Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
is the fifth studio album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1973. With this album, the band expanded upon their slow, crunching style of music and included synthesizers, strings, keyboards and more complex, orchestral arrangements.
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SABBRA CADABRA TICKETS
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Recording
Following the 1972-1973 world tour in support of their
Volume 4
album, Black Sabbath again returned to
Los Angeles, California to begin work on its successor. Pleased with
Volume 4
, the band sought to recreate the recording atmosphere, and returned to the
Record Plant Studios with new producer and engineer
Tom Allom. Although the album credits the band's manager
Patrick Meehan as producer, guitarist
Tony Iommi said "Meehan's ego got involved, and he stuck his name down as producer".
[1] With new musical innovations of the era, the band were surprised to find the room they had used previously at the Record Plant was replaced by a "giant synthesizer". The band rented a house in
Bel Air and began writing in the summer of 1973, but due in part to
substance issues and fatigue, were unable to complete any songs. "Ideas weren't coming out the way they were on
Volume 4
and we really got discontent" Iommi said. "Everybody was sitting there waiting for me to come up with something. I just couldn't think of anything. And if I didn't come up with anything, nobody would do anything."
After a month in Los Angeles with no results, the band opted to return to the UK, where they rented
Clearwell Castle in
The Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire, England. "We rehearsed in the
dungeons and it was really creepy but it had some atmosphere, it conjured up things, and stuff started coming out again".
[2] While working in the dungeon, Iommi stumbled onto the main riff of "
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", which set the tone for the new material.
Yes keyboardist
Rick Wakeman was brought in as a session player, appearing on "Sabbra Cadabra" and "Who Are You?".
[3]
Music and lyrics
Building off the stylistic changes introduced on
Volume 4
, new songs incorporated
synthesizers, strings, keyboards and more complex arrangements. "Who Are You?" incorporates a
Moog, a common instrument in
Progressive rock at the time. Lyrics of some songs on the album were written about problems within the band at the time.
"Killing Yourself to Live" was written by bassist
Geezer Butler while in hospital for kidney problems caused by heavy drinking. Drummer
Bill Ward was also suffering from binge drinking, and the song reflects the problems caused by their "extreme" lifestyles. An earlier incarnation of the song can be heard on the records
Live at Last
and
Past Lives
.
Artwork
Drew Struzan was the artist requested to do the cover painting. It depicts a man on a bed, seemingly having a
nightmare or a vision of being attacked by
demons in human form. At the top of the bed is a large skull with long, outstretched arms and 666 (the
Number of the Beast) written below it. The other side of the album features the opposite of the front cover, as shown . Inside the gatefold sleeve there is a photo of band members shown over a photo of bedroom.
Release and reception
Black Sabbath released
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
on 1 December 1973. For the first time in their career, the band began to receive favourable reviews in the mainstream press, with
Rolling Stone
calling the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success".
[4] Later reviewers such as All Music's Eduardo Rivadavia cite the album as "a masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection", while also displaying "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity".
[5] The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the United States. It reached number four on the UK charts, and number eleven in the US.
[6]
The band began a world tour in January 1974, which culminated at the
California Jam festival in
Ontario, California on 6 April 1974. Attracting over 200,000 fans, Black Sabbath appeared alongside such '70s rock giants as
Deep Purple,
Earth, Wind & Fire and
The Eagles. Portions of the show were telecast on
ABC Television in the US, exposing the band to a wider American appeal.
Track listing
All songs by
Tony Iommi,
Ozzy Osbourne,
Geezer Butler and
Bill Ward.
Side one
# "
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" – 5:45
# "
A National Acrobat" – 6:16
# "Fluff" – 4:11
# "Sabbra Cadabra" – 5:59
Side two
# "Killing Yourself to Live" – 5:41
# "Who Are You?" – 4:11
# "Looking for Today" – 5:06
# "Spiral Architect" – 5:29
Covers
The band
Anal Cunt covered "Killing Yourself to Live" on
Masters of Misery-Black Sabbath: The Earache Tribute
, also releasing it as a single in 1997. The
heavy metal band
Metallica covered the songs "Sabbra Cadabra" and "
A National Acrobat" on their
Garage, Inc.
cover album in one condensed song entitled "Sabbra Cadabra". Swedish pop band
The Cardigans covered "
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" on their 1995 album,
Life
. The
thrash metal band
Anthrax also covered the song "
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" on their 1987 EP
I'm the Man
.
Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, synthesizer
- Tony Iommi – all guitars, piano, synthesizer, organ, flute
- Geezer Butler – bass guitar, synthesizer, mellotron
- Bill Ward – drums, timpani, bongos in "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
- Rick Wakeman – keyboards, synthesizer, piano on "Sabbra Cadabra"
- Will Malone – conductor, arranger
Sales accomplishments
RIAA certification [7] (United States)
Date
| Designation
| Total Sales
|
March 20, 1974
| Gold
| 500,000
|
October 13, 1986
| Platinum
| 1,000,000
|
|
;
BPI certification [8] (United Kingdom)
Date
| Designation
| Total Sales
|
February 1, 1975
| Silver
| 60,000
|
|
;
CRIA certification [9] (Canada)
Date
| Designation
| Total Sales
|
September 1, 1977
| Gold
| 50,000
|
|
References
- {{Harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=76}}
- {{Harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=77}}
- {{Harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=79}}
- ''Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath'' Album Review
- Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath AMG Review
- AllMusic Billboard albums
- SABBATH,%20BLOODY%20SABBATH&artist=Black%20Sabbath&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25
- BPI certified awards
- CRIA certified awards