MASTER OF REALITY

Much more mature than their predecessors, and a more polished production. This probably went against them in terms of fan acclaim. The cover did not help either, especially when Vinyl sleeves were important in terms of the overall package.IMHO this was Black Sabbath evolving into a more slick outfit. Musically more composed and conceptually more focussed. The album opens with the hypnotic ' Sweet leaf', a testimonial to cannabis saliva, does not hold up for the whole song but nevertheless a great opener setting the tone to anti establishment missives and freedom of experimentation.' After Forever' is another great solid track and then the beautiful short instrumentals creep in like ' Embryo' and ' Orchid' so simply delivered but a fine balance to the general wretched message but also great guitar work from Iommi.

The second part of Master Of Reality is for me the strongest with ' Lord Of This World' and ' Solitude' total opposites to one another sharing some spine tingling goose bump moments. The latter probably the finest mellow song BS ever produced.The album closes with ' Into The Void' which hinted at even better days ahead but notwithstanding the enjoyment this album provided. Excellent material and a solid four stars.