VOLUME FOUR

VOLUME FOUR is not that classic of a Black Sabbath album, let alone a rock album and especially a rock album with some connections to prog. There was a prog mystique Black Sabbath carried on PARANOID that is mysteriously missing here and is mysteriously retained on the next album. Only ''World of Confusion'' and ''Under the Sun'' carry that mystique here. Both are simply teases for me to try to pop in the album again.

Everything else is either unnecessary fluff or standard hard rock. ''Snowblind'', ''St. Vitus Dance'' and ''Supernaut'' are decent hard rock songs, but nothing special considering that the production on ''St. Vitus Dance'' is horrible. ''Laguna Sunrise'' is an okay but nonimportant acoustic guitar thing. ''FX'' and ''Changes'' are weak tracks that put question marks over my head; I assume Black Sabbath was trying to vary their sound, but these two things are too weak for me to enjoy. The other two songs not aforementioned aren't worthy of further explanation.

This is a strictly non-essential album worthy of only a few tracks for the eager Sabbath fanatic. Prog fans should stick with the fifth and sixth studio albums for more satisfying results.