[.ca] Volume 4

.....I'm going through (GREAT) changes......................:
Dear God. Sabbath changed their sound. They showed that they had creativity much like Zeppelin did starting with Zeppelin III. I hate all these people who complain when bands change their sound because they want to hear the same (...) all the time. Take it from someone who plays an instrument. After a while, it gets boring to repeat yourself and as a musician you wish to become more creative and change things. Read on for my review of this great piece of work. 1.Wheels of Confusion/The Straightner- A fantastic 8 minute epic that is basically four minutes of a song that sounds very similar to most songs off of Paranoid and Master of Reality except with strings and whatnot creeping in the backround. The last four minutes are a huge jam of Tony showcasing his soloing abilities. 2.Tomorrow's Dream- a good hardrocking three minute song with a riff that much like NIB is instantly recognizable and will make you wonder where you've heard it before. 3.Changes-A great simplistic catchy ballad where Sabbath finally bare their souls unlike Master of Reality's Solitude. 4.FX-Random effects and harmonics collage. The reason for four stars. Need I say more my fellow Sabbath worshippers......... 5.Supernaut-Back to the rocking. You'll all probably love the big like minute long drum break where Bill toys with all these cowbells and and weird drum sounds. The downside to this song is that it's really got a feeling like during that minute he could've actually played a cool drum solo. 6.Snowblind-COCAINE ROCK ladies and gentleman. Best song on the album and one of Sabbath's best. I especially like both of Tony's solos and the backround keyboards seem to really help set the doomy mood. Excellent use of keyboards. 7.Cornucopia-short rocker. Fun song. No solo. tear. 8.Laguna Sunrise-Tony whips out the acoustic guitar for this interesting Fluff like interlude. Fluff is better though. 9.St. Vitus' Dance-Short sweet hippie song. Really happy which was unusual for Sabbath at this point. Nice acoustic work by Tony. 10.Under The Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes-Don't let the title fool you. This is one of Sabbath's better shorter doom and gloom songs. It sets this really dark mood and the guitar riff sounds as if it was lifted from the sessions for their first album. Overall-A great piece of work for the open minded Sabbath fan that doesn't mind change. It's personally my favorite album because of its creativity with Never Say Die as a close second. But what do I know. I'm just as musician who loves creativity. Listen with an open mind. Keep on Rockin. That's my two cents.

Where Sabbath started getting expanding their sound:
After primarily concentrating on heavy metal with killer riffs on their first three albums, Volume 4 showed Black Sabbath adding new elements to their sound. Many times when bands do this they're usually unsuccessful and go back to their roots on their next album. But the diversity works well here and surprisingly it's the heavier stuff that doesn't work nearly as well on Volume 4. Not that the heavier stuff isn't good. The tracks "Supernaut" and "Snowblind" are certainly two of the better heavy songs that they've recorded with the former featuring a killer riff from Tony Iommi and the latter describing the effects of cocaine. The epics "Wheels Of Confusion" and "Under The Sun" are both good tracks, but not as definitive as other long tracks they've recorded like "Iron Man" and "Children Of The Grave." However, this album is best known for the previously unchartered waters found in the piano ballad "Changes" and the strings and acoustic guitars of "Laguna Sunrise." While these songs are truly a change of pace for the band, both work surprisingly well, especially "Changes" which has albeit on a smaller scale become to the band what "Beth" has become to Kiss, one of their most popular tracks despite sounding totally different from the rest of their catalog. The tracks "Tomorrow's Dream", "Cornucopia", and "St Vitus' Dance" are also decent, if not among their best work. A strong album, albeit not on the same level as Paranoid and Master Of Reality.

The Wall Of Sludge Presses On.........:
On the aptly titled fourth album from the Heavy Metal Gods, they pretty much stick to the same doomy, sludgy, Down-esque sound that got them famous while experimenting with some new sounds. The album opens with the sonic blast of Wheels Of Confusion, which has been known to damage ears while played at a high volume (Only kiddin'). Then comes the heavy smasher Tomorrow's Dream, which is one of the band's signature songs. Then comes what is probably the worst song on the album: Changes. Don't get me wrong, it's OK, but it gets SO boring, just hearing the piano tinkle away while Ozzy keeps moaning. Calls for some high-velocity guitar. Then comes the bizzare 'song' FX, which is simply composed of little squeks and bangs. The first half closes with the spectacular Supernaut, an epic about space travel. The next song, Snowblind is probably the most famous song off this album. Great heaviness. Cornucopia, which comes next, is one of the album's best. It includes heavy music, great lyrics, and everything that makes a Sabbath song a Sabbath song. Laguna Sunrise is a Santana-sounding instrumental that shows Sabbath's lighter yet heavier sound. St Vitus' Dance is another hard-whacker, one of the album's heaviest. This song inspired the name of a later doom band, Saint Vitus. The album closes with the mighty and spectacular Under The Sun, which closes a classic album in full headbanger spirit. This is probably one of the most underrated albums from this band, because it is usually stands in the shadow of Master Of Reality and Paranoid, which are actually lesser albums. This is one of the most heavy albums of the 1970's. If ya don't own this album, you are not worthy of the title 'metalhead'.

Sabbath the Great:
I don't think there is a hard rock song cooler than Supernaut. It is, I think, one of their best. I have so much difficulty ranking the Sabbath oeuvre. There are moments in all of them that I think sag somewhat, if I'm being honest. But, in total, they are all (especially the first 6) such complete and powerful metal experiences that I can't give them anything less than 5 stars.

My Second Favorite Album From Sabbath:
This is my favorite of the Ozzy years. This album is fresh, fast, and damn hard-rocking. Every song shows maturity after the disappoint Masters of Reality showing. Supernaut is one of the best guitar rifts I've ever heard from Iommi from the early Sabbath years. This album is a must-have for your collection. One of the best of the best.

• Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener
• Tomorrow's Dream
• Changes
• FX
• Supernaut
• Snowblind
• Cornucopia
• Laguna Sunrise
• St. Vitus Dance
• Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes