Master Of Reality is much more cohesive than Paranoid. It captures all the band's best ideas up to that point. It sounds much more doomy and the inspiration is all over the album. The ultimate stoner song, Sweet Leaf makes good use of the C# tuning, as the song goes into trippy imagery with its almost happy riff. The rhythm section is also grooving. I really love the sound of drums on this one. After Forever has a steady rhythm, with a great synthesizer intro that cannot be matched in psychedelia. The break-down section is by far one of my favourites. A short instrumental, Embryo seems like a medieval type of classical guitar playing. An extremely well-written song, Children Of The Grave has dark and crunchy riffs, as the guitars plow through the cut with immense power and precision. The almost swing-metal drumming makes the song that much more fierce. Vocal melodies and lyrics never cease to amaze as they talk about children standing up for their rights. Lord Of This World is a truly darker tune than most of its predecessors, a marching riff accompanies the terrifying lyrics. Some of the most apocalyptic riffing can be found on this track, as Geezer, Tony and Bill march through a wasteland of darkness. Solitude is one of the finest mellow songs BLACK SABBATH ever produced. The grand finale in Into The Void is another classic heavy metal tune. This is a very heavy song, and is probably the most fitting track to conclude the album. This is classic BLACK SABBATH stuff. Read full review
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SABBATH rolls on with their incredible third LP, and now CD, MASTER OF REALITY. Back in the day you could walk down a certain street in this city where literally hundreds of hippies and Rockers held court; and hear this recording blasting from their cars and vans, which were parked right by the road for probably.... oh, two miles or so. It was a surreal scene. Ozzy Osbourne's wailing vocals fit perfectly with the bludgeoning riffs of Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler while the great Bill Ward throws down the beats which bring it all together. It all adds up to music which is sometimes disturbing, but often strangely beautiful. The MASTER OF REALITY of the title is none other than the Lord Himself(!) Needless to say, you can't get any heavier than that. Some of the lyrics are rebellious and antisocial. Two of the songs are written from an (apparently) Catholic perspective. In their boneheaded, hippieish way, the boys from Birmingham, England attempt to address the weighty subjects of God, the Evil One, the last Judgement, and eternity. They are somewhat awkward in doing so, but manage to make some incisive observations. As was usual with Sabbath in their early work, the music and words do go together very well. For example, when Ozzy, referring to Satan, howls "Lord of this world, evil possessor. Lord of this world, he's your confessor now", the point is driven home with great effectiveness. The seventh song, SOLITUDE, is gentle, lovely, and soothing, and a welcome change of pace. It might be seen as the hidden jewel of the album. I grew up with this music; so it's deeply embedded in my soul, and of course seems logical and natural. Sabbath are in many ways the culmination of the British Blues Scene; and also the successors to the throne of the mighty Cream! To someone who's never listened to them before however- especially if that person isn't already familiar with Hard Rock music, and came from a purely Folk or Jazz or Classical background, the cultural world of Black Sabbath must seem truly bizarre. Whether you love them or hate them, no one beats Sabbath at their own game- and no one ever will. They created this style of music, and they own it. And as far as Tony and Geezer's musical ideas are concerned.... well, only GOD can write better riffs !Read full review
If you made the claim this is Sabbath's best album you wouldn't get much argument. Paranoid is probably just as good. Depends on your mood, I suppose. If you haven't purchased Master of Reality just go for it. You'll wish you'd done it sooner.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
As far as I am concerned, THIS IS Black Sabbath's BEST CD EVER! It ROCKS even though it was originally released on vinyl about 40 years ago! Just think... 1971, or somewhere around that time, the excellent special effects that were achieved were phenomenal! Sweet Leaf and Children of the Grave are the main songs I am referring to about the effects... You have got to listen to this CD LOUD to get the full effects of it!
Black Sabbath got me thru and out of high school. Life in the brain is better because of Black Sabbath. I love this color purple too.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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