September 25, 1972 - Vol. 4
A year after "Master Of Reality", Black Sabbath released their fourth album, "Vol. 4" on September 25, 1972. This album saw all the band members move into heavier drug use, as they all recall having speaker boxes of cocaine dropped off at the studio. This is also their first album without Rodger Bain, who produced their first three amazing albums. The band would produce this one themselves, and it was apparently quite the process. Tony Iommi taught himself piano during the sessions though (which is crazy!) and he also plays the Mellotron on this album. Iommi just keeps adding new instruments to his repertoire, so let's see where this new Sabbath leads!
Side one starts with the 8-minute "Wheels Of Confusion" which is carried by a typical slow, heavy. Ozzy Osbourne's singing is pretty good and there's great drumming by Bill Ward throughout the song. A new faster bass riff by Geezer Butler backs some trippy guitar and after another verse, a new part starts led by Iommi. He plays a pretty good guitar solo to close out the song, but for the first 6 minutes of the song there isn't a lot happening. The next song is another heavy one called "Tomorrow's Dream". A catchy guitar riff kicks it off, and we hear Ozzy's typical high singing. Iommi plays an awesome heavy lick throughout the song, as well as a short solo in this cool song. Track 3 is very far from what you think of when you think Black Sabbath, the piano ballad "Changes". Iommi plays a great little piano riff that sounds really nice, and it carries the song. Ozzy's vocals sound very sappy but he does sappy pretty well, despite this very much not being his or Sabbath's thing. Iommi plays Mellotron as well which adds to the sad atmosphere. It sounds very nice, it's a little long though, I feel it would have been better at around 3 minutes instead of almost 5. The next song "FX"
is an experimental song, and the idea was sparked when Iommi's guitar strings were hit accidentally with his cross necklace. They liked the odd sound it made and made a song where they hit the strings with it and other things. It's a very odd little song, but it does sound a little psychedelic. The final song on side one is called "Supernaut" and a fantastic riff opens the song! It sounds so catchy and heavy. Ozzy's yells sound great with the distorted guitars in this rockin' song. Iommi plays a solo overtop of the catchy riff and it sounds pretty amazing! What a great riff, it goes for the whole song, and it never gets old!
is an experimental song, and the idea was sparked when Iommi's guitar strings were hit accidentally with his cross necklace. They liked the odd sound it made and made a song where they hit the strings with it and other things. It's a very odd little song, but it does sound a little psychedelic. The final song on side one is called "Supernaut" and a fantastic riff opens the song! It sounds so catchy and heavy. Ozzy's yells sound great with the distorted guitars in this rockin' song. Iommi plays a solo overtop of the catchy riff and it sounds pretty amazing! What a great riff, it goes for the whole song, and it never gets old!
Side two starts with "Snowblind", which is originally what the band wanted to call the album. It would have made sense, but the record label didn't want such an obvious cocaine reference for the title.
A slow catchy guitar riff carries the song as Ozzy sings about being all coked up. Iommi plays a decent slow solo, they briefly speed it up, then back to the catchy riff. The song ends with a much better guitar solo and once again I think they cut it off too early on this one. The next song is called "Cornucopia" and has a heavily distorted riff the leads the song. A new lighter riff takes it into a new direction, and there's a catchy upbeat part. They slow it down again for the finish in another classic heavy song. The next track is a thing but heavy with the instrumental "Laguna Sunrise".
Iommi plays a backing acoustic riff and lead acoustic that sounds pretty good. Mellotron makes beautiful strings as it's all Tony on this cool little interlude. Track 9 is the shortest song on the album, "St. Vitus Dance".
Still, it has another catchy guitar riff, and let's just stop and appreciate how many catchy riffs Iommi can come up with, it's really quite remarkable! A solid heavy riff carries the verse and this is certainly a good little song, a little Zeppelin-esque even. The final song the record is "Under The Sun" and a heavy slow riff starts it off, it's quite the breakdown! Iommin speeds it up for the verse and Ozzy sounds like his typical Ozzy self. We hear a nice little lick by Iommi, as well as a couple awesome drum fills by Ward in a new fast part with a great guitar solo! They go back to the starting riff briefly, then a new part with another solid guitar solo that closes out the record. Another great Sabbath album!
That is the end of "Vol. 4" and all in all I thought it was a pretty good album. There are catchy riffs galore and even a couple departures from the typical Black Sabbath sound. But how does it compare to their previous albums? The straightforward answer is, not well. While this is not a bad album by any means, when you compare it to even just their previous work "Master Of Reality", I think it pales in comparison. The songs on "Vol. 4" are good songs (perhaps except the odd "FX") but their earlier albums are exploding at the seams with awesomeness and this one just doesn't seem to reach that level. Don't get me wrong, this album is still heavy and better than a lot of other stuff that was being made at the time, it just doesn't live up to the lofty standards of their first three albums. See you in about "two weeks" for my next release!
A slow catchy guitar riff carries the song as Ozzy sings about being all coked up. Iommi plays a decent slow solo, they briefly speed it up, then back to the catchy riff. The song ends with a much better guitar solo and once again I think they cut it off too early on this one. The next song is called "Cornucopia" and has a heavily distorted riff the leads the song. A new lighter riff takes it into a new direction, and there's a catchy upbeat part. They slow it down again for the finish in another classic heavy song. The next track is a thing but heavy with the instrumental "Laguna Sunrise".
Iommi plays a backing acoustic riff and lead acoustic that sounds pretty good. Mellotron makes beautiful strings as it's all Tony on this cool little interlude. Track 9 is the shortest song on the album, "St. Vitus Dance".
Still, it has another catchy guitar riff, and let's just stop and appreciate how many catchy riffs Iommi can come up with, it's really quite remarkable! A solid heavy riff carries the verse and this is certainly a good little song, a little Zeppelin-esque even. The final song the record is "Under The Sun" and a heavy slow riff starts it off, it's quite the breakdown! Iommin speeds it up for the verse and Ozzy sounds like his typical Ozzy self. We hear a nice little lick by Iommi, as well as a couple awesome drum fills by Ward in a new fast part with a great guitar solo! They go back to the starting riff briefly, then a new part with another solid guitar solo that closes out the record. Another great Sabbath album!
That is the end of "Vol. 4" and all in all I thought it was a pretty good album. There are catchy riffs galore and even a couple departures from the typical Black Sabbath sound. But how does it compare to their previous albums? The straightforward answer is, not well. While this is not a bad album by any means, when you compare it to even just their previous work "Master Of Reality", I think it pales in comparison. The songs on "Vol. 4" are good songs (perhaps except the odd "FX") but their earlier albums are exploding at the seams with awesomeness and this one just doesn't seem to reach that level. Don't get me wrong, this album is still heavy and better than a lot of other stuff that was being made at the time, it just doesn't live up to the lofty standards of their first three albums. See you in about "two weeks" for my next release!
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