Master Of Reality

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Taylor 2006, pg. 199, "Some say that Master of Reality was the first stoner metal album. The album as a whole is more late 1960s Heavy Psych in the vain of May Blitz, Grand Funk Railroad, and Leaf Hound." Not all of this, incidentally, was rendered in La Brea sinks of lugubrious bass blasts — several of the songs had high wailing solos and interesting changes of tempo, and “Paranoid” really moved. If you took the trouble to listen to the album all the way through.

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality (2021, Purple, Vinyl) - Discogs Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality (2021, Purple, Vinyl) - Discogs

Yes, yes - As already pointed out, Sabbath was pioneers, and did undoubtedly forge the metal genre as it is today, so I'll restrain from praising them in that sense. Heh. Moving on, every musician sounds pretty inspired here. The guitar is obviously the most important instrument of this album; Tony Iommi dominates everything here with his amazing riffs really shining. Almost every riff is, indeed, very catchy and heavier than the ones featured on the band's past records. So, we can find here Iommi's riffs in their heaviest form, that's for sure, even though “Volume 4” also has a couple of interesting heavy ones. He doesn't solo as frequently as on “Paranoid” but the solos still play an important role on the majority of the songs. Ozzy Osbourne delivers a competent performance, with his unique voice, even though he isn't, technically speaking, the best singer out there. Master of Reality peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and number eight on the US Billboard 200. [ citation needed] Though negatively received by critics on release, the album is now considered one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. It was certified double platinum after having sold over two million copies. [6] Recording [ edit ] So, ‘Into the Void’ really is the heaviest song ever (I probably say that about three times a week about different songs, but this is always one of them). I actually rather imagine this as a continuation of the lyrical themes of ‘Solitude’ it makes for a rather amusing narrative:The remainder of these pictures are various cover variants for Master of Reality. Several of which are referenced from Hugh Gilmour’s story on cover art above. Where the first album was built mostly upon a non-conventional approach to structure, and the second one mainly played off of technical intrigue, this album is more straight-forward in structure and focuses on heaviness more than anything else. If you play the guitar parts to “Lord of this World” and “Into the Void” through a modern sounding distortion setting, you will have something equally as heavy as what the likes of Pantera and Metallica were doing in the early 90s, although it is far more musical in my view in the case of Sabbath. I love the rhythm of Children Of The Grave,” notes Geezer. “It was unique at the time, a menacing, marching vibe. The downtuning definitely summoned the advent of doom metal and heaviness in general. Too many bands to mention have told me they were inspired by it.” This album had the secondary song titles like the first two albums did (and Volume 4 did after this). However, the ones from Master of Reality were used less often than any of the others. They are “The Elegy” (with After Forever), “Deathmask” (with Into the Void), and “The Haunting” (with Children of the Grave). Bangs, Lester (25 November 1971). "Review Master of Reality". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 25 July 2012 . Retrieved 3 March 2011.

Master of Reality – Black Sabbath Online Master of Reality – Black Sabbath Online

Note that the timing of "Orchid" on revised US pressings is incorrect: it includes the "Step Up" introductory section of "Lord of This World." The timing of "Solitude" on these pressings is also incorrect, as it includes the first half of "Into the Void", whereas the timings of "Deathmask" and "Into the Void" from the original US pressing should have been grouped instead. The contradictory message ("Think for yourself and don't let others dictate your beliefs! By the way, Christ is the only answer.") will aggravate those who pay attention, so I advise just immersing yourself in the riffs and letting them flow over you, because musically speaking the song is still a treat - yet another showcase for Iommi's fuzzy riffs, with the repetitive structure set against Ozzy's chantlike vocals giving the song a hypnotic quality. Orchid is a nice little ditty to open up Side Two which could have used some expansion, but whatever length, it does not prepare anyone for the menacing swagger of Lord of This World. As soon as that riff bursts out of the gate, you know you're in for a wild ride. Unexpectedly, the song slows down and sleazes along effortlessly. Ozzy's vocals are upfront and confrontational, presumably from the point of view of Mr. Skydaddy himself. "You're searching for your mind, don't know where to start" is an epic, put-you-on-the-spot opening lyric, and the song turns even darker; "the soul I took from you was not even missed, yeah!" And then, comes cowbell! Woo hoo! More epic doom riffing; "Lord of this world!!!", return, more cowbell.

Frank "Tony" Iommi (guitars) - On this album Tony starts experimenting with downtuning, with most of the songs performed tuned 1 1/2 steps down (the exceptions, Solitude and After Forever, are tuned down 1 step). This results in extra weight being lent to the riffs, and a heavier sound because of it. Plenty of excellent riffs show up here, in particular Children Of The Grave, After Forever, Sweet Leaf, Lord Of This World and Into The Void. He also shows some dexterity on the acoustic guitar, as seen in Orchid, Embryo and Solitude. An excellent performance here. The following is the 2010 Rhino / Warner Bros vinyl re-release. It shows the original raised “embossed” lettering used for “Master of Reality”. The true original vinyl looks like this (the vinyl in question has not held up well). This verse is about the person feeling empty, but now has something to look forward to thanks to the "sweet leaf". Sweet leaf is slang for marijuana, but the way the lyrics are written makes the reference feel subtle, and is further enhanced with the slow and stoner riffs and Ozzy's energized vocals. When it's not about drugs, however, the lyrics can get spiritual. Take the lyrics to "After Forever" for example, where this verse quotes: Let's not beat around the bush: Into the Void is the heaviest song of all time. Sure, you get louder songs and about more gruesome subject matter, but it doesn't get any better than the closing minute and a half of Iommi riffage. Butler and Ward also jam a little at the end, too! The whole thing is a masterpiece in the pleasure-pain see saw: the guitars are mixed a bit too loudly and panned rigorously in the last sections, but it's the kind of pain that gives its way to ecstasy and repeated listens.

Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality | Releases | Discogs

Embryo” is kind of weird because it seems very unpracticed. It is a clean guitar solo piece written by Tony Iommi, but he messes up and stuff. But it’s only 28 seconds long, so I’ll give him a break. This verse is about being open-minded about a god existing, which the band written to prove that they weren't Satanists. However, the subtlety is what makes this work extremely well, with the questions leading to multiple answers, and suggesting that it can be good or bad should there be a god or not. While the lyrics are simple on paper, their subtle tone enhances the themes, and they would be further executed by the instruments and vocals. Production was once again handled by Roger Bain, and this one sounds a little different. What is immediately apparent is that Tony's guitar is a little crunchier than previously. The other more obvious difference is that the album is heavier and more bass-driven than before, due to Geezer being slightly more prominent in the mix, along with the lower tunings used on the album. Bill's kit sounds as clear as ever, and Ozzy is mixed to the fore. Allmusic Billboard albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011 . Retrieved 28 January 2009. Master of Reality is heavy. Sure, it’s heavier than anything until at least Welcome to Hell but that, again, isn't of great consequence as:However, the album isn't perfect. It includes two small instrumental filler pieces - Embryo and Orchid - which I actually think are pretty decent (I can't think of Children of the Grave without having Embryo as a lead in to it), but others may take issue with. The band repeat the attempt to include a quiet song with the inclusion of Solitude, which unfortunately just isn't very good - it's over five minutes long and really needs to trim three of those minutes, it's a poor attempt at a flute-led melodic love ballad which fails to match up to the efforts of other bands working in the same vein (it reminds me a little of a poor attempt to mimic early Jade Warrior), and the lyrics are the sort of love poetry a self-important 13 year old might compose. Man distraught at the loss of his lover – be it through death or more worldly reasons like his incessant flatulence in the bedroom, for the purposes of this narrative I shall assume the second is the case. Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1971. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022 . Retrieved 2 April 2022. Into The Void - Starting with the slowest and heaviest of riffs (heavily accented by Geezer's bass), it later morphs into a slightly faster section featuring Geezer's bass prominently. This chugs on nicely until about 3 minutes in until a triple-time section drops in to shake things up a little. After this we return to the heavy chug previously established. There's also a nice patented Iommi 'dual guitar' solo in here as well.