MASTER OF REALITY

The accident that severed part of his fingers while working in a factory challenged Tony Iommi's musical future. But the persistent young man solved the problem with a prosthesis that restored, with no little pain, the extension of his injured fingers. And so he played guitar on Black Sabbath's immeasurable early albums: the eponymous debut and "Paranoid", both in 1970.

However, Iommi decided to loosen the tuning three half-tones and use thinner strings to alleviate the discomfort the guitar strumming still caused him. And that, paradoxically, ended up having an impact on the creation of a unique dimension of deep, dark, and absolutely disturbing riffs reflected in the third Black Sabbath album: the fundamental "Master of Reality" (1971).

And the ideal ally to sustain and complement Iommi's forceful guitar barrages on "Master of Reality", was Geezer Butler's bass, working as a perfectly assembled duo on songs ranging from the stoner rock of "Sweet Leaf" (a tribute to marijuana), the atmospheric "After Forever" (a reflection on respect for religious beliefs), the oily and heavy "Lord of this World", to the anti-war, galloping "Children of the Grave" (one of the best tracks in the band's entire discography).

On the other hand, the overloaded and corrosive atmosphere is momentarily oxygenated with the very short "Embryo", the delicate and baroque acoustic progression "Orchid", and with the introspective and narcotic "Solitude" (hello "Planet Caravan"?), where Iommi leaves aside the electric guitar to take charge of piano and flute. Finally, the piercing "Into the Void" resumes hostilities with an incisive critique of the destruction of the planet by human beings themselves, where Ozzy sings with aplomb and without fuss, and a stupendous guitar solo by Iommi crowns the excellent and final track of the album.

The importance of "Master of Reality" is such that, beyond Heavy Metal, other genres such as Doom, Stoner and Space Rock claim its paternity, and many of the alternative bands of the nineties mention it as one of their fundamental references.

4/4.5 stars