Review Summary: The Shape of m/ to Come
There are often many debates as to who was the first metal band. The genre has in roots in 60s psychedelia and blues rock with bands like Blue Cheer, but it was Black Sabbath who actually defined the genre into a distinct style and separated it from hard rock. Sabbath's debut is no doubt in my mind the first metal album. The lyrics were very dark for their time, and so was the general sound of the album. This is most apparent from the opening riff of the title track, which is arguably the most influential riff ever written. It made use of the tritone which many believe to have Satanic connotations.
From the opening sounds of rain and thunder, you can tell this is going to be one hell of an album. The main riff comes crashing in after the third strike of a bell and the song is, for the most part an apocalyptic proto-doom masterpiece, until it picks up towards the end becoming more and more foreboding with some of Ozzy's best vocals, and an awesome solo by Tony to close it out.
Although this was the first true metal album, there are still traces of the blues rock sound that the band started with. The Wizard being a blues metal hybrid featuring a heavy as *** riff and Ozzy on the harmonica. N.I.B., has a great bass intro by Geezer and some of the best riffing on the album halfway through the song. Most of the riffing on this album, with the obvious exception of the title track, are blues riffs played with a metallic sound.
The rhythm section on this album is often overlooked with Geezer and Bill both getting a chance to shine. Bill's best playing comes on The Wizard, while Geezer as mentioned before, plays a great distorted bass solo at the start of N.I.B., and his playing is also very prominent on the first part of Warning.
Every song features a dark atmosphere that Sabbath would never recreate again. Sleeping Village is a prime example with its eerie acoustic playing and Ozzy's mysterious vocals. It then descends into a heavy blues jam session reminiscent of Cream.
The last track, Warning contains some great improvisation from Tony and even has some psychedelic guitar playing midway through, it then transitions into probably the heaviest, most distorted riffing on the album until Geezer's bass comes back in and Ozzy's final vocals finish off the song.
Overall this is a unique album, even in Sabbath's catalogue as they would shed much of the blues influence on Paranoid. Still, it remains an essential part of any heavy metal fan's collection and is possibly the only blues metal album in existence. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the genre needs this, as it shows not only the beginnings of metal, but also the blues roots that the genre came from. It ultimately remains one of Sabbath's very best albums and the start of their impressive six album run where they pioneered the metal genre almost single handedly.
