July 28, 1975 - Sabotage

It's been a long 19 months since "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", but on July 28, 1975 Black Sabbath released their sixth album, "Sabotage". Black Sabbath were going through a legal battle with their former manager Patrick Meehan, and all the court dates and legal proceedings took a toll on the album's development, hence the long delay between albums. The title of the album was chosen because Tony Iommi said that's how the band felt, and their anger and frustration can be heard on this record. Black Sabbath wanted to make a less experimental, more rock-driven album after their last two, and this results in some of their heaviest stuff yet, and that's really saying something! Let's check it out!

The album begins with "Hole In The Sky" and Iommi kicks it off with a catchy guitar riff as Ozzy Osbourne's typical yelling vocals sound great. This song is pretty heavy, but it's also really repetitive and doesn't really jump out and steal your attention. Iommi plays a short guitar solo that's pretty good but this song is just a little average for these guys I think. Next is "Don't Start (Too Late)" and this song's title is because Black Sabbath's engineer would frequently tell the band he wasn't quite ready yet, but they had already started playing. Iommi plays some cool, quick acoustic guitar in this short song and it's a stark contrast from the next track, "Symptom Of The Universe". It's carried by a slow, simple guitar riff by Iommi that sounds very heavy! Bill Ward plays some excellent drum fills and he continues to do so throughout the song. Ozzy's high vocals sound great over this low, heavy riff and Ward keeps playing some wicked drums. Iommi switches to a cool new bridge that also sounds pretty good, but then it's back to the heavy main riff. After another chorus and bridge, it's time for the guitar solo and Iommi doesn't disappoint with some fantastic stuff. This segues into a new, much softer riff with Iommi playing some cool acoustic. He plays an acoustic solo overtop this new beat and he is just an amazing guitar player. A very cool song indeed! The side ends with the near 10-minute track "Megalomania". It has a slow, kind of trippy opening with lots of echo effects and Ward and Geezer Butler play a nice, slow rhythm section as Iommi adds some cool guitar overtop. Ozzy's soft singing sounds alright and he does his more typical high voice in the chorus. Ward hits that distinctive cowbell and this beat changes the song to a new part carried by a sweet guitar riff by Iommi. Ozzy really yells in this new part and I think it sounds great! This new riff is much more upbeat than the beginning and it's a nice headbanger. Iommi plays a short guitar solo, but this new part is so good they're back to it quickly. They jam out this part for several minutes, but you don't mind at all as Ozzy's yells, Ward's wonderful drum fills, Butler's groovy bass and of course Iommi's lead guitar keep things interesting the whole way through.

Side two starts off with "The Thrill Of It All" as Iommi opens it with some slow guitar but it quickly becomes more fast-paced, and I think way better. After a nice early solo, Tony changes to the main riff and it sounds pretty cool. Ozzy's vocals are top-notch again as he sings along to the beat. After a couple verses they segue nicely into a new part that has Iommi playing synths as well as his cool guitar riff. He plays another short, but good guitar solo before the band jams out this new part until the end. Iommi delivers a much better solo at the end of the song, BUT THEY CUT HIM OFF. Did it sound like he was done? Or did it sound like this amazing guitarist might have had more great things to play? So angry... but alas the album goes on and next is "Supertzar" which Iommi opens with some cool guitar as there are no lyrics in this song, only the wordless vocals of a guest choir. The choir sings along to the riff and it sounds pretty epic! Iommi spices things up with a new guitar riff and the choir sounds really great mixed with the haunting music of Black Sabbath. While this song is definitely different from your usual Sabbath, I really like it and think they did a wonderful job. Track 7 is called "Am I Going Insane (Radio)" and Iommi plays keyboards on this song that together with Ozzy's vocals sounds kind of like a Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd song! It's pretty laid-back and decidedly not heavy; Sabbath's version of a more radio-friendly song with a simple sing-along chorus. Iommi plays a short solo that's alright but this song is just a little too tame for these guys. Black Sabbath is meant to be led by heavy guitar, not keyboards. It ends with some maniacal laughter that continues into the final song on the album, "The Writ". Butler plays a quiet bass riff to start, then the rest of the band comes in suddenly. Ozzy's high singing sounds good as Iommi and Ward both play some heavy, slow stuff. After a couple slow verses they move nicely into another slow, chugging riff. This part is cool but doesn't last long as Iommi switches to acoustic guitar for a new, lighter part. This is quite the contrast to most of this song, but it somehow doesn't seem out of place. They do a nice job with this slow, kind of sappy part even though it's obviously not the awesome headbanging stuff you'd expect. They play a bit of a heavier riff at the end as the song fades to a stop, but there is a bit of a bonus song at the end. It's very quiet but you can hear Ward singing and playing piano in this very odd 30-second song known as "Blow On A Jug". A weird ending to this otherwise pretty good song.

That is the end of "Sabotage" and I thought Black Sabbath did exactly what they were aiming for with this mostly heavy album. "Symptom Of The Universe" is my favourite off this one and it's a really heavy song. While there was some stuff that wasn't their beat material, none of it was bad by any means as these guys continue to make some of the best music around. But how does it compare to their previous albums? I thought it was better than "Vol.4" and although it's close I think it is just a bit better than their previous effort "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". However, it doesn't come close to reaching "Master Of Reality" and the top 3 so it will have to settle for 4th place. It's gonna be really tough to break into those top 3 albums, but I look forward to hearing them try again next time!