[5] Geezer Butler also downtuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. Another key factor of Master of Reality is its lyrical theme and overall mood. cuts, and was an enduring instant classic on release. This was no doubt revolutionary but like most things that have the right to own the distinction as first of the kind, it is eventually surpassed in subsequent generations as all of the tools available to make the original will be available and more advanced later on. Master of Reality is an extremely short but very effective album. "You're searching for your mind, don't know where to start" is an epic, put-you-on-the-spot opening lyric, and the song turns even darker; "the soul I took from you was not even missed, yeah!" The doom/stoner instruments lead to some incredible riffs, the vocals only enhance it with Ozzy's extravagant vocals, and the diverse lyrical themes make the verses subtle and down-to-earth. The third Black Sabbath album saw the band attempt to diversify their sound a little, and so there's a bit less of the pure proto-doom sound of their debut on view here and a few more 70s hard rock cliches (Bill Ward even unleashes a little cowbell on Lord of This World). This song also features nice tomwork from Ward. I recommend this album to all fans of metal, but particularly to fans of Doom, Thrash and Power Metal as it is a pioneering effort that laid the framework for these genres. The songs on this one Sabbath album flow so perfectly in succession that it almost tells a story, all the while being what cannot be described as anything other than the heavy metal soundtrack to the bible . There is such a terrifying shadow-and-light dynamic here. Bassist Geezer Butler provides the rhythm backbone of the band, and on Master of Reality where there is much more of a rhythmic focus his contributions cant be given credit enough. "[8] In an interview with Guitar World in 2001 Butler recalled: "I do remember writing "Sweet Leaf" in the studio. Fully five of the albums six full tracks are unabashed bashers on a whole 'nother level from what has come before, a horror unmatched til the advent of the raw electrics of Vol. On 'Paranoid', he had reduced the blues elements to an extent where the music was more free-flowing, heavy and gritty, but still maintained a healthy dose of the blues evident on songs like "War Pigs", "Hand of Doom" and "Fairies Wear Boots". Amazing, amazing song. There is a weakness to this album, and that is Solitude. Lowlights: Sweet Leaf, Lord Of this World & Into The Void. (Studio Outtake - Intro With Alternative Guitar Tuning) 03:42 (loading lyrics.) And although the alternately sinister and jaunty "Lord of This World" is sung from Satan's point of view, he clearly doesn't think much of his own followers (and neither, by extension, does the band). They come off as a welcome change of pace and add a bit more substance and feeling that this truly amazing record possesses . A heavy metal album from 1971 with music about war, peace, betrayal and annihilation is apropos. Its perhaps the finest Black Sabbath ballad ever and its so perfectly understated and sincere. Whether or not this is a tongue-in-cheek jab at the accusations of Sabbath being Satanists, the preachy approach makes one wonder. Whoever decided that Master of Reality should begin with the sound of Tony Iommi coughing after taking a big hit with a joint is a genius. [11] Subsequent editions corrected the album's title and removed three of the four subtitles (all but "The Elegy"). It includes two small instrumental filler pieces - Embryo and Orchid - which I actually think are pretty decent (I can't think of Children of the Grave without having Embryo as a lead in to it), but others may take issue with. Master of Reality is full of such weird little moments, be it that pig-based-medieval-instrument guitar sound in Embryo or those haunting moans at the end of Children of the Grave. Into The Void - Starting with the slowest and heaviest of riffs (heavily accented by Geezer's bass), it later morphs into a slightly faster section featuring Geezer's bass prominently. Scary how a catalogue can be diminished to so little, more frightening still when it's a catalogue as deep and rewarding as that of Black Sabbath. "Children of the Grave" and "Lord of This World" go for a more epic and upbeat tone, which are further executed with the uplifting guitars and ecstatic drumming. On the other hand, Lord Of This World'' dials in those Hellish lyrics and slower tempos to drive everything home with the doomiest and gloomiest number on the record. The problem is they failed miserably as songwriters. Here Tony Iommi began to experiment with tuning his guitar down three half-steps to C#, producing a sound that was darker, deeper, and sludgier than anything they'd yet committed to record. Just magical. Its true that you either like his voice or you dont, but if you do like his voice, theres absolutely nothing wrong with his performance on this record; he delivers. beautiful and brilliant. Black Sabbath > Master of Reality > 2009, 2CD, Universal Music Japan (Reissue, Remastered, Japan, Mini LP, SHM-CD) . [4] This pain was the result of a factory accident years earlier in which he had the tips of two of his fingers severed. The shortest album of Black Sabbath's glory years, Master of Reality is also their most sonically influential work. Concluding, another great album by the metal gods; a very consistent and original piece, and also one of the heaviest Black Sabbath records ever. Whereas all 7 of the other albums released during Ozzys original tenure had lots of energy, Master Of Reality lacks both energy and experimentation. Musically my only minor complaint with the album has to be Bill Wards drumming. The album is also all the more important and imperative as its the band's first trve metal album, abandoning the blues rock from their debut and the hints of it on Paranoid entirely for something wholly original. Master of Reality gives us great, heavy fucking metal riffs that sound great in standard tuning, or any tuning (go look up a 1992 performance of Into The Void with Tony Martin, standard tuning and still Azbantium splitting). Its dark, its metallic, its grinding, and its Black Sabbath at their finest. After Forever and Children Of the Grave are the albums stronger moments but like all the other numbers, they fall somewhat flat because of two problems. Sure, you get louder songs and about more gruesome subject matter, but it doesn't get any better than the closing minute and a half of Iommi riffage. After this we return to the heavy chug previously established. From the droning grooves of "Sweet Leaf" and "After Forever" to the short, (and from this album on, traditional) acoustic Iommi-guitar leads, "Embryo" and "Orchid". After Forever is the first overtly pro-Christian song by Black Sabbath, though maybe that's not true. Ozzy's vocals are upfront and confrontational, presumably from the point of view of Mr. Skydaddy himself. The Cast (Studio Outtake - Intro With Alternative Guitar Tuning) 03:42 (loading lyrics.) It's impossible not to like this album. I always summarize it as an album that showed an evolution for Iommi and Geezer, but a devolution for Ozzy and Ward. It was dark and devilish..pioneering. The band also seemed to be tighter as a unit with a much more focused vision. Set aside all of the influence, the first aspect, and all that would unravel later on. Being contrary for the sake of it? It isn't just Tony dropping great riffs either, After Forever's primary riff is actually an immense bass line from Geezer, while Tony counterparts with chords (I said the entire time, and these chords Shirley can't be insipid). 2 and not only are there just 2 they are laughably simplistic and not even creative. I can remember exactly where and when I bought Master of Reality it was a summers day in York and I was stuck outside of my Grandmas house as the old dear couldn't hear me knocking, this gave me ample time to dwell on those big, quirky letters on the textured cover and the ethereal, woodland band photography and then when she did open the door she noted Black Sabbath, ugh! certainly remembering the moniker from my fathers spottier days and somewhat of an infliction of her massively Catholic leanings, rather than a somewhat out of place Tom G Warrior impression. Despite whatever protometal relic you can pull out of your ass, nothing was heavier than Master of Reality in 1971. But this is Black Sabbath, emotional variation is one of their many fortes it may a stoned, happy anthem its still a Sabbath anthem. We take a look at Black Sabbath's masterful third album Master of Reality. Black Sabbath acted as one entity but were also comprised of four individuals who each brought something to the table. Adieu, my love, adieu! Perfect albums like Master of Reality have always, and will always contain a permanent documentation as to the exact reason that I have dedicated my entire existence to living, breathing, eating, sleeping, bleeding, worshiping, and yes one day dying for my true love: heavy metal . The perfect closer on the album. "Lord of this World" and its intro "Orchid" are the true standouts on this record. Yet another song that is not fit to be sung by anyone else other than Ozzy. And the riffs fucking hell, the riffs on this album are brilliant, from the groovy grunt of Children of the Grave to the sludge covered monster that is Sweet Leaf to the intricate weaving of Orchid its all great and its all different, and thats another reason why this album is so important in defining the band: the CD exhibits a hugely varied palate of riff styles, from doom, rock, folk, acoustic, psychedelic, to whatever, but theyre all SABBATH riffs, unmistakable in their simplicity and delivery, which is what made them such an important band in bridging the gap between genres at the time. It's also one of the best albums I've ever heard for simple relaxation. This song might be his worst work across his entire Sabbath career. Several seemingly unrelated passages ( la Killing Yourself To Live or The Writ)? The flute work on "Solitude" is probably the only other similar moment on the record that gives us this kind of beautiful relief. Black Sabbath perfected that exact sound except with much more finesse. The tone and themes here are very dark. Frank "Tony" Iommi (guitars) - On this album Tony starts experimenting with downtuning, with most of the songs performed tuned 1 1/2 steps down (the exceptions, Solitude and After Forever, are tuned down 1 step). Bill Ward never makes his entrance, letting this fantastic song remain mellow the whole way through. Im listening to a Black Sabbath album. Butler is a fantastic bass player with a speedy right hand and adds something of a groovy funk to the proceedings. Everybody thinks "Black Sabbath", "N.I.B", yeah yeah darkness reigns etc. Its no secret that Master Of Reality has a reputation for being the one that dropped everything down and executed its rhythms the way we know and love the genre today, even fifty years later. the thrashy segment on Into the Void. That is just incredible. Whatever, you don't question early 70s Tony Iommi, plus he steals the show right back from under Geezer at around 3:25, arguably the finest riff of the whole album! The previous two records amped up a blues influence that made them so heavy but Master of Reality is where an inadvertent incorporation of classic music comes into play when it comes to the mechanics. Sweet Leaf the opening track on this release is something that really gets me pumped up. People love shitting on Changes but at least it sticks to Sabbath's theme of depression and sorrow. Not ones to be boxed into one specific sound, the 4 horsemen of Black Sabbath have succeeded once again in both maintaining the hard edged sound that they are pioneered and not repeated themselves. So, by the end of 1970, he downtuned his guitar a whole step and a half to make it relatively comfortable to play. This is doom! My favorite metal album ever, if you haven't heard it then go listen NOW. There is some very meaningful, powerful stuff here (Children of the Grave warns the consequences of nuclear warfare, for example.) Absolutely recommended to every metalhead out there. midsection where Geezer's rumbling bass makes it presence really felt. "It helped with the sound, too", Butler explained to Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1994. I wish you the best of luck with your dentistry degree and may your kisses be as sweet as your tooth! It's almost as if the same narrator has taken matters into his own hands. I must note that the cavernous, gently reverberated guitar sound coupled with the swooning flute is just magical and a testament to the bands astounding versatility. This song is about Christianity, but it isnt really praising God as much as it is deriding those who dont praise God. Black Sabbath did nothing musically, in regards to metal, on MoR that was different from their previous material. Incredibly innovative not just for it's tunings, but for its ghastly vocals as well as sewing the seeds of thrash. Master of Reality is the pinnacle of that theory. Revised US LP Pressing, With Subtitles Removed, "Black Sabbath's 'Master of Reality': 8 Facts Only Superfans Would Know", "The story behind Black Sabbath's Master Of Reality", "Side 2, original North American pressing", "Black Sabbath Master of Reality | the Documentary", = Black Sabbath - Master of Reality the Documentary https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20198940/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt = Black Sabbath - Master of Reality the Documentary, Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time", "Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins talks about the records that changed his life", "Dutchcharts.nl Black Sabbath Master of Reality", "Offiziellecharts.de Black Sabbath Master of Reality", "Norwegiancharts.com Black Sabbath Master of Reality", "Black Sabbath | Artist | Official Charts", "Canadian album certifications Black Sabbath Master of Reality", "British album certifications Black Sabbath Master of Reality", "American album certifications Black Sabbath Master of Reality", Recording Industry Association of America, Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 19701978, Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 19701978, List of cover versions of Black Sabbath songs, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Master_of_Reality&oldid=1142564173, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Certification Table Entry usages for Canada, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Sweet Leaf" (studio outtake featuring alternative lyrics), "After Forever" (studio outtake instrumental), "Children of the Grave" (studio outtake featuring alternative lyrics), "Children of the Grave" (studio outtake instrumental), "Orchid" (studio outtake with Tony count-in), "Lord of This World" (studio outtake featuring piano & slide guitar), "Solitude" (studio outtake intro with alternative guitar tuning), "Spanish Sid (Early Version of 'Into The Void')" (studio outtake alternative version), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 03:46. On the surface, I wouldnt see this as intentional or even something everyone picks up, but its hit me that way from day one. Many people complain about these tracks as they dont seem to function well being so close together, let alone including 2 short instrumentals in a song that only has 8 songs and runs less than 40 minutes. If Paranoid has more widely known songs, the suffocating and oppressive Master of Reality was the Sabbath record that die-hard metalheads took most closely to heart. This is in no way a put down to those great albums as they all mean just as much to me as any of those six other releases, it's just that one album in particular has always stood out as the undisputed heavy weight champion of the world in an early discography peppered with undisputed heavy weight champ's, and that album is Master of Reality . But more importantly, the dark and heavy sound will smack you harder if you are a fan of rock music from the late 60s and early 70s. The power and the hunger drove Sabbath in those early days. Another killer riff, and in comes another killer vocal performance from Osbourne. from Iommi. Black Sabbath has released so many other albums since then, and while they've since disbanded, that doesn't mean that their work can't live on. Into the Void "Spanish Sid" (Studio Outtake - Alternative Version) . Overall the song is pretty uninteresting, musically and lyrically. This review is dedicated to Rancid Teeth Girl of the QMU. Ozzy emphasizes his words more than in previous releases, and his shouting gives him a raging personality that is fantastic at leading in the listener. Well, and the question is: is Master of Reality a good album? This release has gone two times platinum and that might not seem like much considering some very popular bands go platinum in one year and this is two times platinum over the period of over 40. "[citation needed], Butler, the band's primary lyricist, had a Catholic upbringing,[8] and the song "After Forever" focuses entirely on Christian themes. "Children of the Grave" is one of those rumbly, propulsive forced marches like the "Black Sabbath" fast break, the song certainly one part of the Maiden formula (the other part being the Priest/Wishbone Ash harmony leads), that being the trademark Harris gallop. Bill Ward's drumming on that same track is ridiculously tight. Master of Reality trudges out of the primordial ooze to remind them that they should be afraid. Black Sabbath's Strongest. As usual Geezer is on fire, anchoring the songs with heavy notes, often playing awesome ascending and descending lines (especially in the first two songs), and just generally fitting in flawlessly with whatever Iommi is doing. This doesn't mean that the music was completely stripped off technicality. It is evident that Sabbath were hungry at this stage of the game. Yes, its that great. Orchid is a 90 second instrumental, which I love. In the liner notes to the 1998 live album Reunion, drummer Ward commented that Master of Reality was "an exploratory album". Speaking of vocals, there is one track that stands out for its lyrics-After Forever. On the other hand, Orchid adds horn-like effects to the back of its acoustical mass to invoke the feeling of crashing into a proverbial barge while out at sea. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. I love the introduction of the second guitar playing the notes of the riff come verse two. Sure, to outsiders they are the epitome of doom-and-gloom drugged-up heavy metal and those that idolised them like, say, Electric Wizard stressed this by focusing in on these aspects in a fairly cartoonish manner. Tony Iommis guitar tone was enough to set that distinction. About the only good(?) The slower songs contrast with the heavy songs and the darker songs contrast with the lighter ones. MoR is definately among them, one of the best records ever, without a doubt. The first side alone, you have the epic anti-Vietnam War Pigs, which has some of the best riffs and musical passages known to man - that DUN DUN! Also the excellent Children of the Grave those are the two that make this album essential. "Children of the Grave" is my favourite song off "Master of Reality". Now onto the ultimate metal singer himself, the man, the myth, the legend: Ozzy . For many years people feared the ominous tones of Sabbath, but with Ozzy's recent public castration at the hands of MTV and his wife, sadly, people have forgotten their fear. [8] Iommi recalls "We all played 'Sweet Leaf' while stoned. It's almost like him and Iommi were jamming in a joint womb; their chemistry was and is second to none. It adds virtually nothing to the track's mood or groove beyond Bill saying "Look what I can do!" Take the lyrics to "After Forever" for example, where this verse quotes: For much of the album Iommi showcases a newly developed, sludgier, downtuned guitar sound which seems to have influenced just as many stoner metal guitarists as his work on the band's first two albums set the playbook for doom metal guitar. Ozzy, and his back catalogue, have become accessible. The music has the rumbling quality of the rocket in the song, and Ozzy's echoed vocals sounds like he is far from Earth, about to make the "final suicide".
March 14, 2023