July 21, 1971 - Master Of Reality

About a year since the amazing "Paranoid" was released, Black Sabbath released their third album "Master Of Reality" on July 21, 1971. Unlike their first two albums, Black Sabbath were afforded much more time to write this record with no tour dates during recording. This made the band a bit more experimental and as such we hear a slightly different Sabbath on this record. Tony Iommi downtuned his guitar to make it easier to play (he had lost the tips of two of his fingers in an accident at 17) and Geezer Butler did the same with his bass. This gives them a much bigger, heavier feel that no one else at the time was doing. They became much more comfortable with studio effects and also added some new instruments. I'm excited to hear the next evolutionary step by this great band, let's dive in!

Side one kicks off with "Sweet Leaf", a song all about marijuana. One day when Iommi was recording, Ozzy Osbourne brought him a huge joint that caused him to cough. The mic was on at the time and it's this cough that we hear at the beginning of the song. It has a great, catchy guitar riff that carries the song and Ozzy's singing sounds great. They play a different slower riff between the verses that has some cool bass by Butler and after a couple verses they really speed things up with an awesome guitar solo by Iommi with some great bass backing. This song is said to have inspired the stoner rock genre, and it's easy to see why. Track 2 is titled "After Forever" which opens with Iommi playing synthesizer. He quickly goes back to guitar as he and Butler play a cool guitar and bass bit that's used throughout the song. Tony kicks off the first verse with another catchy guitar riff as Ozzy sings quickly. The lyrics ponder the afterlife and have several phrases that are anti-Christian, which of course sparked controversy since many (falsely) believed them to be a Satanic band. My favourite one is "Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope? Do you think he's a fool?" which I'm not surprised that some people weren't happy with, but I understand Butler's frustration. After a couple verses it moves to a heavier riff with some more quick singing by Ozzy and a solid guitar solo. They play the opening sequence in reverse to finish the song, with a verse, the cool.bass and guitar and finally a synth ending. The next song is a 30-second guitar solo by Iommi called "Embryo". It's a pretty cool interlude and leads into the final track on the side, "Children Of The Grave". The awesome riff that carries the song is incredibly simple, but also so effective. Bill Ward plays some excellent drums and percussion during the riff and he is all over the place. Ozzy joins in on vocals and with everyone together it's just such an epic riff. After a couple verses Iommi uses a cool little bit to segue into a slow, building section that sounds heavy. Back to the main riff and a third verse before we hear a really awesome guitar solo by Tony. He is just fantastic! They play another cool bit after the solo, and it seems the might be over when we hear a dark-sounding bass reverb. Ozzy whispers "children of the grave" over this eerie noise and it's a very creepy ending to a great metal song.

Side two opens with a cool short acoustic track titled "Orchid". Bass drones in the background while Iommi plays a pretty good solo. The next song is called "Lord Of This World" and kicks off with a cool heavy riff and some drumming by Ward. In the first verse the guitar and bass synchronize for another catchy riff and Ozzy's singing sounds great. After a couple synchronized verses, the guitar and bass split in a cool new part that includes a cool little bridge, before they get back together for a third verse. We then hear a guitar solo by Tony, but Butler's bass is actually louder in an interesting closing section. Track 7 is "Solitude" and is led by a cool slow bass riff, with some nice guitar as well. Iommi plays flute, showing off his multi-instrumental skills and it sounds quite sad. Ozzy sings sadly to fit the mood of the song and does a pretty good job. Iommi also plays some cool guitar inbetween the sad verses. This experimentation is certainly different for Black Sabbath, but I think it's a cool song. The final song on the record is more typical, titled "Into The Void". It begins with a great riff that is somehow both slow and fast. It sounds really heavy and I'm a big fan. A new catchy guitar riff cues the first verse and both it and the bass are heavily distorted as Ozzy sings quickly over top. They briefly change to a faster riff with some fast drumming by Ward, but return to the epic slow riff for another verse. Iommi plays a slow, but very cool guitar solo and then they close out the song with a faster part and even better solo! A great way to end another great Sabbath album.

That is the end of "Master Of Reality", and I thought it was another fantastic effort by the four-piece. "Children Of The Grave" is my favourite I think, but there are lots of good songs on this album. The question is, how does it compare to their first two albums? They were both phenomenal and so Sabbath have come right out of the gate with 3 exceptional albums. I believe though that "Paranoid" remains their best album and that "Black Sabbath" is also better than their latest work. Once again, this is not a knock on this album, but a testament to how great the other two really are. I can't wait to hear whatever catchy riffs they come up with next time, until then...