Friday 25 May 2007

Black Sabbath - Sabotage (1975)

A clever, sophisticated epic, typical of Sabbath, yet 'Sabotage', except for its hilarious cover in which you can see Bill Ward's pants through his tights (mainly on the back of the record!), is a deep, well orchestrated journey that drifts from the usual doomy rantings as well as more upbeat numbers, alongside descents into psychotic psychedelia, just check out the awesome 'Megalomania' and the way its shifts between moods.
This is probably Black Sabbath's most experimental album, there are choirs and synths on here, truly epic sounding jams in the form of 'Thrill Of It All', the gothic extravaganza of 'Supertzar' with its monk-like chants during the opening sequence which drifts into a magical, almost Disney-sounding dreamscape before the maniacal 'Am I Going Insane (Radio)'.
This album truly is a cauldron of make-believe, gloomy serenades, folky hallucinations and pounding grooves, and opens with one of the finest Sabbath songs ever in 'Hole In The Sky', with Ozzy on top form.
From here Sabbath would actually begin to disappoint as Ozzy and Iommi's relationship feel apart. 'Never Say Die' and 'Technical Ecstasy' offered little after this prog-rock oddity.
'Sabotage' is a real Sabbath gem that many people seem to overlook, yet it remains probably their finest work alongside 'Volume 4'.
10/10

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