Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath (1970)

There are two main goals for this blog. The first is to explore new and unique forms of metal. This is important because in order to grow as individuals, one must try new things. Music is no different. It's easy to become stuck in a rut, and make outlandish claims that music today sucks. That is simply lazy. With the advent of the internet, and tools like YouTube, new music is much more accessible. Hopefully, I can introduce new music to others while opening new horizons to myself as well.

The second goal of this blog is to pay respects to the great metal artists of the past by revisiting some of their classic (and maybe not-so-classic) albums. My first several blogs will do just that. Therefore, I feel that it is appropriate that the first blog will cover Black Sabbath's 1970 self-titled debut album. It blows my mind that this album is 42 years old, and quite frankly, after giving it another listen, it holds up better than ever.

The album was recorded in 1969, and according to Ozzy Osbourne, was made for roughly twenty dollars. The album would go on to chart at number 23 on the Billboard 200, and sell well over a million copies. Despite the widespread success of the album, it was panned by the critics of the time as being derivative of Cream. Even though the critics were not on board with Sabbath, fans sure were receptive to the new, dark sound that would become known as heavy metal. The rest is history as is often said.

The album itself, while tame by today's standards, was quite dark and sinister back in the early 1970s. The album begins with the classic song Black Sabbath. The song was based on a dream by bassist Geezer Butler, where he woke up from a dream after reading a book on witchcraft and saw a dark figure near his bed, he reached for the book, and the figure disappeared. This experience was transformed into one of Sabbath's most important songs. In addition, you get great songs like N. I. B., The Wizard, Beyond the Walls of Sleep, and Evil Woman. For your viewing pleasure, I have included two wonderful videos of Black Sabbath and N. I. B.

As always, thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin