Review Summary: A more than worthy runner-up in one of the quintessential discographies in heavy metal history, and - a few weeks into its fifty-first year of existence - still one of the must-have albums for any fan of the genre
Releasing a masterpiece (especially at an early stage in a career) can often be more of a curse than a blessing. Not only does it set the bar for the artist at a perhaps unreasonably high standard, but it also presents said artist with a conundrum, as any follow-up will inevitably come across as a disappointment to at least a portion of their fans. Is it, therefore, better to stick to one’s guns and follow the initial plan, or adjust said plan to try and meet the expectations of a rabid fanbase?
In 1971, Black Sabbath were faced with this exact problem. On the one hand, the group knew the runaway success of the band’s previous effort, the trendsetting and history-making
Paranoid, could hardly be replicated; on the other hand, they were aware they had to at least
attempt to reach that level, at the risk of losing their then still-growing following to the next big thing. In what was, in retrospect, a wise move, they chose to settle for a middle ground, riding the hot streak they had been riding since the start of their career, while also adding new layers to their (by now) tried and tested sound. The result is a follow-up which, while not quite reaching the dizzying heights of its predecessor, is an undeniably strong álbum in its own right, and worthy of shouldering with anything else the band put out during their classic period.
In fact, there is a reason
Master of Reality is often mentioned in the same breath as its two predecessors – as a standalone set of songs, it is every bit as strong as either of them, if not quite as ground-breaking or adventurous. Much to the contrary, Sabbath’s third effort sees the band play it exceedingly safe, with each of the tracks on this album slotting into the exact same spaces as those on
Paranoid: here are the obvious timeless standouts (three on
Paranoid, two here), here the couple of hidden album-track gems, here the good-not-great make-up-the-numbers track, here the too-quiet-for-its-own-good ballad, and here the pointless instrumental interludes (which, puzzlingly, double in number on
Master). Add that to the fact that a solid half of the eight tracks here sound like declared attempts to rewrite either
War Pigs or
Electric Funeral and the overall effect may, initially, come across as somewhat formulaic.
And yet, repeat listens prove that, while a case can be made for that argument, another – just as strong – can be argued for formula not always being, necessarily, a bad thing. In fact, while Sabbath stay much closer to their comfort zone this time around than they did on
Paranoid, this gives them an opportunity to experiment in a different way, namely by adding an extra layer of sonic flourishes to their sound. As simplistic and stripped-bare as most of
Master’s songs are, the album is also awash in little details, which come at the exact right time to raise an eyebrow and – at the time – will undoubtedly have helped the Birmingham foursome stand out from its peers. Whether it be the cello on otherwise pointless thirty-second interlude
Embryo or
After Forever’s NWOBHM riff (as if Sabbath needed any more genres to lay claim to inventing!), these little touches help make
Master of Reality a more well-rounded and progressive listening experience than its predecessor.
Unfortunately, for all the progression their sound and production show, the overall quality of the tracks on
Master falls short of that of its predecessor – if only just. The two timeless, legendary standouts are just that - and continue to endure just as well as any of their counterparts on
Paranoid half a century down the line - but the aforementioned formulaic nature of most of the remaining songs when compared to Sabbath’s sophomore effort ends up making the group’s third album somewhat less memorable than their second. To be sure, there is still the odd hidden gem lurking deep on this album –
Lord of This World is an unfairly overlooked monolith of a stoner/doom track – but in both a direct track-by-track comparison and an overall appraisal,
Paranoid ultimately comes out the winner.
Even still, as mentioned earlier in this review,
Master of Reality is hardly at a loss when compared to any metal album in history, other than its two predecessors, and makes for just as good of an entry point to the seminal early Sabbath oeuvre as either of them. Given a choice,
Paranoid should be any metal rookie’s first point of call for this band; failing that, however,
Master of Reality provides just as good of an encapsulation of what the Birmingham quartet were all about in their early years, and continues to assert itself as not only a more than worthy runner-up in one of the quintessential discographies in heavy metal history, but - a few weeks into its fifty-first year of existence - still one of the must-have albums for any fan of the genre. Happy (belated) fiftieth,
Master of Reality – may your legacy live to see many more.
Recommended Tracks
Sweet Leaf
Children of the Grave
Lord of This World
(
Master of Reality's 2009 re-issue features a second disc, containing outtakes amd rarities from the album's recording sessions, making it the essential edition for Sabbath die-hards; casual fans will be perfectly well off with just the standard edition, though.)
