1. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh4DDm-43pE Track List: 1. Black Sabbath 2. The Wizard 3. Behind the Wall of Sleep 4. N.I.B. 5. Evil Woman 6. Sleeping Village 7. Warning 8. Wicked World (CD Reissue Bonus Track) The album that started it all, a bonafide game-changer which took Hard Rock by the scruff of the neck and violently shook Heavy Metal out of it. It is incredible to think that on release the record was slammed by critics (perhaps not ready for such a departure into darker, more-twisted territories), dismissed as mere clichéd clones of bands like Cream, Vanilla Fudge and Black Widow. Of course, anything new can be threatening and perhaps the world wasn't quite ready for Heavy Metal, hell, it had only just gotten used to the idea of Hard Rock, and Black Sabbath were an entirely different beast altogether. Make no mistake, when Sabbath released their eponymous debut in 1970 an entirely new genre spewed forth, a genre built on elephantine heaviness, primeval blues roots and faux satanic leanings (these boys were never satanists, interested in the Occult but never practitioners of the black arts, the inverted cross on the inside sleeve of the record wasn't even their idea). Heavy Metal had arrived and it was ugly, frightening yet exhilarating, and enticing in equal measure. It is astonishing that an album this influential and this original could be recorded in just a single day but that's all the time they had, all the time they needed and all the time they could afford. They simply plugged in and let rip; the apocalyptic thunderous rain and ominous tolling bells that open the record being the only overdubs required. On the opening self-titled track, the eerie, ungodly sound of the heaven's opening as unrelenting rain and ominous crashing thunder accompany Tony Iommi's devilish tritone riff (simultaneously inventing Heavy Metal and Doom Metal in one slow, torturous harmonic progression) has never been equalled; these atmospherics were designed to instantly create unease. When Ozzy Osbourne's howls of fear and despair (barely in tune but so utterly perfect for Sabbath's sound) erupt from your speakers the listener is left with no doubt that the end of days are upon us. Ozzy's delivery of bassist Geezer Butler's lines 'figure in black which points at me' remains chilling to this day; the brummie boys tapped into something truly sinister, truly disturbing and utterly unique. No band sounded like this, mainly because no band dared sound like this; Heavy Metal had arrived and the greatest debut in Hard Rock AND Heavy Metal had laid waste to all competition. What are your favourite debut albums? Did we miss any out? Let us know in the comments!
Christopher Jennings
Contributor
I love Heavy Metal, and generally anything that involves a guitar and loud noises, so I figured it was about time I put all the useless information in my head to good use and start writing a few things. Most of the time I'll be writing nonsense but occasionally I may surprise myself and appear half-way knowledgable.....but you can be the judge of that. Thanks for your fleeting attention!
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Christopher