234. Black Sabbath, "Master of Reality"

 


Through no fault of Black Sabbath's and for reasons too mundane to detail here, I only got like four hours of sleep last night, perfect for this drony slab of sludge metal.  (It's kind of an amazing coincidence it comes right after that Metallica album, which is its direct descendant.)  Appropriately enough, this record kicks off with "Sweet Leaf," a plodding ode to marijuana that seems absolutely quaint now that you can buy THC drops in a brushed wood boutique and your general bud off the street is like 20 times more potent than anything Ozzy dreamed of in 1971.  

Look, I listened to this with an open mind and all but let me just say that it struck me as more of a vehicle for influence than an actual album I would sit down and enjoy.  I mean, there are entire genres - not just bands - that copped their sound from this album.  That being said, it's kinda boring and Ozzy's lyrics are... well, Ozzy was never known as a great lyricist.  

There are some highlights!  I liked "Children of the Grave," one of the few songs that gets above like 30 bpm.  It's got that prototypical metal chunka chunka sound and a surprising anti-war message.  (The point is the children will be in the grave if we do't change.  Also Bill Ward's drumming on this one is an absolute monster.

I wonder how many kids' first exposure to Ozzy was the doddering old dad on the reality show, shuffling around in the background and occasionally providing a laugh line.  Hard to  believe, seeing that show, that people - well, parents - were genuinely afraid of him and this band back in the day.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Probably?

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