Black Sabbath: 10 Most Underrated Songs

Master of Reality tends to get put up on a pedestal as the last classic album from Sabbath's early period. Going even darker than Paranoid, the low tunings on songs like Sweet Leaf and Into the Void marked both the peak of heaviness in rock and foreshadowed the sludgy sounds that would come from stoner rock later down the line. However, there's one little quiet number that comes right before the final bludgeoning.

Written very much in the vein of Planet Caravan, Solitude is one of the few songs that actually provides a welcome change of pace from the onslaught of mayhem that you were already hearing. Compared to something like Children of the Grave or Sweet Leaf, hearing Ozzy sing this softly is haunting, almost like he's some sort of spectre caught in between two different realities.

Whereas most of Sabbath's tunes are known to hit you over the head from the minute they start, this taps into a different shade of darkness for the band, where no amount of solace can really dispel the feeling of loneliness that permeates this space. Although Master of Reality is rightfully celebrated for its more explosive moments, Solitude is where Sabbath were really able to double down on their mellow side.