..] I onda me lupi s ovim nježnim Changes, znači klavir, melotron i Ozzy, dosta nježan trenutak, nadam se da će krenut vrištati uskoro, inače bih mogao i zaplakati [..] Malo drkanje po dileju i gitarskim žicama pa peglaona, može brate, deri ga! [..] Jebiga, volim taj rokenrol Petica, ovo ću sigurno još preslusavati.

I enjoyed it a lot

YEAHHHHHHH SABBATHHHHHH

9/10. Life changing. RIP Prince of Darkness.

9.5/10 clásico

I guess any of the first 6 Sabbath albums are incredible, but this one especially has become possibly my favourite. The opening track, Snowblind, the closer, SUPERNAUT (what a song). Album is just packed with some of Sabbath's best riffs and keeps it interesting with the song structures too.

Fuck yeah!!!

Great!

Great stuff.

proggier than I thought it was gonna be YO piano part. this is sick. there's actually a lot of Ozzy solo stuff that's like this but with a lot more production. it's all sick, Ozzy rules. these guys are doing "Noise Rock," in 1971! tight. there's some of the bluesy stuff. drums = fuck yeah the prog is back. I had no idea that Black Sabbath were my favorite prog rock band. these all rule the drum fills rule

Favorite Tracks: Supernaut Changes Snowblind

I will quickly swipe any excuse I can get to talk about Black Sabbath. But, for as much as I love this band, I had actually only heard Paranoid all the way through. So this got me even more excited, because I could hear an album from this band for the first time again. Some might say that choosing Black Sabbath Vol. 4 over Master of Reality is a strange choice. But I think you could choose any three or four albums from 1970 to 1975 and be fine. Because they were just that consistent. Anything with the original lineup is pretty much golden. And this record does not disappoint. It’s fucking awesome. I would have thought that because they had already achieved quite a bit of success up to this point, they would abandon the doom metal parts of the music. But this actually has some of Iommi’s heaviest sounding riffs, at least from what I’ve heard. It may not be as heavy as the album that preceded it. But every member is just so good here. Ozzy sounds absolutely spot on, and I think Tony, Bill and Geezer all give career defining performances on tracks like Wheels of Confusion and Supernaut. As if Paranoid wasn’t career and genre defining enough. That’s the part that makes this band so wonderful. Nobody was really doing anything like this at the time. Metal was in its very early days, so to have a group that put out music which still feels so special and unique over 50 years later is wild. St. Vitus Dance is easily the least interesting song. It’s less metal and more hard rock, and it’s nothing special. Laguna Sunrise is a folk song of all things. And one I surprisingly don’t mind. And Changes is a weird one. I was initially led to believe maybe it was a David Bowie cover. But when listening to it, I knew for a fact that I had heard that chorus elsewhere, I just couldn’t think of where. To learn that Black Sabbath made that song was weird. But overall, this is another excellent album from one of metal’s strongest groups ever. Rating: 9/10

Never listened to this whole album until today. Sweet Leaf is a classic, but I thought the balance of the album was better than that. Except for maybe FX. I think Sabbath may have been trying to channel Brian Eno on that track. Ozzy really kinda brings it to Sabbath. I dug into the bands extensive catalog and I was shocked to see how many albums they made with Ozzy and then post-Ozzy. What was more astonishing was the number of people that can claim to have been in Black Sabbath. There's a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to it. I spent most of yesterday and again today listening to this album. There's really only one choice for me here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Black_Sabbath_and_Heaven_%26_Hell_members

LOVE Sabbath and this might be my favorite album of theirs. It goes as hard as their earlier stuff at points, but also has a lot more range.

Not the best Black Sabbath-album.... but still Black Sabbath!

MY EYES ARE BLIND BUT I CAN SEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I'm going through changes.

Black Sabbath always seemed like one of those bands that was overrated. Three songs in, I'm starting to get it. Changes is a great song, love this version, love the Charles Bradley version, just a great song. You can hear the similarities between Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin...two sides of the same 70s coin, one more blues rock, one more heavy metal. This album is great, Ozzy Osborne is a more intelligible singer than he is a speaker. Maybe Black Sabbath is underrated? I haven't been familiar with a single song yet but this rocks. Maybe it's just their hits I don't love. There are a lot of metal bands that owe a huge debt of gratitude to Black Sabbath. Another plus, varying song lengths, but an average of about four and a half minutes. 10 songs, 42 minutes, that's right in the zone in terms of number of songs and average song length. There are a couple of songs that I'm not sure how they fit in, good songs, but just seem a little out of place on this album.

Wow what a great album. I had no idea I would like Black Sabbath so much. The only thing I really associated them with was Ozzy Osbourne and he was truly more of a reality star to me. I never watched the reality show but being in middle school in the early 2000s you couldn't avoid at least hearing about him. I had an idea in my head of what their music would sound like but it was much more melodic than I expected. I think in my head it used to be metal=death metal screaming and it's not been until more recent years I unlearned that. I thought this album was beautiful in spots which surprised me. I particularly like the guitars on the album but everything blends together amazingly to make beautiful music. It's hard to even pick out favorites, but I would say that "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener", "Supernaught", "Snowblind", and "Laguna Sunrise" stood out to me most on first listen.

An excellent album. Not their best, but nonetheless way better than a lot I've heard from this list so far.

Coke-fueled madness, seriously the Devil's music. 20 years after Elvis was possessed by the devil into shaking his hips, Sabbath showed them what a real demonic possession would look like. Trail blazing album, total brutal metal before metal was metal.

The first Black Sabbath album I ever bought and one of their best.

I was big into the first four or so Sabbath records a few years back. Forgot how good this one is. Maaaaaaybe the greatest hard rock album ever??

I'm not sure if I could say this is my favorite Black Sabbath album, but this one has a magic that no other has. While this album doesn't have some of the more well known bangers, the while album takes me away to another place. This album is important.

Glad to have fixed the fact I only heard Paranoid and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. This was brilliant! It had range, and was a really fun listen.

The first 6 Black Sabbath records are as good as music gets. Flawless band.

Never bothered with Sabbath much, so glad this dropped. Supernatural, Snowblind and especially Under the Sun must have influenced any number of bands. They more or less invented a genre or two. I can't believe Ozzy shot his wife. I will listen again so that's a 5.

BL: I’ve listened to their S/T & Paranoid so I think I’ve got Sabbath pretty locked down at this point. The origins of that slow doom / stoner metal sound is something I’ve fallen completely in love with and I can’t wait to hear even more of it. AL: I take back a lot of what I said in my initial before listening. I definitely did not have Sabbath pinned down. In the opening two tracks it followed the standard formula. Then we got hit by a cocaine fuelled super ballad “changes”, a track I was aware of (but for some reason had only ever heard covers of). Then it continues on in classic sabbathian fashion. “Snowblind” being a standout here. I loved this record a lot. As I love sabbath. Always pushing the boundaries, always trying to evolve, I have nothing bad to say about them or this record. FT: “Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener”, “Changes”, “Snowblind”, “Laguna Sunrise” 5/5

Nice

ES – se on jumalten juoma ES – Jonnen parhain kuoma ES – se saa keulimaan moposi ES – suuttuu opesi ja oposi, kun koulun käytävillä yhä huutelet sä meemejä vaikka kello välitunnilta jo sisään soi, tietokoneluokassa Viljamin veljeä hakkerointiasioissa konsultoida voi. ES – ikäraja viisitoista ES – ei kielto janoa poista ES – jostain löytyy hakija ES – hyvän päristelyn takia, aina jonkun sentin voihan siitä lisää maksaa, että Tero jolla ikä riitti sulle tölkit toi. Graffiteja piirrellä nyt iltaan asti jaksaa, Juusokin kun litran sitä tyhjään mahaan joi. under the sun

apparently, this came up in my rotation previously. here's my review from back then: so, of course i knew OF sabbath - but i really never listened to them. i'd somehow heard Changes before, but that was it - except for supernaut, which is a) easily my favorite on this album, and b) humorously, the least-played track, according to spotify. anyway, this one was so good, i went back and listened to it again, just to be sure. and yeah, it held up. amazing.

Pleasantly surprised at this album. I had always thought of Black Sabbath as a band I listen to when they come on, but not a band I would go out of my way to listen to... and I never had till now. I really enjoyed this album and was surprised how many songs I added to my liked list on Spotify. Very good and enjoyable album.

Amazing album!

vol.4 black sabbath 1972 1. wheels of confusion: 8/10 2. tomorrow’s dream: 8/10 3. changes: 9.5/10 4. fx 5. supernaut: 7.5/10 6. snowblind: 8.5/10 7. cornucopia: 7/10 8. laguna sunrise: 7/10 9. st. vitus dance: 9/10 10. under the sun: 7.5/10 overall rating: 8/10

Pure awesomeness

Nowhere near as catchy as Paranoid, but a great album none the less. A lot of really great guitar and bass tones throughout this album, and a surprisingly good piano ballad. The last half of this album has some very heavy songs (respectively for the time). I can never hear Supernaut without thinking of Tim and Eric's "Bang Bang Cops and Robbers" Also checkout System Of A Down's cover of Snowblind they really make it their own song.

All their early stuff is super good. I don't really like changes but it's ok for the change of pace then back to it. Will I listen to again: 100%

Schysst album, dessa grabbar gjorde inte en enda dålig platta med Ozzy, resten har jag inte orkat lyssna på. Black Sabbath är riktiga legender som borde pratas om lika mycket som Metallica och AC/DC. Det kanske man gör men jag har iallafall inte hört det. Iallafall så tänkte jag när jag lyssnade på denna att detta är nog en av deras bästa skivor. Bara för att så snabblyssnade jag igenom några av deras andra och de var lika bra, riktigt bra alltså. Jag kan inte säga att det är mitt favoritband direkt men det har varit en stor inspiration i både trummor och gitarr. Basen och sången är såklart också på topp. Jag gillade i stort sett alla av låtarna men introlåten och Changes är nog mina favoriter. Omslaget funkar också, simpelt och snygga färger. Har absolut ingenting att klaga på när den gäller denna skiva så det blir väl en 5/5.

I hadn’t listened to much by Black Sabbath before this. But I am a fan! Apart from “FX” that didn’t need to be in there!

4.5 - This was so good, a lot more than the dad rock label. Snowblind is such a good song

Wicked

Great album. As a first time Black Sabbath listener, i really enjoyed it

Changes sounds like it came off a solo Ozzy record 10 years in the future.

Simply great

They ripped off Charles Bradley song

Очень самобытная музыка, грязный звук мне очень нравится. Приглушенный хеви-металл офигенен!

Ahh los primeros discos de Sabbath...que genialidades. Metal, armonía, riffs, una voz de otro mundo y melodías super memorables.

Loved the miles of sludgy guitar sounds courtesy of Tony Iommi and Ozzy’s spaced out vocals!! Sabbath really are the kings of stoner rock

Really enjoyed this album. Classic Sabbath. The hardest songs you ever heard right next to some of the most beautiful melodic music. Ozzy is in full swing, Tony Iommi is masterful. It's wonderful

Up the Sabbath! Incredible album from start to end. An almost perfect Metal album

Classic rock at its finest

I love Black Sabbath

One of the greatest albums ever created

Another perfect Sabbath album.

Black Sabbath with Ozzy didn't make a single bad album. I don't think they even made a single bad song at that time. Classic band, with 4 classic members, playing in a raw way and making classic albums. There is nothing more to say!

Iconic album

Such a great album. I am a big fan of Sabbath and Vol.4 is one of the classsics.

I thought I had quite a good coverage of Black Sabbath, but it seems I had overlooked this album somehow. I had only heard less than half of the tracks, but now I've listened to the whole album I have to say I love it. This is like a primer guide for sludge/ stoner rock in the early 2000s and it's literally quite amazing that it's from 1971. The only weak track is Changes, as I can't help imagining Kelly Osbourne singing it with Ozzy as a duet, and that sucked. It's not a terrible song, but it just doesn't seem to fit here somehow. It's still an easy 5 star album though.

It’s Sabbath. ‘Nuff said.

Arms outstretched, microphone in front, rendered in orange, this rather iconic imagery of Black Sabbath's fourth record in two years belies a rather dark and ominous doom within that would soon influence a younger generation of potential metalheads. All the while, Sabbath themselves would weave back and forth on sounds ranging from pummeling destruction to unexpectedly serene beauty, making use of the changes (ahem) happening with the band's musical trajectories. Vol. 4 is rather fascinating in that, upon listening, it would be very easy to not notice all the signs of disfunction and drug-addled madness that were involved throughout its gestation, even if one of the songs on it is named after such a scenario. But, regardless, Vol. 4 has stood the test of time and it could very well be considered one of, if not the best, Black Sabbath record.

This was a top album in my book.

Loved this album. Brought me back to last angsty days of youth before Wheels On The Bus totally took over. The music still resonates.

Pretty good👍

What a great album. First Black Sabbath album I dug into and it did not disappoint. I should’ve took time to listen to this group sooner in my life.

Great riffs, very heavy in parts and light in others. Supernaut, Snowbilnd, Changes, Laguna Sunrise all fantastic songs.

This was a really cool album. Often listening to albums which are lauded as origins of genres etc. they can be kind of simple but you appreciate it for what it is, a beginning. This, however, I feel could be released today and still be a major achievement. Sludgy, Doomy, blues-metal. Plenty of great riffs from the get-go with "Wheels of Confusion". I hadn't heard any of the tracks except "Changes" which is a great song but it's an odd intermission with its pianodriven melody before going back to heavy metal again. "Supernaut" has really good riff but Snowblind really steals the show. With good, melodious riffs and cool brakes and bridges. Honestly I think it's a very solid album and since I thought that after one listen I will give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a 5 star. Time will tell if I will agree with myself after a few listens.

The heaviest of heavy metal. What an album. Supernaut is the standout. I think my first time hearing the track was the "1000 homo DJ's" version, but the original was so far ahead of it's time. Nothing will ever beat that riff.

This is such a ridiculously good album. tight rhythm, great solos, Snowblind is a beautiful song and all 10 songs on the album are fantastic, except maybe FX but I get what they were trying to do and it's an interesting early take on noise rock

Really enjoyed this. A Black Sabbath album I didn't know and with no big hits, but crucially, all consistently very high quality metal. I did know Changes, which is that hyper-rare thing, a ballad from a metal band which is actually good.

the drum fills on the end of this record automatically give it a 5. bill ward is a beast.

Cocaine… kids that’s a dangerous drug. If you do much you might turn into Black Sabbath. Now back to the review. Great album, I actually forgot how heavy this album is. Downtuned guitars, great riffs but the Riff Lord himself. Ozzy’s singing is great here. And the rhythm section is top notch.

Now, THIS is heavy metal. Sludgy, doom-laden, brutal riffing ... proper primordial stuff. Tony Iommi has probably the heaviest guitar sound ever recorded, and Bill Ward is such a powerhouse drummer. Really, really good. I could live without Changes and FX, though - they don't fuck the album enough for me to drop a star, though.

Excellent album to start the 1001 off. From the bluesy beginning of Wheels of Confusion, through the ballad of Changes, the famous Snowblind to Under the Sun, this is a fantastic album of classic 70s heavy metal, driving riffs, punchy bass and Ozzy in fine form.

This ate!!! Like I have no ability to think and write an actual review right at this moment but it's a 5/5 for me. With what brain power I do have left though, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised, considering that this typically isn't my fav genre. The guitar composition was fantastic because there was always something that the listener could discover within the rich texture. There is purpose behind the instrumentation, and there is a destination. Again, absolutely loved it!!!

10 out of 10 best album

Excellent.

Zajebiste

A superlative coke-fuelled masterpiece, almost everything about this album is just incredible. It builds very well on the previous Black Sabbath albums and adds the instrumentation and timbric diversity that they lacked- especially in the unconventional but gorgeous ‘Changes’ and ‘Laguna Sunrise’. Each instrument blends flawlessly together on every track and create the haunting essence which envelopes the album- ‘Cornucopia’ is a great example of this. The album‘s captivating opening and closing songs tie it all together, ‘Wheels of Confusion’ is an almost psychedelic show of energy and ‘Under the Sun’ is defined by its incredible haunting solos. Overall I think it’s the perfect example of an innovative early-metal album that genuinely sucks you in. And it’s just really fucking cool. Favourite Track: Wheels of Confusion Specific Rating: 4.6/5

Favourite track: Laguna Sunrise and Changes

arcydzieło

I’ve listened to this album several times before and it is one of my favourite Sabbath albums. Every track here except FX is great and the outro to Under The Sun is one of the heaviest riffs I have ever heard.

Svinbra skiva, bättre än Paranoid.

Black Sabbath's first three albums have laid the foundation of metal, but because they are so iconic, it can be hard to see the band behind the legendary songs. Vol. 4 is a bit more laid back, and I had never heard any of its tracks before, so I could tune into the developments in the band's style a bit more. Some tracks lean towards a more lyrical or romantic sound popular at the time, others sound closer to modern slow metal, and a couple are just upbeat rock'n'rollers. Overall, it's fun, and clearly, they had fun making it as well, with all the cocaine and whatnot.

This was soooo good whaat

Cocaine is a hell of a drug. I really like this. This is my third Black Sabbath album for this project. I've enjoyed every one. I particularly enjoy the super fuzz sludge on the guitar here. It's really warm. Is it possible I'm becoming a Black Sabbath fan? More specifically, probably a 1970s Black Sabbath fan?

this... thissssssss. a pretty great example of true classic heavy metal. ozzy is the king of this sort of thing. his voice haunts you in all the right ways. those slick riffs are jawdropping. if this is how metal STARTED, then clearly only things are going to get better from here. all hail the prince of darkness.

Surprisingly great. Accomplished musicianship, simple and effective

I would have said master of reality is more important than this one but it’s still good

A part of the bedrock that heavy metal was carved from. Fantastic.

Wheels of Confusion itself takes you on a journey. I kept having to check whether it was the same song still playing, or if I missed the cut somewhere. Changes was a bit of a stylistic curveball. I had no idea that Black Sabbath originally did that song! Amazing. This is the only song I recognized from the album. Then WTFX. I don’t understand why several albums have included random stuff like this. Maybe in this case it was to cleanse your palate after changes and get you back in the metal mood? Or maybe that was some new super inventive technique? No idea. Laguna sunrise also completely different style. So nice. All in all, a surprisingly diverse album from a band that in my previous mind was one-dimensional. I have heard a lot about Black Sabbath, but never really listened to them. I now understand and appreciate their impact a lot more. If that isn’t worthy of 5 stars, what is?

It may have the least instantly recognizable and most iconic Sabbath songs out of their first few albums, it is arguably the best distillation of what Sabbath was really about: a heavy blues-influenced band that wrote about things the blues didn’t usually write about. Listening to it now, it’s a few licks and different vocals away from being a Chris Stapleton album. Actually I’d like to hear him cover it.

Black Sabbath is a band I know very little about; I know Ozzy Osbourne bit off a bird's head on stage once and also something about guitarist Lommi's missing fingertips inventing heavy metal. I mean they get a rep that very few bands back in the day do and it's not hard to see why when listening to this and their other stuff. Their genre of "hard rock" was more discernable than other hard rock at the time. It wasn't just loud, fast, or noisy like much of the music that would eventually lead to punk rock, but rather more seismic, crushing, and monstrous. They do all this while still sounding of their time and I think that's primarily due to Ozzy's high-pitched shriek-styled vocals which is a style seldom seen with more contemporary metal vocalists. As for this album, I didn't even know it existed. I've heard of their first three but never this guy. The opening track is huge, with an incredible outro blending highspeed guitar riffs with these flourishing synth keys. This is after, of course, a heavy bout of guitar distortion in the first leg. This album oddly switches it up with the song "Changes" which is a gorgeous ballad detailing a breakup. The piano-driven instrumental alongside the backing melotron (I think) has an unsettling and eerie aura to it which is only amplified when considering how out of place this ballad is here. I still love it. Another strange piece is the following ambient and noise interlude "FX". Aside from those two tracks though, most of the other songs are standard Black Sabbath with all their heaviness. I love the opening riff on "Supernaut" with Ozzy singing about a sort of freedom he yearns for in life. I love the solo and the strange percussion and acoustic piece at the end. Cocaine, which the band was doing a lot of at the time, is the topic of the incredible hard-rock track "Snowblind". I like this particular chorus paired with the riff here, there's almost something tragic about it. I love the drumming on this album a lot, especially the switch-up on "Snowblind" and on the entire song of "Cornucopia". The closer is just a non-stop barrage of rhythm and riff switch-ups and is the track where I see the most parallels with modern metal. For as little as I've listened to this band overall, I'll make the uneducated claim that this is one of their more experimental ones. Most, if not all of these songs have little bits that stray from their traditional sound. I love the occasional soft switch-ups here. Dug this album a lot and until my inevitable relistens of their other stuff, I'd call this my favourite Black Sabbath album.

Que album tan perfecto!!!!

Years since I’ve heard this. It’s a classic for a reason

Listened to this twice. Great. Ozzie is amazing and of course the guitar work is also. No weak spots at all. 4.7

Great album

This was great. Thoroughly enjoyed

Amazing stuff, probably my favourite metal album. Very interesting to hear an album from when metal was just starting to take form

One of my favorites 👍🏻

It was pretty good

Good rock

So this is what psychedelic rock really sounds like. Changes is a classic. Every song is amazing. The guitar doesn’t miss in the heavy sounds.

amazing album, i wanna say hearing g perfection, black sabbath have such an amazing style and an amazing voice, would recommend this album to anyone, changes gave e goosebumps too.

Badass

First black Sabbath album. INSANE

Nice - I like it. Straight forward rock - straight forward 5 stars from me!

qUALITY STUFF

Changes a surprise banger liked the rest loved that

My second Black Sabbath album and I enjoyed it even more than the first. There is a wide range of 'genres,' but as my favorite band is Queen, I don't think that's a detriment but a plus in a rock band. Blues, ballads, proto-metal becoming metal, hard rock... I'm going to be coming back to several songs to listen again.

Great album. Can't go wrong with Black Sabbath.

One of the last nearly perfect albums of Black Sabbath released with Ozzy Osbourne as the lead vocalist. There are amazing songs to come after this on the 1973 release of SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH, but each album after that only spawned a couple of songs that would stand the test of time before Ozzy left the band in 1979, On the other hand, the first five albums, BLACK SABBATH (1970), PARANOID (1970), MASTERS OF REALITY, VOL. 4, and SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH would define the metal genre for the easily the next 15 years. If someone said they loved metal but hated early Black Sabbath, it was hard to take them seriously. If you had to introduce someone to Black Sabbath for the first time, I would still give them the debut album BLACK SABBATH first, but the next album after that would definitely be VOL. 4. There is so much here. The bangers are the well known "Tomorrow's Dream", "Snowblind", "Supernaut", but don't forget perhaps the best Black Sabbath ballad ever, "Changes". This ballad would set up the familiar heavy metal ballad structure that would re-emerge endlessly throughout the 1970s and 80s. Even "FX" was trippy as hell when it came out. The 1st track "Wheel of Confusion/The Straightener" and the last 4 tracks "Cornucopia", "Laguna Sunrise", "St. Vitus Dance", and the closer "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes" provides a nice narrative of arc that ends with survival and dare I say a cynical optimism? As an aside, check out one of my favorite covers of a lesser known Black Sabbath song, the Al Jorgensen/Trent Reznor cover of "Supernaut" under the nom de plume of 1000 Homo DJs. Sometimes hard to find, but a fun listen for fans of the Chicago Wax Trax sound of the late 80s-early 90s.

🤘🏼

Kick ass from the opening seconds. More Sabbath, please.

One of the pioneers of modern metal as we know it. This album has so much variety and range that it makes me want to listen again. Black Sabbath is always a treat to listen to.

Yes

I switched this album and Remain in Light catching up whoops. Remain in Light is absolutely amazing and I think it's one of the best albums of the 80's. It's so funky, dark, and at times ambient. The kind of stuff that only 80's coke could produce.

Great sound

Great.

Riffs ótimos Solos criativos Pesado Snowblind melhor música

Sabbath bring the riffs here, and they're heavy as hell. Dual guitars on display in the opener once it kicks off in the last third. Supernaut has a killer main riff and some interesting drumming. Snowblind chugs along with melodic guitars and a mournful solo - top stuff. Cornucopia's intro riff is just evil. There's time to catch your breath with Laguna Sunrise before the guitars bash your head in again. Then the closer is an epic with tempo changes and a beautiful harmony section.

This is prime Sabbath, not the most played album for me, but it’s all so good!!

An absolute phenomenal album of epic proportion. This album debuts the melodic charm of John Michael Osbournes vocals on slower songs such as changes. Tony iommi once again shows us the dark, riff driven guitars from suburban Birmingham. Hard to believe it’s 50 years old and fascinating to see where heavy rock/metal would be without this groundbreaking release. Also it’s said they spent more on cocaine than it cost the album to make. Enter the song - snowblind. Perfection.

another goodie!

Me gustoooo

😍

This album is fucking tight! The production is a little different from their previous albums; in some ways rougher, but it also seems to work better on most of the tracks, especially for Supernaut, Cornucopia, St. Vitus Dance and Under the Sun. So easy to hear this albums influence on tons of modern stoner metal and doom bands. Maybe it's because this album's coming after the Eagles and Aerosmith, but it's getting a 4.5/5.

YES!

There are better ways to describe this album than metal. It is really varied. I enjoyed it

Can’t beat Paranoid but still a great album

It was really groovy and I enjoyed the vibe I got from the different pieces of music. :)

Einfach geil

Those were the years when they could do no wrong. Every record up to 'Sabotage' was one masterpiece after another; similar sounding, but each one unique in its own way. And then they say drugs are bad...

That odd mix between psychedelia, metal and blues that was the beginning of the heavy metal genre. Not my favourite Sabbath album, but it's still really good.

SLUDGE AND FUCKING WEED SMOKE

Black Sabbath Vol 4 -- still sounds fresh today -- 50+ years later. So fresh, so pure, drug-heavy chaos. One of their top albums and one of the best albums of 1972. Five enthusiastic stars!

Listen this hundreds of times.. It's peak Sabbath, this one get's more sludgy and thick. I love it, this one needs to be loud. Changes is about the song I skip, listen to Charles Bradley version instead.

This is an excellent album. I never listened to a Black Sabbath album previously, only heard singles. \"Changes\" was quite unexpected. A really good song. I would definitely recommend this album.

Hail satan!

An absolute masterpiece.

Like it!

Loved this it was epic, and like listening to it as a child!!

Such a good rock n roll album. Happiness is a warm gun type hard rock, heavy instruments I liked it

"Vol. 4" is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was produced by guitarist Tony Iommi with manager Patrick Meehan also credited. It was recorded in LA with speakers famously filled with cocaine and the album liner notes thanking "the great COKE-cola." Besides Iommi who also played piano and mellotron, Black Sabbath members were Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass, mellotron) and Bill Ward (drums). The album hit #13 in the US and #8 in the UK. Long drawn out guitar strings and a heavy bass open "Wheels of Confusion." The drums kick in, Ozzy arrives and yeah, we're in stoner heaven. The song just sludges then picks up the pace and back to the slow groove. A tremendous outro with Iommi's layered guitars. The band and especially Ozzy prove they can do a ballad in "Changes." Ozzy might do a few more of these later on in his career. A piano and Iommi and Butler using a mellotron to sound like an orchestra. It's about Bill Ward's breakup with his girlfriend. "Supernaut" starts with a snare drum and Iommi laying the riff. Geezer comes in and off to space we go. A play on pyschonaut and astronaut? Why not a drum and percussion solo. Iommi's riff is slightly on the higher end in "Snowblind." "Icicles in my brain." Jeez, I wonder what this song is about? More slow, driving music which again picks up the pace and goes back to the sludge. Iommi stars in this one. The band leaves grungeland and dives straight into metal in "Cornucopia." An evil sounding and rockin' song. Don't be deceived by wealth and prosperity. They up the evil and rockin' ante on the closer "Under the Sun." Ozzy calling out false religious people. All members reach their instrumental peaks on this one. I love Geezer's low-end heavy bass. This album is grungy, driving and heavy. The entire grunge and metal scenes were listening and are in debt. This album works at every level it attempts to be, even the ballad and instrumentals. Whatever massive drugs they were taking didn't take away from the cohesiveness and overall achievement as it still sounds great today. A great album.

Five!!!

It’s classic Black Sabbath. I’m not going to be psychotic and give it less than a 5.

Solid!

Great

Classic rock is my favorite genre & I love Ozzy. I used to play Laguna Sunset for my kiddos at bedtime.

Fire. Classic. Black Sabbath had such a great 6 album run.

This morning, on my walk to work, I saw a creature stumble out of the local swamp. It seemed rather dazed, so I decided to check if it was okay. The creature was cloaked in mottled hair and writhing in mud. Occasionally it would yelp and fat riffs would ooze out. I wasn't able to really communicate with it, or understand many of its vocalisations, that is until its voice suddenly sweetened, infiltrated my senses, and tweaked my heartstrings. It was lamenting a lost love, I believe. I gave it a pat on the back which seemed to do the trick. Soon it was giggling again, thrashing its numerous limbs with what I took to be ecstatic delight. I kept it company for a while, before then finding the right moment to depart. I do hope it's okay, the poor sod. I was rather fond of it.

Great. I see how this influenced many genres since the release. Real rockin stuff

Fuckin ripper

God Damn! That is some dirty, crunchy metal. These guys were just pushing it harder than anyone else and Ozzy has most ethereal voice to carry this monolithic ecstasy into another dimension. Truly incredible. Supernaut and under the sun are magnificent.

Pretty lit

Fugg da haters, this album is 5/5

Another strong Black Sabbath album. Surprisingly tender at times, surprisingly experimental at times, all without losing its iconic hard/heavy rock feel.

Supernaut was Frank Zappa's fav track. Snowblind was meant to be the original title but the record label did not want any controversy with naming an album with an obvious reference to drugs.

10/10

Heavy, thick, metal. Sabbath clearly knowing what they're doing and doing it well.

THIS ALBUM FUCKS 100%

loved it

Really good actually, not as cheezy as I expected from ozzy

Album 187 of 1001 Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 Rating : 5 / 5 Favorite Track : Changes Awesome album. They run the gamut here with rock, ballads and in between. Ozzy is on track, great musicianship. Great songs. Good stuff.

Long live Ozzy. Perfection.

genre defining masterpiece

Ultimately shaped the music I love now

A great record. Like the three before it. And some after it as well. Black Sabbath rule

Supernaut is the hardest shit ever

Lush and powerful

This album fcks so hard. I had never heard this one before, but wow it’s awesome. The opener, Supernaut, Cornucopia are all so heavy, the drums and the bass bring so much power and Ozzy’s wail is in its absolute prime. It’s so sludgy, but also has moments where it does a 180 like on Changes and the beautiful Laguna Sunrise. It’s druggy and doomy and evokes a feeling of supreme loneliness.

Very cool

Some meaningful songs inside. Liked it in general!

Turns out I like this. TIL

Gotta love Black Sabbath, they never disappoint

overall rating: 8/10 favourite song: tomorrows dream ( 8.5/10 ) runner up favourite: supernaut ( 8/10 ) least favourite: FX ( 0/10 ) album cover: 5/10 vocals: 8/10 instrumentals: 8/10 would i recommend ? : YES other: i love metal and have listened to a little bit of black sabbath before so i’m sure ill love this. the vocals are awesome , i love older metal voices. i recognised the changes song from big mouth embarrassingly.

Musta sapatti muisti että albumin teko on hienoista taidetta ja pienillä sävyeroilla voidaan säväyttää.. Tartte olla yksinkertaista homma että kansa ymmärtänä..

I really like Black Sabbath. I mean, they aren't great musicians, but they managed to turn their shortcomings into a whole new genre. This is not their best record (that would be Paranoid), but it is pretty damn close. You can hear them desperately trying to be Led Zeppelin, but it turns into their own thing. There are a few classictunes on here (Supernaut, which was one of Frank Zappa's favourite songs, and Changes, later exquisitely covered by Charles Bradley). As a fan of stoner rock and sludge metal, this is one of the seminal texts. FX is really rubbish, but everything else I find fun, rockin' and charming in its own way. 4.5 stars, rounding up because I always enjoy listening to this record.

Excellent. Having never heard ANY of these songs before, I had no idea what I was missing.

Great

I want to reach out and touch the sky I want to touch the sun, but I don't need to fly I'm gonna climb up every mountain of the moon And find the dish that ran away with the spoon I've crossed the oceans, turned every bend I found the plastic at the gold at rainbow's end I've been through magic and through life's reality I've lived a thousand years and it never bothered me Got no religion, don't need no friends Got all I want and I don't need to pretend Don't try to reach me, 'cause I'll tear up your mind I've seen the future and I've left it behind This is basically a perfect album. Even better if you are intimately familiar with the chemicals that helped to create and appreciate this music. 5/5

I ... had no idea what to expect going in. Like, I know who Black Sabbath is. I have family who likes them, and even if I didn't, Iron Man (the film) was my shit back when the MCU was so fresh and new. I have even enjoyed a few of Sabbath's more popular tracks, but I've always considered myself picky about the genres of metal and hard rock. It's so easy to fall into the trappings of sleaze and edge, no subtlety, all roughness and loudness with this kind of music. This album starts off heavy and weighted, but not unpleasant. Not overbearing. And then Changes hit. Holy shit, what an unexpected turn! And I'm all here for that range. I'm sure folks may say that both it and FX didn't flow as well with the rest of the album, but I thought both were quite good - though the latter is unfortunate too short to leave an actual impression. I was worried that between those two (and later on Laguna Sunrise), I would have been disappointed by the lack of variety brought forth, but no, even when they're hitting as hard as a sledgehammer, Black Sabbath delivers on a variety of sounds, while still keeping their core mission statement intact. This was good. Not just good. Phenomenal. I really don't know what it is about this album that clicked so viscerally with me, but it grabbed me and just refused to let go.

hermoso

Excellent album. I will be putting a lot of the songs into my playlist

Great one.

Wheels of confusion/The Straightener is phenomenal. Walking through changes in pace, tone and style, backed by the exceptionally drumming from Bill Ward. The last two minutes, with the repeating 5 note motif and roaring solo from Tony is some of the bands best playing. A key part of Sabbath that is often overlooked is the high level of proficiency in each band member, the opener absolutely allows everyone to shine. Incredible opening to the album. Straight into the thick and heavy Tomorrow's Dream, Ozzy's vocals are quality on this track, pulling off his iconic high-pitch but softening the grating edge that puts many off. All over a simple but brilliant blues riff and progression. From that we get to the legendary Changes. A piano ballad on a heavy metal album? It wasn't supposed to work but it does, it has now become a common part of heavy metal album writing to include a softer tune to remind people that the musicians are more than just loud and fast. Ozzy's vocals are vulnerable and touching, the string section is absolutely smothered in reverb and the piano a simple but lovely progression. A powerful and touching tune that resonates with people to this day, only a ballad this good could bring ballads to heavy metal. As was becoming more common on rock/metal albums by the mid 70's we get a bit of sound effect filler with FX. Normally this would be a ninety second waste of vinyl, but strangely it does a great job of palette cleansing between the wistful Changes, and the riff focused banger of our next track, Supernaut. This track is all Iommi, with guitars upon guitars upon guitars, Tony decided that this song wouldn't have a riff, it would have all of them. Classic Sabbath, nothing to blow your mind, but a tight and well-composed four and a half minute tune. Snowblind is a track that has always fascinated me, something about it is just very distinctive, that I've never been able to put my finger on. It is still built around a simple and solid riff, with your staples of Sabbath, Jazz drumming, Syncopated and melodic bass lines, many big fat solos and Ozzy shouting away. I reckon it is the progressive structure of Snowblind, it's very Jazzy and Progressive in its Head->Solo structure, it creates and unpredictable and attention-grabbing track which mirrors the drug for which it is referencing. Top-tier Sabbath track. Here comes a big Doom Metal riff to the face, I can imagine that Cornucopia got a lot of listen two decades later by the Doom/Stoner icons Electric Wizard. Cornucopia is one of those Sabbath songs with great phrasing and structure, reinventing itself throughout to keep you hooked. Simple lyrcis, huge riff, quintessentially Sabbath. In stark contrast to Cornucopia we go into the soft and breezy acoustic instrumental Laguna Sunrise, a staple of Tony Iommis songwriting to include a quaint English countryside sounding guitar and strings piece, like Fluff on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, or Orchid on Master of Reality. A nice and out-there piece for a heavy metal album, but not particularly interesting musically. Back to riff-rock we get the short but sweet St. Vitus Dance. Decent riff, lyrics and vocals, a perfectly fine but forgettable penultimate track. Finally we get Under The Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes. Built around and solid staccato doom riff and classic Sabbath lyrics resisting religion and 'the man', the track is very much a signal of what we'd be getting on the next album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Bill Ward has some great moments on this track with some short and tasty Tom heavy drum solos. A great send-off for the album that sounds more like three distinct Sabbath tracks smashed together, very much a mirror of the opener. The outro loop and solo are infectious, with tasteful licks borrowed from early Sabbath (definitely a lick from a solo on Warning referenced here). Overall a tight, consistently excellent album with a few iconic Sabbath moments. Like Pink Floyds run of albums from DSoTM to the Wall, any of Sabbaths first five albums could be argued as the greatest, Vol 4 makes a bloody good case for the crown.

Finally a metal album! I'm not a big fan of Changes, and FX is a nothing track, but everything else rocks. After first listen, I think Supernaut is my favorite track.

This rocks.

This is my second Black Sabbath album reviewed on this generator, and I am quite looking forward to it. I immediately recognized the album cover, but am only really familiar with the song Snowblind (which I didn't realize until today is about cocaine). This was also supposed to be the title of this album, but publishers didn't like it because of the link to drugs, so Volume 4 was the next choice (as this is their 4th album). It was with this album that the effects of excessive drug use begin to appear. There are aspects of doom rock, psychadelic rock, and heavy blues rock throughout this album. Some amusing stories from the recording sessions include: Apparently, while they were in the studio recording this record, they would get SPEAKER BOXES FULL OF COCAINE delivered to them. Picture that. How small is the smallest speaker, like 12" x 12" starter amps? That's a lot of blow! Also, apparently during the recording of this record, the band went to the theatre to watch The French Connection, and Ozzy had to leave because he was strung out on coke and thought Gene Hackman was after him. Furthermore, their cocaine was laced with baby laxitives, which probably doesn't do much when you inhale it, however, there was a Doberman that lived at the recording studio. It ate a bunch of cocaine and took the shits. So they just had a coked up dog with the shits roaming around tripping balls. Final story: Bill Ward was worried that he was going to be fired because he was having trouble getting the time changes in the song Cornucopia right, so he is just sitting in a room dabbling on drums high as shit and drunk. He ends up passing out, and the band spray paints his entire body gold, and Bill almost dies. What a wild time to be alive the 70's were. Black Sabbath epitomized the rock and roll mantra: sex, drugs, and Rock and roll! Overall, a phenomenal, and largely slept on album. Supernaut is a fucking epic song. There is no doubt that this album belongs on this list. It helped pave the way for heavy metal bands that came later. My first time listening to this album in its entirety today. I enjoyed it so much, I listened to it twice. I will absolutely listen again! Favourite songs: Supernaut, Snowblind, Changes, St. Vitus Dance, Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener, Tomorrow's Dream Least favourite song: FX 5/5

Sabbath was the first non-Christian band I fell in love with (I was limited to only church-approved bands as a kid). Like REALLY fell in love with. At 13, I bought their first album on CD behind my parents’ back, and I’ve been chasing that high ever since. Of course over the years that love diminished as I learned about other bands and the wide world of music, but I’ll always have a soft spot for my first love. Vol 4 is objectively the most diverse work from the original lineup. And sadly because of that, it’s the one I always listened to the least. But sitting down today and really soaking in Iommi’s CHUNKY riffs along with Ozzy’s mature songwriting on tracks like Changes, I can say my respect for this album has grown immensely. Sabbath rules 🤘 The more you deny it, the more you’re lying to yourself.

Cocaine-fueled madness sharpens Sabbath's metallic edge to razor precision while expanding their unholy dominion, four albums deep with delicate ballads and crushing riffs forged by a band tighter than ever.

With the notable exception of Changes, this is a cracking album,

Hätte jedes andere Ozzy-Era Sabbath Album genommen, aber für Black Sabbath gibts trotzdem grundsätzlich 5/5

An incredible metal album. Check put supernaut.

Already knew it was a 5 when it hit my list. All-around slugger of heavy metal, I also really enjoy Changes and the other slower bits. All power and clocks in under 45 minutes. Near perfect.

Despite the generic title, Vol. 4 delivers highlight after nightlight and remains one of the most overlooked albums in the Black Sabbath discography. Sabbath clings to their trademark heavy riffs and Ozzy’s mesmerizing vocals on classics such as “Wheels Of Confusion”, “Supernaut”, “Under the Sun” and the coke-induced “Snowblind”. Then there’s also the perhaps most beautiful Black Sabbath song ever, “Changes”. Often overlooked but up there with the rest of the early records.

The album the religious types who look like Ned and Maude Flanders would warn you about. Sabbath stretch their leathery wings and start looking at a wider type of musical pallette - they even have a ballad! Luckily though they still keep the riffs coming and that's all we really want isn't it? Best Tracks: Wheel's of Confusion/The Straightener; Supernaut; Snowblind

Phenomenal spin. Changes is a classic, but the one-two punch of Supernaut and Snowblind win. The methodical slowing down step by step on the end of the last track is fuckin brilliant.

A little anecdote found in the "Vol. 4" Wikipedia page: "In the studio, the band regularly had speaker boxes full of cocaine delivered." I can't think of a better metaphor to describe the sound of this early heavy metal masterpiece. In the end, all the drama and substance abuse behind the scenes was worth it. "Supernaut" has not one but *two* of the best guitar riffs of all time, "Changes" is an incredibly effective and surprisingly tender ballad, nicely supported by a tactful mellotron-and-piano arrangement, and the rest is generally excellent, from "Wheels Of Confusion"'s epic finale to closer "Under The Sun". "Tomorrow's Dream" and "Snowblind" (an ode to that white powder the band loved so much, almost giving its name to this fourth album) are also among the best songs Black Sabbath ever wrote. And "Laguna Sunrise" is one of those evocative ambient instrumentals giving interesting dynamics to their LPs, proving once again that there was more than meets the eye in them. The first four Black Sabbath albums will be in my final list ("Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and "Sabotage" won't, but they're still very good records). And, you see, I'm not even a huge metal fan. It's just that sometimes, bands go through a string of three or four subsequent releases that are spotless, leaving an imprint that is as culturally relevant as it is a blast to listen to, even decades after. See also: Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Kraftwerk, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Pavement, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Deftones, Rage Against the Machine, A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai and Low, among others... Early Black Sabbath is *obviously* in that league. The genre you're into never matters as much as the quality of the music. And when what you're doing sets a template for the decades to come, you're one of the greatest, period. 5/5. Number of albums left to review: 576 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 203 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 97 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 126

Cocaine

Mighty sabbath

Man, I'd forgotten how great this album was. It's not necessarily great lyrically or often musically. But they were such a groundbreaking band and listening to them scared my parents. What more could you ask for?

I'd have put Master of Reality on the list over this one, maybe even Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, but its still a great album. It's probably my 4th or 5th favorite from the band but it still deserves a 5. I wouldn't dream of giving Ozzy era Sabbath anything less.

I first heard this album as a fifteen year old, and when the album was 20. 30 years later, the heavily distorted guitar riffs, sliced through with Ozzy’s sharp edged vocals still give me the chills. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding

This is way more eclectic than I was thinking it'd be. Definitely can hear the influences they have on modern metal. Also lots of Zeppelin and Hendrix sounds

idk yet

While it doesn't have the singles of their earlier albums, it is up there as either the best or second best Sabbath album. Coked out of their minds they somehow recorded an album that embraces their darkness, excess, and experimentation while maintaining a consistent lyrical theme throughout. Overall it's just a fantastic listen.

Discazo de lo que comenzó siendo el heavy metal. Instrumentos en ocasiones pesados, melodías guitarreras, voz inconfundible y ritmos vertiginosos.

Flawless

Fuckin classic. 10/10

5 Just listen to it.

I am not a big Black Sabbath fan but they have some really great albums that I keep going back to, this being one of them

Rock and rolllll :D

All hail the forefathers of metal. 🤟

This album needs no listening, a staple from my days at school, university and beyond. This is a fantastic album and is peak Sabbath with the whole band being on top form. Some great heavy tracks like Wheels of Confusion, Snowblind and Tomorrow's Dream through to the delightful ballad that is Changes and instrumental Laguna Sunrise and not forgetting Supernaut that has been rejuvenated through Iron Man.

A really solid album I've never listened to. No major hits, but all really good songs

This is the kind of album I was hoping to find in this book. Love The Straightener and Tomorrow’s Dream. Changes and Laguna Sunrise were quite a surprise. FX was a bit unnecessary but its a funny story. Orchestration is surprisingly good throughout. Guitar keeps going just beyond abilities on Under the Sun. This is a keeper album to me for sure. Absolutely fucking rocks.

Heard individual tracks before, but never listened to the full album - which at 42 years of age is a travesty because this album is the bollocks.

Kinda average, typical Black Sabbath

This is a great album, I love Black Sabbath but have spent more time listening to their first three albums. So, this was a nice album to get today. So many solid songs, and I really like some of the diversity is genre that they're incorporating. I'll definitely listen to this one more from now on. Standout Tracks: Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener, Changes, Supernaut, Snowblind, Laguna Sunrise

The story about the recording of this album is almost as interesting as the album itself. I'm always amazed that bands can put out work like this while in a haze of drugs and booze. There's good range on this one, with "Supernaut" the obvious standout and some nice production turns on "FX" and "Changes".

Unha sonoridade impropia da súa década que se fai tremendamente actual. O ritmo do baixo asulagate cando o escoitas. Sabía que me gustaba Black Sabath pero non tanto.

Great ofc, not the superclassic, but still ;)

Really good album, didn't know this one yet. Familiar sound, but also some surprising elements, making the album very interesting.

Really good album, Black Sabbath pushing heavy in lots of different directions in this album with full on metal ballad. The openers and closer both awesome songs and snowblind is up there with the best cocaine songs of all time. Supernaut is an underrated song.

Dit album kende ik nog niet helemaal. Goed, maar misschien niet echt de positieve uitschieters van andere eerdere albums.

This album rips. Had to check when Slow Ride was released bc the opening riff reminded me of that tune, seems Foghat ripped it off Sabbath. This album was fun, Iommi shreds, Ozzy wails, 5 stars

I'm biased, deal with it. Long live Sabbath!

5/5 Kanntr ich schosch Banger Dicker Ohrwurm von Changes 💦

ALBUM RATING: 4.5 ALBUM GRADE: A TRACK RATINGS: 1. Wheels of Confusion - 4.5 2. Tomorrow’s Dream - 4.5 3. Changes - 4.0 4. FX - 3.0 5. Supernaut - 5.0 6. Snowblind - 5.0* 7. Cornucopia - 4.5 8. Laguna Sunrise - 4.0 9. St. Vitus’ Dance - 4.0 10. Under the Sun - 4.5 *Power track (adds 0.1 to the total album rating)

Mint, really enjoyed it.

Fucking sick. They rock the simple riffs to the shredding solos to the ballads. From a songwriting perspective, Black Sabbath has some really unique bridges and outros.

the first four albums plus Heaven And Hell (which I actually enjoy more since I prefer Dio to Ozzy but that's another topic entirely) are very close to my heart, and Vol .4 especially has some of my favorite Sabbath songs, for example Supernaut and Snowblind

This was my first time listening to a hard rock made in the 70s

It really doesn't get any better than Black Sabbath, really. Listen to this album and put that up against anything Ozzy has done lately and you'll see that the Ozzy of today hasn't lost a single step. I really need to listen to this album a lot more often. I loved the cover of Supernaut that 1000 Homo DJs did ages ago. The original is just as hard hitting.

I love it

Classic. The mighty Sabbath is still the best!

Great sound and catchy tunes.

Perfect album.

curto das antiga pai muito bom

Genius.

Enjoyed 'Supernaut' Didn't realize how slow a lot of Sabbaths songs were. Only really know their bigger hits so this was a good listen. Kinda like a heavy Deep Purple? More rhythm than I was expecting

Classic!

Reading my colleagues review it sounds like the debut is better, well that's exciting because I quite enjoyed this one. I can't pick a favourite track though the whole album just feels so comfortable.

Sempre necessária a sequência de heavy metal.

So good. The songs are really dynamic — they switch tempos (and sometimes even genres) mid-song but Black Sabbath has such incredible chemistry as a band at this point that everything clicks. The music sounds alive! I love the melodic songs too. I always knew Ozzy was a great singer but "Changes" was the song that made me realize he's one of the all-time great rock singers. The instrumental "Laguna Sunrise" is beautiful too. An eclectic album full of amazing performances. The way "Under the Sun" ends, with the band gradually slowing down, I always feel like I should applaud at the end. Great stuff.

I'm honestly blown away. This was amazing! The only Black Sabbath I'd listened to before this was their debut, and I liked this a lot more. Ozzy's singing is really good on this album, I thought he sounded a little like Robert Plant at times. A super great hard rock record that knew when to slow down a little. VERY glad I listened to it!

Classic

Amazing from the beginning until the end.

Just about their best and a high-water mark for the first heavy metal era.

Yew already kno

This one is great. The guitar work on here is excellent, as usual. As ist the rest of the Instrumentation almost every song on here is really good, except for “ changes” which is a bit of a lull. Apart from that it’s an excellent metal album, in my top three sabbath albums. The songs here are somewhat more complicated than the first three albums, following on from sabbath bloody sabbath which took the band in this direction. My favourite songs from this album are the opener and closer, “wheels of confusion” and “under the sun” Arguably the best sabbath album, this is well deserving of 5 stars. Well, time to go on another Sabbath Marathon now...

First time listening to this album, I am familiar with masters of reality and paranoid and this is just as good, really enjoyed this even the dramatic step change with changes and FX in the middle. I have been swaying all day between a 4 and a 5, but after my 3rd listen today I believe this is a 5 star album, it’s such a melodic, dynamic and diverse album one I’m going to keep coming back to.

I am not familiar with BLACK SABBATH or their fourth album BLACK SABBATH, VOL. 4. I never had any interest in listening to BLACK SABBATH. I should mention I did see BLACK SABBATH live with BLUE OYSTER CULT back in 1980 and I was not impressed with BLACK SABBATH, although RONNIE JAMES DIO was the lead singer instead of OZZY OSBORNE. However, I do like RONNIE JAMES DIO, originally from RAINBOW a lot. After listening to BLACK SABBATH, VOL. 4, I don’t know how to explain my ranking of a perfect 100/100, yet the album is not a perfect one that I could listen to a daily basis. There are other albums with less than 100/100, that I certainly could listen to on a daily basis, but not this. On another given day I could rank all the songs a “5” and on another a “1” (although, rather unlikely). The point is all the songs musically sound the same. Yes, the couple of instrumentals are a nice touch. Lyrically they do touch upon different themes/topics, but not varied too far from the rest. So, take this ranking with a grain of salt on this particular day. I would have like to have seen more variation in the songs in order to give a truer test as to the artistry of the band. So I’m not giving the band a “5” for now, until I explore the other albums. In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, LACK SABBATH’s BLACK SABBATH, VOL. 4 Is joined by their first two albums: BLACK SABBATH (1970) AND PARANOID (1970) Rate Artist: BLACK SABBATH (4.0) Rate Album (Year): BLACK SABBATH, VOL. 4 (UK 1972 Original) (5.0) Ranking of BLACK SABBATH - BLACK SABBATH, VOL. 4 songs No. Title Length Ranking 1. "Wheels of Confusion" 8:02 10.0/10 2. "Tomorrow's Dream" 3:12 10.0/10 3. "Changes" 4:45 10.0/10 4. "FX" (instrumental) 1:44 10.0/10 5. "Supernaut" 4:50 10.0/10 6. "Snowblind" 5:33 10.0/10 7. "Cornucopia" 3:55 10.0/10 8. "Laguna Sunrise" (instrumental) 2:56 10.0/10 9. "St. Vitus Dance" 2:30 10.0/10 10. "Under the Sun" 5:53 10.0/10 UK 1972 Original Release 100.0/100 = 1.00 / 2 = 5.00

Plenty of influential if a little dumb riffs and Ozzy's wailing is passionate if a little bit samey by the end of the album. Changes stands out like it shouldn't be on there, but it is welcome. The production was surprisingly slick and rich.

Riffs = thick. Grooves = smooth. Probably my favorite Sabbath album of the three I’ve heard so far.

Increible album, with both memorable songs like Changes that diverge from the usual repertoire of the bands, and even experimental songs like FX. The rest are just plain out bangers.

Excelente disco!

The thing I like most about Black Sabbath is the dark and slow sounds mixed with Ozzy's shrill delivery. That is on full display here!

Osmium is the heaviest metal on planet earth i think it should be renamed OZZYmium.

5 fucking stars

Heat. 😤. Early Sabbath can’t go wrong