2004 reissue on Sanctuary of their top 30 1970 debut. Originally released on Warner Brothers. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes with faithfully restored artwork, it features all eight original tracks, inc... more »luding'Black Sabbath', 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep', 'N.I.B.', 'Evil Woman' and 'Wicked World'.« less
2004 reissue on Sanctuary of their top 30 1970 debut. Originally released on Warner Brothers. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes with faithfully restored artwork, it features all eight original tracks, including'Black Sabbath', 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep', 'N.I.B.', 'Evil Woman' and 'Wicked World'.
CD Reviews
Get this one(import)
quiveringthigh | the Idiot Left, CA | 05/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First off, the import contains EVIL WOMAN which is worth getting especially if you grew up listening to the US print. Besides that, this cd contains some of the early SAB at the youthful finest. MASTERS OF REALITY and SABOTAGE are prime examples of the "Fathers of Heavy Metal"..."
KORN DIDN'T INVENT ANYTHING!
Damn Damn Damn | 07/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm sick of all these kids who think Nu Metal is "soooo original" and think they know better. "Black Sabath" is the first metal album and it's a lot more diverse than your Korny. Tell me how metal could have been created in 1994 if we already had 1/4 century of metal like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Saxon and many more...?
Now shut up and go slit your wrist!"
In the Beginning...
D. Haralson | Jackson, MS USA | 03/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Quite simply, this is probably the most influential debut release ever. All hard rock and heavy metal that is in existence today, whether the artists performing it know it or not, is indebted to this classic. The question is: how does it hold up today, 36 years later? The answer: better than almost every hard rock or heavy metal album released since.
1. Black Sabbath-5/5. This song is superb. I can only imagine what was going through people's minds the first time they heard this song in 1970. It starts with a thunderstorm and a faint church bell and blasts into one of the most recognizable riffs in history. Slow and doomy, with some of the greatest lyrics ever. Perfect song.
2. The Wizard-5/5. Very cool bluesy song with some great harmonica playing by Ozzy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are superb.
3. Behind the Wall of Sleep-5/5. This one has a hard driving beat from Bill Ward on drums. The music isn't that heavy, but the beat is great and the lyrics are trippy. Great vocals, too.
4. Bassically-4/5. An excellent bass solo by Geezer. Just goes to show just how great of a player he really was back then, and he has only gotten better since.
5. N.I.B.-5/5. My personal favorite Black Sabbath song. The riff is super heavy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are perfect. This song really epitomizes heavy metal. Meant to be played REALLY loud.
6. Evil Woman-4/5. I don't particularly care for this song very much. It's a cover song that, I think, was forced on them by the powers that be in Britain, considering that it was not on the American release. A little wimpy, but they attempt to make their own.
7. Sleeping Village-4/5. A slow and sludgy song that's mostly instrumental. Great music that is played perfectly.
8. Warning-5/5. A bluesy, obscure cover song. The lyrics fit Sabbath perfectly. Instead of covering the song and leaving it at that, they use the opportunity to open the song up a bit and showcase how great the musicians, particularly Tony Iommi, the guitarist, really are. A little long, but never boring.
9. Wicked World-5/5. Another bluesy, but heavy, song. Really heavy riff by Iommi and great vocals by Ozzy. Excellent.
This album holds up perfectly. In fact, it may even be better than it was 36 years ago, because at the time, the only thing to compare to was Deep Purple's "In Rock." This just blows that release out of the water. In sheer heaviness, it can still compare to much of what is being released today. Highly recommeded to any fan of classic rock and modern hard rock or heavy metal."
Black Sabbath
Morton | Colorado | 06/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When Black Sabbath unleashed this monster of a debut they also unleased the monster we all love and know as Heavy Metal! Never before were the guitars this heavy/low tuned and distorted, never before did the bass sound so sludgy. Go ahead try and name a heavy metal band that wasnt influenced by Black Sabbath, thats right you cant!
The album opens up with one of Black Sabbaths best known songs, 'Black Sabbath' this is the darkest, heaviest, and scariest song you have ever heard in your life. "Whats that, oh please God help me!" now that is a lyric! The guitar riff at the end of the song is one of the all time greatest. Next is 'Wizard' which has the harmonica if you can bealive it. Its almost bluesy the bass line is killer and the drumming is over the top. Some of Tony Iommi's best guitar playing can be heard on this song. Listen to this track and try and tell me he is not one of the best players ever! 'WASP' is just kind of a intro into 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' which has an awesome guitar riff and Ozzy's voice sounds almost perfect on this track and the anti-war lyrics are great as well. 'BASSicaly' is vassicaly just a long bass solo by Geezer and its probley the best thing he ever player. I take that back the best thing he ever played was the bass line to 'N.I.B.' after the bass line the drums kick and and Tony enters with another amazing guitar riff as only he could create. 'Whicked World' is my favorite song on the album because it has Bill Wards all time greatest drumming, and Tony Iommi play some of the most amazing guitar of his 30+ year carear. Ozzy almost sounds like Ian Anderson on this one. Next is the Medly 'Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning' Bit of Finger gets its name from the accedent that cut off the tips of Iommis fingers just before the album was recorded. Once again amazing Guitar solos powerful lyrics and Vocals and a rythem section that was never topped.
Even though 'Wicked World' is a bonus track on this I like this imported version of the album better because the song layout lets you skip around if you want to even though you wount want to because every song is a classic.
Black Sabbath is Black Sabbaths all time best album, yes even better then Paraoid. Do yourself a favor and get this legendary album!"