Sabbath had three legendary early metal albums under their belt by 1972, and with the back-to-back releases of Paranoid and Master of Reality, their legacy was all but secured. Fourth time around, though, Black Sabbath was looking to change their approach - producer Rodger Bain wasn't in charge, with production duties now being overseen by guitarist Toni Iommi, and the recording shifted from Island studios in London to the legendary Record Plant in Los Angeles. While the band recalls being fond of recording in Los Angeles, there was a large amount of turmoil from the sessions, largely onset by abuse of cocaine and heroin - drummer Bill Ward was worried that he would be fired during the session. This darkness bleeds into the grimier, heavier sound of Vol 4, which may very well be their most satisfying album release yet. The sound of Vol 4 is of a band going through changes, and with piano ballads, multipart songs, and acoustic numbers, it's easy to see the diversity of ideas throughout - it also helps that the album contains the group's heaviest rockers to date.
I couldn't tell you if Iommi's approach to production is responsible for the album's gritty sound, but I'm almost certain it's responsible for the punching tone of every song. Black Sabbath, for as tight as they've sounded on previous albums, have never sounded better than on Vol 4 - Iommi's wall of guitar and flowing riffs are amongst the dirtiest of their career up to this point, and the atmosphere and darkness is palpable - listen to that riff on opener "Wheels of Confusion" or the foreboding bends on "Tomorrow's Dream." Geezer Butler's steady bass-playing is just as filling as ever, especially apparent on moments like "Snowblind," which is without question my favorite Black Sabbath song - an excellent guitar riff, a brilliant performance from Ozzy Osbourne, varied song structure, and a shining performance from Bill Ward, who I feel I've neglected a bit in past reviews of Sabbath albums. Bill Ward is a fucking powerhouse on this album - see the blazing "Cornucopia," the track that Ward felt would get him fired from the group due to the ice-cold reaction to his drumming. I have one question for the members of Sabbath: you're telling me this ain't good? This is supreme-o shit.
Black Sabbath also utilizes their time on Vol 4 to do more than blaze through the heaviest rock they've ever done, but they also experiment. "Changes" is not a metal song by any stretch of the imagination - it is a pretty lovely piano ballad with rich lyrics about Ward's divorce with his first wife. You would think that Ozzy can't pull off a ballad like this with his peculiar voice, and yet it works with flying colors. "Laguna Sunrise" is a great acoustic instrumental on par with "Orchid" from Master of Reality, but with incredibly lush strings and a far more filling composition at the heart of it. You want some off the wall stuff, ya say? "FX" is 100 seconds of guitar sound effects (get it?), and while it's not much of a song it's definitely more interesting than other masturbatory guitar ramblings from the time - "Free Form Guitar," anyone? The darkness surrounding the album's recording also worms its way into to heart of the album's themes; the soaring "Supernaut" talks about living life to the fullest, but it was inspired by the insane cocaine binges that the group would partake in; "Snowblind" is explicitly about cocaine addition, as if whispered vocals mentioning the drug weren't enough of a tip-off; "Cornucopia" is about deception through wealth and indulgences, no doubt inspired by excessive drug use. With the darker lyrical themes meshing beautifully with the punching production, it makes for a very atmospherically despairing album.
The end result of Vol 4 is Sabbath's most rewarding, most varied, and hardest rocking album of their career yet. For all the credit Paranoid gets for essentially making heavy metal as iconic as it is, and for all the credit Master of Reality gets for moving the group towards a heavier, more aggressive sound, Vol 4 truly is the best of both worlds. It's expansive, brilliantly produced, written, played, and above all it fucking rocks hard. Sabbath's defining hour, and an incredibly rich experience from the group - a star part, no doubt.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Vol 4.
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