{"id":13051,"date":"1975-07-28T00:00:28","date_gmt":"1975-07-28T00:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=13051"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:32:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:32:41","slug":"album-review-black-sabbath-sabotage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-black-sabbath-sabotage\/","title":{"rendered":"BLACK SABBATH – Sabotage (1975) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACK SABBATH
Sabotage<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNEMS (1975)<\/span>
Rating: 10\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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This is without a shadow of a doubt Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2019s worst album cover; one which comes complete with Bill Ward\u2019s checked underpants visible through his equally bizarre red tights, as seen on the back cover (nice idea with the inverted mirror though!).<\/p>\n

And yet, even the peculiar fashion sense doesn\u2019t prevent this from being my favourite Black Sabbath album of all time. For its 43-minute duration Sabotage<\/em> is a mesmerising experience that, like its predecessor Sabbath Bloody Sabbath<\/em><\/a> (1973), doesn\u2019t require overtly occult connotations to sell it.<\/p>\n

Immediately we\u2019re thrown into the mystical mix with the timeless \u2018Hole In The Sky\u2019, a magical wailing smorgasbord of a cut taken to higher levels of the imagination by Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s coyote yowls which are rushed along with Tony Iommi\u2019s pleasing yet cutting riff. \u2018Hole In The Sky\u2019 is Sabbath in full flow, as fresh as a daisy \u2013 musically anyway \u2013 showing wondrous progression, clean cut in its appearance, yet merely a fa\u00e7ade to disguise the inner frictions.<\/p>\n

The peculiarly unexpected instrumental \u2018Don\u2019t Start (Too Late)\u2019 \u2013 a mere tumbling acoustic guitar \u2013 makes way for the titanic riff of \u2018Symptom Of The Universe\u2019, the type of song plucked from the most heavenly plateau and laid out before us like some sprawling tapestry.<\/p>\n

In a sense, Sabotage<\/em> feels relentless despite the mellow and often melancholic passages. \u2018Symptom Of The Universe\u2019 takes a breather three-quarters in with an almost summery trickle of Ward\u2019s tip-toe drums and Iommi\u2019s breezy acoustics, but these moments of enlightenment are misleading as like a trickster spirit we step behind the cascading waterfall only to be drowned in the sorrowful cess-pit that is \u2018Megalomania\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Megalomania\u2019 is a track that has no need to rock hard, as it swoons, floats, sighs and merely whispers, only occasionally stirred by Iommi\u2019s cavorting chords as Ozzy begs, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just get out of my life now? Why doesn\u2019t everybody leave me alone now?\u201d<\/em>. The four-piece then have the audacity to inject the track with an almost poppy piano before another buzzing riff intervenes.<\/p>\n

Before we\u2019ve even flipped over to side two, Sabotage<\/em> has already swept us away. The first four tracks are peculiar whirlpools of joy and angst combined; the imagery is stark yet kaleidoscopic, and Ward\u2019s drums are almost jazzy in their structure, Geezer Butler\u2019s bass flowing like wine, the mighty quartet refusing to let doom lead the way as inside it feels like we\u2019ve dropped a tab and been whisked into that mirror which adorns the cover.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Thrill Of It All\u2019 is another driving rock-fest featuring another of those cool, razor-sharp riffs as Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s siren-like voice rises above the waves of depression. However much I play \u2018The Thrill Of It All\u2019, time and time again I\u2019m consumed by what seems such a simple song, yet one which is multi-layered as the synths wheeze, the drums tumble and those infectious hooks get their talons in one more time. There\u2019s something so joyous about this song, summing up the almost hysterical nature of Sabotage<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But like all fairy stories there has to be a dark side, and Black Sabbath\u2019s sixth album most certainly has one. The cosmic goth sound of \u2018Supertzar\u2019 drags you in like some ultra-weird movie soundtrack; complete with gospel choir it\u2019s a magical ride to the far side as those chants echo across the universe, becoming one with that serpentine guitar.<\/p>\n

Sabotage<\/em> is truly a bizarre album, unlike anything you will ever hear. It\u2019s the sort of opus that the band, and rightly so, could never better; a true mountain of a record that has no low valleys. Even the miserable \u2018Am I Going Insane (Radio)\u2019 is genius; Ozzy almost commentating on his own personal issues as all manner of musical effects are strewn about the place.<\/p>\n

And just when you thought it was safe to get off the merry-go-round, \u2018The Writ\u2019, in its glorious eight-minute structure, comes looming out of the shadows, and then, after another conflict of emotions, we\u2019re done.<\/p>\n

Sabotage<\/em> is Black Sabbath\u2019s crowning glory, a record so vast that after just one listen it feels as if you\u2019ve been there for several hours, not realising of course that the magic carpet ride has taken barely more than 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLACK SABBATHSabotage NEMS (1975)Rating: 10\/10 This is without a shadow of a doubt Black Sabbath\u2019s worst album cover; one which comes complete with Bill Ward\u2019s checked underpants visible through his equally bizarre red tights, as seen on the back cover (nice idea with the inverted mirror though!). And yet, even the peculiar fashion sense doesn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-black-sabbath"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13051"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13077,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13051\/revisions\/13077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}