Review Summary: Black Sabbath's most intricate, and artistic achievement yet!
This is it right here, the band's peak during the Ozzy era. This album is honestly what I believe to be their peak, most Sabbath fans will tell you any of the first six are a valid option, but I see this one get looked past sometimes. This album is where Sabbath got their most creative and experimental in the studio while still remaining true to their sound as a metal band.
So many songs on here are incredible such as the Geezer-penned "Spiral Architect" which has genius lyricism on par with the greats, hell, it even reads like a genuinely deep poem outside of the music, functioning strongly as its own work of art. With its orchestral sound combined with metal alongside bagpipes, its a fantastic artistic composition, incredibly innovative and unique. "Looking For Today" has amazing flute playing by Tony Iommi alongside a pretty special structure, being about the music business and how most acts really only get one small era of fame before becoming obsolete due to the constantly changing times and styles. The distinctive structure, the flute breaks, the swirling stormy riff, and catchy handclaps work together really well with Ozzy's soulful vocals.
Those two are my picks for the best. Still, every other track packs a punch too, like the one-two punch of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" which is a song about writers' block and feeling like you've run out of things to say and lost relevancy, with one of the heaviest riffs in music that still has soul, even revered players like Slash say that and "A National Acrobat" both some of the best riffs Iommi's ever done and Bill Ward's jazzy drumming is reaching maximum levels of amazingness here, even if the verse structure on "A National Acrobat" is the exact same as the title track. However, the lyrics separate it, being about the mysteries and wonders of DNA and of life itself.
"Fluff" is a legendary instrumental that owes a nod to classical music with great keyboard and guitar work. That being said, it is unfairly overlooked due to it being sandwiched in between so many iconic songs while "Killing Yourself To Live" is one of the most relatable songs the band has ever released and one of their heaviest tracks to date, influencing so many metal and rock artists from Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who cites it as his favorite the band has ever done, to Brent Hinds of Mastodon. "Sabbra Cadabra" even features Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman who brings the song to a whole new level, with insanely good use of creative ways of making a song and painting a landscape of sonic goodness with its progressive rock-esque sound and Ozzy's vocal performance on that is easily one of his best.
The only downside is "Who Are You?" and all I can say about that is PLEASE NEVER EVER let Ozzy near a synthesizer again, because he made quite possibly the worst song of the band's first six albums. But the way I view it is that it's a speck of dust on an otherwise perfect album that is full of delightful, legendary cuts nonstop from one track to the next.
This is easily one of the greatest albums of all time, and hails as the one true best album of all Heavy Metal. This is the peak of the genre, this is the peak of the band, it is a must listen for all fans of music and a guaranteed enjoyable time. The most interesting part of all this aside from the album itself is that Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath had a legendary jam session that was recorded during the production of this album but was lost, which sucks because can you imagine the sheer power of these rock icons together in one studio?
Track By Track:
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: ★★★★★
2. A National Acrobat: ★★★★★
3. Fluff: ★★★★
4. Sabbra Cadabra: ★★★★★
5. Killing Yourself To Live: ★★★★★
6. Who Are You?: 💣
7. Looking For Today: ★★★★★
8. Spiral Architect: ★★★★★
