10 Best Self-Titled Music Albums In Metal History

Many albums in the history of metal can claim to be influential, and many can claim to be enduring, timeless, iconic or pioneering, but very few can claim to be all of the above. One that can lay that claim came from the humblest of beginnings, contrived by four blokes from Birmingham who were fed up with the world. 

Officially forming in 1968 after adopting a few short-lived names beforehand, Black Sabbath would not have imagined the movement they would go on to create in their wildest dreams. Recorded in a single 12-hour session, ‘Black Sabbath’ was released in 1970 and some argue that the phenomena of heavy metal was born (although an argument could be made for Budgie, too). 

Amazingly, the album received heavily negative reviews upon its release and struggled to move the needle in popular culture. Critical opinion on the album has improved in the decades since, but initial reviews made no effort to hide their hatred for this record. One critic described Black Sabbath as being "just like Cream, but worse", while The Village Voice criticised its "drug-impaired reaction time" and branded it as "b**lshit necromancy" due to its occult references. 

Despite its critical panning, ‘Black Sabbath’ reached the top ten in the UK album chart. In the present day, this record is viewed with much higher acclaim and you’ll be hard-pressed to find it absent from any article that lists the greatest metal albums of all time.