Review of the Album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by British Heavy Metal Band Black Sabbath

British heavy metal band Black Sabbath's 5^th studio album called Sabbath Bloody Sabbath released in 1973 continues in the tradition of the band releasing albums very quickly which happened in that decade. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath still has that early rock and blues tone that we heard on the band's first four albums but there is one difference for those of us that can notice and this difference is that fact that Ozzy Osbourne's vocals are somewhat higher pitched and it sounds like not an echo, but a sort of louder, more audible tone. It is not a scream, but it is a much louder tone than we have heard. At least he is not sounding monotone and dragging his vocals through the song which is a very good thing.

The title track has a very heavy, crunchy tone, something that would have been unheard of in those days. So in a sense, Black Sabbath revolutionized the heavy metal genre and they influenced bands that we love to listen to such as Metallica. The bass lines by Geezer Butler can be heard as well and even if you don't like Ozzy as a vocalist, the material released during this time is some of the band's best even though I think that Black Sabbath would hit their peak greatness around 1980 and 1981. A National Acrobat lyrically tries to send the message that there is both love and death in life. When we are approaching our death, some of us will wonder what the next life brings. Fluff is an instrumental song that starts out slowly yet it is still one of those songs that may have influenced other bands that were formed after Black Sabbath, one example being the band Sacred Reich.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath could be considered as a significant release because of the circumstances that the members were going through at the time. Black Sabbath ended up renting a home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles to record the material for the album but because of a combination of substance abuse and fatigue, the free flow of ideas that were coming for the album Vol. 4 were not coming for this one.

Frustration may have ensued and this frustration is present in songs such as Killing Yourself to Live. Sometimes we look around and all we see is pain, misery, and suffering. Who Are You is a song that sees Ozzy return to his normal vocal style that we have heard from all these years. Even with that strange sound, the song takes an interesting turn for the better as the keyboards come in.

Guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi said that the rest of the band members were waiting for him to come up with ideas for songs and if he did not come up with anything, nothing would get done. A band is all about teamwork and if what Tony said is true, it certainly didn't dramatically affect what is on this album which is solid early heavy metal, blues, and rock.

Spiral Archtect which is the last song in this album starts with acoustic style guitar which we would hear many years later in songs such as S.E.K. By the band Fates Warning.

Tony Iommi revealed to Phil Alexander in 2013 that he did not have an idea of what to write, citing either drug use or the pressure of the work but whatever it was, he felt like it was his fault. Either way, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is another solid work from this British band.