SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH

Undoubtably one of the best Black Sabbath albums ever, and it even has a place in my favourite albums of all time. My favourite thing about it; how different it is from the rest. The synthesizers take some control in songs, while the guitar still has heavy riffage; makes for an interesting sound. The songs all have something worth while about them, which makes it a personal favourite.

1.Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - The heaviest of the tracks, a pure heavy metal mixed with symphonic rock and tempo changes. This is one of the most complex cuts, as the switch from heavy riffing and soft acoustic rock is astonishing, and makes for some excellent variety to the track. Ozzy's vocals are great and have an added shriek, which, in all honesty, isn't the greatest thing, but he sounds more mature. Great instrumentation as usual, but with a much more proffesional type of feeling. A metal classic. (10/10)

2.A National Acrobat - Another pure rocker, with some excellent tempo changes and incredibly demonic lyrics from our amazing bassist lyricist Geezer Butler. The stomping riff can trip anyone out in an instant, but that's not the point. The point is that the longer the cut goes, the harder and more complex it gets. Bill Ward keeps up with the great time changes and is easily one of the best performers for this song. (10/10)

3.Fluff - Not the best track, but a very cloudy and dream - like track. Pure acoustic guitar on acoustic guitar, Iommi plays well and shows that his contributions to the band are indeed larger than life at times, as the scale of this track is rather big. A track that you really can't forget for it's trance quality. (9/10)

4.Sabbra Cadabra - The most progressive and one of the best tracks on the album. Stomping rhythm section, heavy guitar riff that is so excellently played, you won't even believe it's Iommi. The track has a truely symphonic feel, while still having a Sabbath sound with the heavy vocals and the almighty riff, but is progressive in the fact that yesman Rick Wakeman plays some amazing synthesizer and keyboards, which really make the song unique from the rest. An masterpiece of music, I would suggest. (10/10)

5.Killing Yourself to Live - A much more bluesy number than the rest, it's quality is lacking in that the performance is lazy. The lyrics are about a more or so depressed man who contemplates suicide, but it's much more than that. Our friends at Sabbath play with the convincing quality. Ozzy's singing is top-notch, and easily out-performs the instrumentation on this track, as he sings some great lines. (9/10)

6.Who Are You? - A personal favourite, I don't get why it's so underrated. Repetative and trance - like in nature, the synth riff is one of my favourites, played by Iommi, was acutally created by Osbourne. The fuzz bass really adds an apocolyptic feel, as Osbourne lazily sings about the death of man - kind in a more proffesional fashion. Symphonic synth riffs at their best. (9.5/10)

7.Looking For Today - An extremely grooving track, the riff dominates the cut. Great vocal melodies make the song complete, but it's the rhythm section that sets the beat for things to come. The changes are so sudden and is much like the title track, though it is augmented by subtle flute playing, really adds an electric feel that stimulates the band through this excellent track. (9.5/10)

8.Spiral Architect - A great closer, starts with possibly the best playing of the acoustic guitar that I have heard from Iommi. He plays with a subtle passion that makes the song really complete, and the rest of the band is great too. After the intro, Butler and Ward play their hearts out and completely make the track something to behold. Ozzy's vocals are great, surrounded by the happy but gloomy instruments, makes everything sound different. Lyrics are great and bring even better connection. (9.5/10)

This album is a true classics, with no bad tracks to think of. With it's devilish album cover, it remains one of my favourites in the Sabbath catalog. I have to give this album a 5 stars for being a sophisticated and heavy breakthrough to wider and more progressive audiences around the world. A needed part of anyones collection.