Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album shocked the masses upon it’s release, but how does it stack up against 53 years of competition?
On Friday the 13th in February of 1970, Black Sabbath released their debut album Black Sabbath. Regarded by many modern critics as a definitive metal release by the most definitive metal band, one could argue it began the entire genre.
As the story goes, the album was recorded in a single twelve-hour session, with all of it being recorded live. After being disliked by much of the public for its dark sounds, low bass tones, and its macabre lyrics, time has given it classic status. In fact, many cite it as a beginning point for metal music as well as all of music today.
The question then becomes, how has the album sounded with the passing of time?
Furthermore, how truly influential is this album?
The album starts off with what is most likely the most classic song on the album, titled Black Sabbath. Clocking in at a little over 6 minutes, it is only the third shortest track on the album. Featuring a lumbering main guitar riff, it also features the lead singer Ozzy Osbourne singing from the perspective of a man conned by the devil.
The song features Ozzy not promoting the devil, but instead pleading with the listener to be wary of him. Further songs on this album feature much of the same aspects, with hulking and unyielding riffs accompanied by dark lyrics. Another well known track from the group comes in the form of the second song, The Wizard. Featuring much of the same type of riffs as the first song, this one sees Ozzy Osbourne singing in a fantastical style about a wizard.
The album also features two medleys entitled Wasp / Behind the Wall of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B and A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning.
Overall, the album has aged surprisingly well especially for its time, with the production still sounding crisp. Many albums from the time often sound old and dated, with much of the production sounding weak by today’s comparison. However, Black Sabbath still sounds as crisp as it did originally.
Although the album was released more than fifty years ago, it is often cited as an essential piece of music. Groups such as the doom metal band Sleep, to larger-than-life successful bands like Metallica have cited Black Sabbath as an influence. Metallica even performed the songs Hole in the Sky (from Sabbath’s sixth album Sabotage) and Iron Man (from Sabbath’s second album Paranoid) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after inducting the band themselves.
Although many acts such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream have been cited to have added to metal music, Black Sabbath has rightly been called the true progenitors of the music with their genre-bending take on rock.
Another aspect of the album was the pushback to the 1960s idea of “flower power”. Throughout the decade prior, much of the music and culture was dominated by peace and love. This led to much of the prevailing music and its lyrics bearing the load of the time period’s overly positive ideology. With this album, the band took a hammer to that, instead of surrounding the album with a dark and grim haze.
Overall, the debut album from Black Sabbath was largely disdained by critics upon its initial release, but it has swiftly become a defining album not only of the 1970’s, but of all time.