Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Vertigo
December 1st, 1973.
Black Sabbath's searing run of form continued with album number five, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'. Still the riff-heavy, groove-laden band that they always were, but a tangible burden is present - the heaviness that weighs on the mind and soul comes through in its sound, as well as its feel. With a mind in the past, and an eye towards the future, it leaves little space to look for today.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is maybe the most layered Sabbath record - guitar-wise, at least. Iommi stacks on the distortion like a thick coat of paint. Embellished with little sprays of minute details, the paint has more to offer than as first thought - there's more to the sky than what you see; look a little deeper in to the abyss and there are stars within stars, ad infinitum. Subtle experiments with electronic instruments come in to the fray - on occasion, synthesizers freshen up the Sabbath sound; something that, more than likely, wasn't expected at all. 'Fluff' puts the more vulnerable side of the band on show - heavy metal, light heart. The peeping head of vulnerability is chopped off as 'Sabbra Cadabra' comes in to view.
A morose sense of evil is at hand across Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - a dark imminence awaits somewhere within the smog of distortion. The devil is being channeled - idle hands were most definitely at hand. The hand of doom pulled the strings. Ozzy's shrieks add a sense of tension and torment that seemed to steer clear of their output up to this point - Hell was being traversed. But, you know what they say? If you're going through Hell, you have to keep moving. You stop, and you're stuck there.
There's a reason that the first six or so Sabbath records are held in such high regard. The quality and consistency - along with each album having a distinct sound - is something that has been sought after ever since. Some blueprints cannot be replicated.
Dreams turn to nightmares.
Heaven turns to Hell.
