Disco de Black Sabbath: “Master of Reality [Deluxe Edition]”

That is how Master of Reality begins, with the famous repetitive cough of "Sweet Leaf". On this 1971 release, Sabbath's third album, the band has become "masters" of their own sound. Calling Black Sabbath influential is an understatement. Listen to any of their first 4 albums and you can hear where several "metal" bands got their riffs, style, and "dark" image. Actually, the silliest idea about Black Sabbath is that they are all satan worshippers obsessed with death and think that everyone should commit suicide. Anyone who ever thought these things about this group should try reading the words that Ozzy Osbourne is singing. Their not evil words and a prime example is on Master of Reality. For example, in "After Forever" is clearly about finding God - "They should realize that God is the only way to love." and "Children of the Grave" (No it's not about little kids rising from their graves and killing people) is about a generation of young people who are tired of the hate filled world they live in and want to change it at any cost - "They'll fight the world until they've won and love comes flowing through." Tony Iommi has stated that much of the dark and demonic image associated with Sabbath can be chalked up to record company ploys to make money by making the band seem "evil" (For example, the inner sleeve of the debut LP, Black Sabbath (1970), contains an upside down cross which was not the band's idea at all). If you look at all 8 of the original line up's album covers, there is not an evil or disturbing image in the bunch, with the minor exception of the hooded figure on the debut cover which could be considered creepy by some. I grew up thinking negative things about Black Sabbath but I'm so glad I grew up and gave this pioneering band a chance because they created some very important music and if anything was ever called "heavy metal" it should be Black Sabbath even though they were creating these sounds before that term existed. Master of Reality is perhaps the statement that solidified the Black Sabbath sound, it is essential. One last question to those who think Ozzy Osbourne is "evil" - What hand gesture does he always give, particularly on the cover of Black Sabbath, Vol. 4? - The peace sign. Yes, maybe he is pure evil.

This is probably Sabbath's best regular issue album and it is sometimes very surprising. Sweet Leaf is well known to most and deserves the attention it has gotten. Lord Of This World is maybe a little less known but is very heavy and powerful. Children Of The Grave is great but most already know that. Into the void rocks hard, but still most know that. My point here is to tell you something you may not know. The highlight of this album is a song that is probably not that well known to the most casual Sabbath fan. That song is After Forever. This is a song that I have never seen on any Sabbath live albums or greatest hits compilations. It is a song about God and to some extent the afterlife. The lyrics are something you might normally hear from a Christian Rock band. It has some very beautiful lyrics in it and it does dispell the myth that they were evil and not God fearing. I am not saying these guys are or were saints, but check this album out and you will be amazed by this song. The version I just bought has the lyrics which is somewhat odd for a Sabbath cd. Most people give Sabbath a bad rap because of their lyrics but upon further look you will discover that they have belief in God and show it in many ways. Many of their songs mention satan or are about satan so people think they must worship him. Well, I have studied up on this and not found any of that to be true. Singing about satan is not worshipping him. Now if they spoke of satan the way they speak of God in this song then I would say the same. Ozzy routinely throughout the years always tells the crowd "God bless you all". My point here is to have you look at Sabbath in a little different light. Wearing crosses around your neck is a symbol of Jesus' crucifiction not devil worship. A few years later after leaving Sabbath, Ozzy sang these lyrics in a song,"They say I worship the devil, why don't they open their eyes?, I'm just a rock n roll rebel". This is not just a quality song lyrically but also musicall. It flows nicely and is definetly one of Ozzy's masterpeices vocally.

My first experience with this masterpiece was on a vinyl record owned by (believe it or not) my father. I remember being almost afraid to listen to it. My fears were quickly extinguished after listening to the opening track "Sweet Leaf." I soon discovered that these guys were not Satanists at all but moralists. Black Sabbath didn't tell the world to "kill yer cats" but rather to "show the world that love is still alive." Just listen to "After Forever", a sonic attack on atheists and a song I'd like to force Jerry Fallwell to listen to. This album mesmerized me,especially the vivid,apocalyptic "Into The Void." This album got me addicted to the sweet electric noise that is heavy metal,and the remaster sounds fantastic! The liner notes are also an insightful read. Black Sabbath deserve eternal respect.

The Sabs third album is no doubt their sludgiest and heaviest. It's supersonic and powerful, thick, almost leaden riffs display a terrific raw energy. More complete than the band's second recording, Paranoid, which seems to have significant holes in composition; Master is a masterful collection of songs made only more incredibly by Tony Iommi's superb guitar and Ozzy's fantastic, almost demonlike voice. Real hard rock classics like the kickin' opener "Sweet Leaf" and the anthemesque "Children of the Grave" are followed all the way through the album with "Lord of this World" and "Into the Void". The hard rock sonic bliss doesn't stop, you get your fix all the way through. Together with these songs, you get "Embryo",a strange 30 second instrumental which I have always seen as an intro to "Children.." another instrumental,the acoustic "Orchid", which balances, but does seem a bit shallow, placed just to fill. You also get a slow, doomy song in "Solitude" and a bit christianity bias on "After Forever". The writing is superb, the songs are hard driving and they sure don't get old. All in all, one of the Sab's best and most interesting, not to mention consistent collections of songs. BUY IT!

Though "Sweet Leaf" is a little overplayed, the rest of this record is some of the best Black Sabbath. The production on this record is absolutely perfect. Basically a religious experience, are you afraid of death? In my recent thinking about death and existance, "Master of Reality" is an island of warmth and consolation. The record has a basic Christian theme, without being in any way judgemental. Its about redemption and persaverence in the face of emptiness.