Review Summary: Sabbath's looking through a Hole in the Sky... and a growing hole in their consistency.
"We could've continued and gone on and on, getting more technical, using orchestras and everything else which we didn't particularly want to. We took a look at ourselves, and we wanted to do a rock album - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath wasn't a rock album, really."
~ Tony Iommi
While I would perhaps partly argue against that last opinion of the Black Sabbath Grandmaster himself, as
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath definitely contained its share of traditional heavy Sabbath moments, he makes a true point. Perhaps, if the band had continued the orchestral/progressive influences found on their fifth album, things would have gotten out of hand. Naturally, Iommi wanted to stay trueer to his roots, and as a result, sixth effort
Sabotage was to be a more straightforward record. What it not was, however, was a return to the sludgy, doom sound of the band’s earlier days. Rather, the group's new album took a more natural, rocking approach.
Opener
Hole of the Sky is, from its very first seconds, immediate proof of this, the pumping riff that drives the track being more straightforward than most of the band’s before that. Otherwise driven by Osbourne’s very catchy performance, with a chorus that’ll stick the first time you’ll hear it, it’s predictably structured and runs at only four minutes. Don’t take these as negative remarks though; in all ways, it is another sign that Sabbath can pull something different off in an excellent manner.
And with some other tracks, they even more further away from their original sound. The last two thirds of the nine-minute
Megalomania (which takes its time to build up) and the entirety of
Thrill of it All are typical, bluesy,
hard rock riffs. That’s right. Black Sabbath, granddaddies of heavy metal, abandon their sound for hard rock. Not all fans might like it, but on the bright side, it’s (once again) great to see the band keep trying new things. Worry not though, for
Symptom of the Universe and
The Writ are nothing like the abovementioned. Both contain their fair share of traditional,
heavy Sabbath riffs, and borrow more from previous effort
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which also means Osbourne performs in a more scream-esque manner, something which worked well for him at the time.
But even if accepting the new style and everything that comes along with it,
Sabotage still has three tracks that just don’t work. The 0:49
Don’t Start (Too Late) cuts off
Hole in the Sky at the point you’re still tapping your foot and banging your head to it, something that takes a lot of getting used to. It is, once again, an
Orchid/Embryo/Fluff/you know the drill acoustic/medieval-esque instrumental, that doesn’t really do a lot here, except, well, abruptly ending the pleasurable
Hole in the Sky listening experience.
Am I Going Insane (Radio) and
Supertzar are even stranger. The former is closer to synth-pop than it is to hard rock or heavy metal, and the latter consists of some repetitive guitar playing, and a full choir performance, which is the primary focus of the track. If the track has any point at all, that is.
If not for these moments,
Sabotage is yet another excellent Osbourne-era Sabbath album, and the last great one. The minor inconsistencies were already a sign, for the boys were truly going in a downward spiral for the remainder of the 70’s, starting with this release. Overall, it is the least rewarding of the six consecutive releases, but it still has its moments. If somewhere the creative brain of classic Sabbath was beginning to fade, it was here.
Sabotage’s Black Sabbath was:
- Frank Anthony ‘Tony’ Iommi ~ Lead Guitar
- John Michael ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne ~ Vocals
- Terrence Michael Joseph ‘Geezer’ Butler ~ Bass Guitar
- William Thomas ‘Bill’ Ward ~ Drums
Also performing:
- Gerald ‘Jezz’ Woodruffe ~ Keyboards
- Will Malone ~ English Chamber Choir Arrangements
Sabbath classics:
Hole in the Sky
Symptom of the Universe
Megalomania
TO BE CONTINUED…
