Kicked In The Face - Short. Honest. Unhindered by popular opinion Kickedintheface.com - Metal reviews and opinions

Metal Reviews testimonials Go here to discuss this review

Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
1972 Warner Bros.
Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

Track Listing:
 1. Sweet Leaf
2. After Forever
3. Embryo
4. Children Of The Grave
5. Orchid
6. Lord Of This World
7. Solitude
8. Into The Void

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Ozzy Osbourne
Guitars:  Tony Iommi
Bass:  Geezer Butler
Drums:  Bill Ward

Website:  www.blacksabbath.com

Scoots' Rating:  A
Average Album Rating:  A

Scoots' Review:
Black Sabbath is without question the most important band in the history of heavy metal music, laying the groundwork for much of the genre's stylistic and thematic hallmarks.  It's easy to take for granted nowadays, but they really were trailblazers in the late '60's and early '70's.  Certainly as the '70's rolled on there were other "heavy" bands (Blue Cheer and Deep Purple chief amongst a horde of gifted though largely obscure acts such as Necromandus, Iron Claw, Bang, etc), but none were able to pull together all the disparate elements necessary to basically forge a new musical vocabulary that would still be considered vital 35+ years into the future.  Sabbath were the ultimate antidote to the Flower Power generation's carefree feel-good vibe.

The album at hand, 1971's Master Of Reality, was the band's third, and marked a bit of a turning point for Sabbath.  Clearly a much more mature effort than the relatively simple duo of albums that preceded it.  The consistantly plodding dirges of Paranoid have given way to a more variegated (though no less heavy) approach that they would continue to explore with coming albums, culminating (in my opinion) with the almost progressive Sabotage in '75.  They continue here with their earlier tradition of padding out the full length album cuts with short instrumental pieces ("Embryo" and "Orchid") in order to make the lp seem longer; even still, we are given just 8 tracks total.

To call this one of Sabbath's finest hours is somewhat akin to saying 2005's Tour de France was one of Lance Armstrong's better bike rides.  Their first six albums with Ozzy are all crucial.  "Sweat Leaf" and "Children Of The Grave" might have been chosen for the first greatest hits collection, but I find "After Forever", "Lord Of This World", and "Into The Void" to be stronger tracks and that is maybe the best testament to just how great this album is.  A bona fide classic that every fan of heavy music should have memorized.
Scoots' Rating:  A

Also be sure to read:
 Black Sabbath - Born Again by Horatio
Black Sabbath - Seventh Star by Horatio
Iommi - The 1996 DEP Sessions by Horatio
Nativity In Black:  A Tribute To Black Sabbath by Shev

Discography (last updated 9.9.05):
Evil Woman EP - 1970 
Paranoid EP - 1970 
Black Sabbath - 1970
Paranoid - 1970
Master of Reality - 1971
Tomorrow's Dream EP - 1972 
Black Sabbath Vol. 4 - 1972
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Looking For Today / Sabbra Cadabra EP - 1973 
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath EP - 1973
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath - 1973
Hole in the Sky / Am I Going Insane EP - 1975 
Sabotage - 1975
We Sold Our Soul for Rock N' Roll - 1975
Gypsy EP - 1976
It's Alright EP - 1976 
Children Of The Grave - 1976
Technical Ecstasy - 1976
Greatest Hits - 1977
Hard Road EP - 1978
Never Say Die EP - 1978
Never Say Die - 1978
Die Young EP - 1980
Neon Knights / Children of the Sea (Live) EP - 1980
Live at Last - 1980
Heaven and Hell - 1980
Mob Rules EP - 1981
Turn Up the Night EP - 1981
Mob Rules - 1981
Live Evil - 1982
Born Again - 1983
Hand Of Doom Boxed Set - 1984
Between Heaven And Hell - 1985
No Stranger To Love EP - 1986
Seventh Star - 1986
The Shining EP - 1987
The Eternal Idol - 1987
Blackest Sabbath/Black Sabbath 1970-1987 - 1989
Call Of The Wild EP - 1989
Devil And Daughter EP - 1989 
Headless Cross EP - 1989 
Headless Cross - 1989
Feels Good To Me EP - 1990
Tyr - 1990
Backtrackin' - 1991
The Ozzy Osbourne Years Boxed Set - 1991
Iron Man - 1992
Time Machine EP - 1992 
TV Crimes EP - 1992 
Dehumanizer - 1992
I single - 1992
Iron Man - 1994
Cross Purposes - 1994
Forbidden - 1995
The Sabbath Stones - 1996
The Sabbath Collection - 1996
Under Wheels of Confusion 1970-1987 - 1996
Reunion - 1998
Psycho Man EP - 1998
Black Mass EP - 1999
The Collection - 2000
The Singles - 2000
The Best Of Black Sabbath (Platinum Disc) - 2001
Rock Champions - 2001
The Complete 70's Replica CD Collection 1970-1978 Boxed Set - 2001
The Best of Black Sabbath - 2002
Past Lives - 2002
Symptom of the Universe - 2002
Reincarnation Boxed Set - 2004
Black Box Boxed Set - 2004
Black Sabbath: The Ronnie James Dio Years - 2004