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Sabotage is the final release of Black Sabbath's legendary First Six, and it's also the least celebrated of the bunch, though most die-hard fans would consider it criminally underrated. The band continues further down the proto-prog metal road of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and this time around, the synthesizers feel more organically integrated into the arrangements. What's more, the song structures generally feel less conventional and more challenging. There's one significant exception in the blatant pop tune "Am I Going Insane (Radio)," which rivals "Changes" as the most fan-loathed song of the glory years, thanks to its synth-driven arrangement (there isn't even a guitar riff!) and oft-repeated one-line chorus. But other than that song and the terrific album opener, "Hole in the Sky," the band largely eschews the standard verse-chorus format, sticking to one or two melody lines per riffed section and changing up the feel before things get too repetitive. The prevalence of this writing approach means that Sabotage rivals Vol. 4 as the least accessible record of Sabbath's glory years. However, given time, the compositional logic reveals itself, and most of the record will burn itself into the listener's brain just fine. The faster than usual "Symptom of the Universe" is a stone-cold classic, its sinister main riff sounding like the first seed from which the New Wave of British Heavy Metal would sprout (not to mention an obvious blueprint for Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?"). Like several songs on the record, "Symptom" features unexpected acoustic breaks and softer dynamics, yet never loses its drive or focus, and always feels like Sabbath. Less immediate but still rewarding are "Thrill of It All," with its triumphant final section, and the murky, sullen "Megalomania," which never feels as long as its nearly nine and a half minutes. But more than the compositions, the real revelation on Sabotage is Ozzy Osbourne, who turns in his finest vocal performance as a member of Black Sabbath. Really for the first time, this is the Ozzy we all know, displaying enough range, power, and confidence to foreshadow his hugely successful solo career. He saves the best for last with album closer "The Writ," one of the few Sabbath songs where his vocal lines are more memorable than Tony Iommi's guitar parts; running through several moods over the course of the song's eight minutes, it's one of the best performances of his career, bar none. Unfortunately, after Sabotage, the wheels of confusion came off entirely. Yes, there were technically two more albums, but for the non-obsessive, the story of Osbourne-era Sabbath effectively ends here. ~ Steve Huey
Principally recorded at Morgan Studios, London, England.
Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne (vocals); Tony Iommi (guitar); Geezer Butler (bass); Bill Ward (drums).
Additional personnel: English Chamber Choir (background vocals).
Q (1/01, p.122) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Highly underrated..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.81) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Tony Iommi's idea bank was overflowing and, as the band improved, he became more inventive, pushing the metal envelope with every new song." Uncut (magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'75's SABOTAGE delivers an exhaustive clobbering...achieving a heaviness born of growing studio mastery."
BEST SABBATH EVER!!!! This is the best Sabbath ever! My personal favorite Black Sabbath album. It all comes together here, and then it was kind of downhill after this one. I bought this when it first came out and I'm not tired of it , yet.
Check out Bill's red tights in the cover photo. He forgot his pants, so he borrowed them from his wife. He laughs about it now! He told the story in a recent interview.
Enjoy!!! Submitted by iam.buyingacar (Garden Grove, CA., USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 2 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
Better than Paranoid? Better than 'Paranoid' in my opinion, Sabotage is another good ride using iTunes Visualizer. Viva Los 60's!
sam Submitted by creecys (Havana, Florida) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
perfect song line up, best rock album of all time never heard of an album like this, its perfect and im addicted to it. Submitted by janigalang3 (tarlac city, philippines) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
black sabbaths best i love all the sabbath albums before this but this one doesn't sound like its all covered in mud as ozzy describes the sabbath albums. this album has good production and ozzy can still sing. when i heard the thrill of it all it blew my mind. hole in the sky is a awesome tune,symptoms of the universe is cool. meglomania brings you to a trip back to the flower power of the sixties and goes through an rollercoaster of musical treats. just when you think its mellow it gets heavy and then it goes to another zone that to me only explains what they were probably taking at the time, you know what i mean. the writ is killer. if you don't have this album and your a mixed up person this will definately be something you can communicate with. hope you like my review. cya Submitted by halenroth84 (thunder bay, ontario. canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
A good album not known by many I bought this album back in the 80's when I was in my metal faze. Black Sabbath was the epitome of what one would call "hard rock/heavy metal". The two tracks that stand out to me are "Hole in the Sky" and "Megalomania". Why none of the 80's hair bands did not do a re-make of "Hole" is beyond me. I think it is one of their strongest tracks that is virtually never heard on classic rock radio today. I am so sick of hearing "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" played ad nauseum. A young listener who does not know of the history and breadth of the Sabbath catalog would think that those two songs encompass their career. Long Live Sabbath! Submitted by Shawn Scott (River City, Kansas, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
BEST SABBATH EVER!!!!
Better than Paranoid?
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