Disco de Black Sabbath: “Black Sabbath [Japan Bonus Tracks]”

First off, the import contains EVIL WOMAN which is worth getting especially if you grew up listening to the US print. Besides that, this cd contains some of the early SAB at the youthful finest. MASTERS OF REALITY and SABOTAGE are prime examples of the "Fathers of Heavy Metal"...

Quite simply, this is probably the most influential debut release ever. All hard rock and heavy metal that is in existence today, whether the artists performing it know it or not, is indebted to this classic. The question is: how does it hold up today, 36 years later? The answer: better than almost every hard rock or heavy metal album released since.

1. Black Sabbath-5/5. This song is superb. I can only imagine what was going through people's minds the first time they heard this song in 1970. It starts with a thunderstorm and a faint church bell and blasts into one of the most recognizable riffs in history. Slow and doomy, with some of the greatest lyrics ever. Perfect song.

2. The Wizard-5/5. Very cool bluesy song with some great harmonica playing by Ozzy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are superb.

3. Behind the Wall of Sleep-5/5. This one has a hard driving beat from Bill Ward on drums. The music isn't that heavy, but the beat is great and the lyrics are trippy. Great vocals, too.

4. Bassically-4/5. An excellent bass solo by Geezer. Just goes to show just how great of a player he really was back then, and he has only gotten better since.

5. N.I.B.-5/5. My personal favorite Black Sabbath song. The riff is super heavy. The lyrics are excellent and the vocals are perfect. This song really epitomizes heavy metal. Meant to be played REALLY loud.

6. Evil Woman-4/5. I don't particularly care for this song very much. It's a cover song that, I think, was forced on them by the powers that be in Britain, considering that it was not on the American release. A little wimpy, but they attempt to make their own.

7. Sleeping Village-4/5. A slow and sludgy song that's mostly instrumental. Great music that is played perfectly.

8. Warning-5/5. A bluesy, obscure cover song. The lyrics fit Sabbath perfectly. Instead of covering the song and leaving it at that, they use the opportunity to open the song up a bit and showcase how great the musicians, particularly Tony Iommi, the guitarist, really are. A little long, but never boring.

9. Wicked World-5/5. Another bluesy, but heavy, song. Really heavy riff by Iommi and great vocals by Ozzy. Excellent.

This album holds up perfectly. In fact, it may even be better than it was 36 years ago, because at the time, the only thing to compare to was Deep Purple's "In Rock." This just blows that release out of the water. In sheer heaviness, it can still compare to much of what is being released today. Highly recommeded to any fan of classic rock and modern hard rock or heavy metal.

Here's my review of one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.

1. Black Sabbath- Awesome track about the evils of satanism. 5/5

2. The Wizard- good bluesy track, and great harmonica playing 5/5

3. Behind the Wall of Sleep-This song is awesome, and has cool lyrics that boil down to a story about death 5/5

4. N.I.B-1. This DOES NOT stand for Nativity In Black as stated in another review, it is actually a hint at a nickname Ozzy gave Bill, because his beard looked like a pin nib. Ozzy said this all in the video The Last Supper 2. This is the best song on the album. Awesome lyrics about the devil falling in love. 5/5

5. Evil Woman-cool song 5/5

6. Sleeping Village- cool song, very creepy music 5/5

7. The Warning- alot of people don't like this song cause of the length, but I like it, in fact I like it alot 5/5

Hope my review helps

Bottom Line: BUY THIS ALBUM!!! IT IS WORTH IT!!!

If you picked one Black Sabbath album to have this is the one. Make sure to get the Import remaster.

Band Personnell:

Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals

Tony Iommi - Guitars and Keyboards

Geezer Butler - Bass

Bill Ward - Drums

The very first Sabbath album, the name came from a song that Butler wrote when the band was called "Earth", because of this they managed to call the band "Black Sabbath" too and the first album was titled after the artist name, it includes two cover songs such as "Evil Woman" and "The Warning".

It's a great album, especially to be their first one.