Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

"Fluff" is instrumental saccharine that sounds like the song in a made-in-China music box; it would be funny if Spinal Tap had done it (cf. Tap's "Cups and Cakes"). "Sabbra Caddabra" is a splendid failure, starting huge but ending with tempo changes that squander its energy. The Frankenstein's monster of "Killing Yourself to Live" never comes to life, and the synthesizers driving "Who Are You?" have aged badly. The real turd, however, is "Spiral Architect," which sounds like Sabbath's attempt at writing an uplifting opera-rocker for The Who. I could handle it if not for the string section.

SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH is certainly more listenable than the epically self-indulgent SABOTAGE, but you'll need self-control to make it through to the end. Considering the amount of drugs these guys were putting away, we should forgive their blunders of poor taste.


Sabbath's arguable greatest triumph   June 21, 2004
Terrence J Reardon (Lake Worth, Florida, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Black Sabbath released their fifth album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in January of 1974. This was another great album by one of hard rock/heavy metal's two creators(the other being Led Zeppelin) and Sabbath started experimenting more with this album. This was the band's first album on a small label which they would have issues with in England whilst the band were with the major label Warner Bros here in the US. The album was recorded at Clearwell Castle in Wales and the songs were as eerie as where it was recorded. I first got this album on cassette in July of 1994 and was blown away by how great it was and the version of this album on the Black Box buries the original Warner Bros CD and the 1996 Castle CD. The opening title cut is one of the best pieces the band ever recorded with frontman Ozzy Osbourne wailing away like he was possessed on this song. A National Acrobat follows and is another great rocker. We slow things down a bit with Tony Iommi's acoustic instrumental Fluff(just like Laguna Sunrise on 1972's Volume IV). The first half closes with the killer Sabbra Cadabra, which featured Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman on keyboards on this track. The second half beginner Killing Yourself to Live is another great song. Who Are You sees Sabbath going into somewhat Floyd territory with this piece. Looking for Today is another great song and the album's closer Spiral Architect is one of the band's best pieces ever and in fact the group performed this track on their 1997/98/99 reunion tours. This album went Gold in no time and was another Top 20 hit for the band here in the US at a time when things like John Denver, James Taylor and what not dominated music. Highly recommended!


Awesome!!   June 16, 2004
Blue Coyote (Victorville, CA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

National Acrobat is one of the best Sabbath songs ever! Great riff. The boys took some chances on this album and in most cases they work! But beware this is not typical Sabbath...very melodic but it still rocks!!


Sabra Cadabra   June 12, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Love this! I mostly remember this on vinyl. I did a lot of LSD while experimenting with this volume. "A National Acrobat" is a GREAT song. Being a bass player, this song does a lot to get your fingers moving. "Sabra Cadabra" is a classic. I only wish they didn't execute the dreary ending. It is ok, but when the first half of the song ends, you are merely left with ashes. My all time favorite track is "Spiral Staircase". What a Beautiful song. I have enjoyed many psychedelic journeys with it. This is a must have for anyone that appreciates GOOD music.


sabbath adds a little synth to their sound   June 2, 2004
Doug C. Grafton (Tomball, TX United States)
Black sabbath in my opinion is the greatest hard rock band of all time. And with their fifth effort Sabbath bloody Sabbath they really stretched their sound. though none of the songs are really considered "heavy" but they all have great poetry and sound. though i must say that the track entitled "who are you?" definitley suffers from over synthesizing. but all the other songs are gold. this nearly flawless album is a true masterpeice. a must have for any metal collection.

the best songs on this album are: sabbath bloody sabbath, a national acrobat, fluff, killing yourself to live, and a spiral architect