Experimentation is a word that has many meanings. Creating experiments and carrying them out to their fullest potential is essentially the sole occupation of a scientist (aside from suckling at the government teat for grant money, but I digress). Yet they say when a scientist experiments too much and too far and too hard, then he must inevitably go mad. This is the origin of the term "mad scientist," and it has been observed time and time again. In a world where everyone is mad, who would notice another madman around here?
What the heck does this have to do with Black Sabbath's 1972 album
Vol. 4, which hit the world and rocked it like a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick in 1972? Tony Iommi, leading his gang of stalwart beasts, was like a mad scientist conducting his crew like a scientific symphony conductor. Like spaghetti, much is thrown at the wall here. While others criticize the decisions made on this album, throwing accusations of "filler" faster than an antelope can run, others see the experiments for what they are. "Changes" is a poignant track, moving and minimalistic. What more could one want from great pop? "FX" and "Laguna Sunrise" leave breathing room for us to collect ourselves amidst the madness. And the other tracks are pillars still studied today by any rock artist worth his salt. When experiments go correctly, they say the hypothesis has been proven. My hypothesis is Black Sabbath.
