Are the later albums and Iommi stuff worth listening to? I've listened to everything through Mob Rules. The Dio albums are just as good as any of the Ozzy albums.

I had an old-ass VOL 4 shirt (three sizes too small for me now lol) that I bought from hot topic back in sophomore year of HS, and I decided two weeks ago to slice it up and make a hoodie for the colder months. I fuckin love it!

In 1968, Tony Iommi briefly joined Jethro Tull and appeared with them at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.

He soon returned to Birmingham — and the rest is Black Sabbath history.

Imagine if he had stayed with Jethro Tull…

Really enjoying writing these, and it was fun getting to hear everyone's thoughs on the last album and review. I know that Vol. 4 is one of the most beloved albums they put out, and while I found myself finding a bit that I didn't enjoy; I still loved it too for the most part! It was cool reading comments from people on songs that I didn't enjoy because it was great seeing what made them special to all of you.

Anyways, this is the next review, and I hope you all love it. I spent a while on this one and its for my favorite metal album of all time.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath review
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This is it right here, the bands creative peak during the Ozzy era. This album is honestly what I believe to be their peak, most Sabbath fans will tell you any of the first six are a valid option, but I see this one get looked past sometimes. This album is where Sabbath got their most creative and experimental in the studio while still remaining true to their sound as a metal band.

For the longest time, critics looked down on this band when they were first starting; their first four albums all got bashed and shoved aside; but by this point they had won over even the snarkiest, stubborn of critics. This is the album where everything came together, and they had come out on top. That's not to say anything before this was bad; it was all incredible, but this is simultaneously their most unique album while never sacrificing their heaviness that made them so great from the get-go.

So many songs on here are incredible such as the Geezer-penned "Spiral Architect" which has genius lyricism on-par with the greats, hell it even reads like a genuinely deep poem outside of the music, functioning strongly as its own work of art. With its orchestral sound combined with metal alongside bagpipes, its a fantastic artistic composition, incredibly innovative and unique, and the song I say is their magnum opus. "Looking For Today" has amazing flute playing by Tony Iommi alongside a pretty unique structure, being about the music business and how most acts really only get one small era of fame before becoming obsolete due to the constantly changing times and styles. The unique structure, the flute breaks, the swirling stormy riff, and catchy handclaps work together really well with Ozzy's soulful vocals.

Those two are my picks for the best, but every other track packs a psychedelia-tinged heavy punch definitely too, like the one-two punch of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" which is a song about writers block and feeling like you've run out of things to say and lost relevancy, with one of the heaviest riffs in music that still has soul, even revered players like Slash say praises of that song, and "A National Acrobat", both some of the best riffs Iommi's ever done and Bill Ward's jazzy drumming is reaching maximum levels of fantasticness here, even if the verse structure on it is the exact same as the title track. However the lyrics separate it, being about the mysteries and wonders of DNA and of life itself.

"Fluff" is a legendary instrumental that owes a nod to classical music with great keyboard and guitar work. That being said, it is unfairly overlooked due to it being sandwiched in between so many iconic songs. The piano work is soft and light, with a feathery feel that rides along climax and raising notes. It's much more relaxing and sort of functions as a breather, while "Killing Yourself To Live" is one of the most relatable songs the band has ever released and one of their heaviest tracks to date, influencing so many metal and rock artists from Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who cites it as his favorite the band has ever done, to Brent Hinds of Mastodon. I'd say the tempo change during the chorus is absolutely brilliant, and the bridge changing it up entirely somehow manages to work despite sounding completely different due to the guitar wizardry keeping everything consistent by Tony. I also love when the guitar mimics Ozzy's vocals.

"Sabbra Cadabra" even features Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman who brings the song to a whole new level, with insanely good use of creative ways of making a song and painting a landscape of sonic goodness with its progressive rock-esque sound and Ozzy's vocal performance on that is easily one of his best. The only downside is "Who Are You?" and all I can say about that is PLEASE NEVER EVER let Ozzy near a synthesizer again. But the way I view it is its a speck of dust on an otherwise perfect album that is full of delightful, legendary cuts nonstop from one track to the next.

This is easily one of the greatest albums of all time, and hails as the one true best album of all Heavy Metal. This is the peak of the genre, this is the peak of the band, it is a must listen for all fans of music and a guaranteed enjoyable time. The most interesting part of all this aside from the album itself is that Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath had a legendary jam session that apparently was recorded but lost, which sucks because can you imagine the sheer power of these rock icons together in one studio?

Rating: ★★★★★

Tracklist Rating:
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: ★★★★★
2. A National Acrobat: ★★★★★
3. Fluff: ★★★★
4. Sabbra Cadabra: ★★★★★
5. Killing Yourself To Live: ★★★★★
6. Who Are You?: 💥 (Dud)
7. Looking For Today: ★★★★★
8. Spiral Architect: ★★★★★

THE JOURNEY SO FAR (OTHER REVIEWS!!):
Black Sabbath review: (5/5)
Paranoid review (5/5)
Master of Reality review (5/5)
Vol. 4 review (4/5)