Black Sabbath
Sabotage
[Warner Brothers]


After going a bit astray on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Black Sabbath came back with a heavy album that set up yet more lasting metal precedents. It was probably their last great album.

The most powerful, ground breaking song on the album is Symptom of the Universe. The first half of it rides mostly on the strength of a riff that is the elemental epitome of dissonance in metal. The riff slams away straightforwardly on the low E, then drives in the dissonant tritone with long, sustaining notes. The rhythmic phrasing is brilliant. It really lets the listener savor the clashing chord.

It ends up being as beautiful as it is ugly and is an archtype for dissonant metal riffs. The other riffs masterfully oppose or feed off of the charging momentum of the main riff.

After charging away with a storm of well-placed dissonance and energy, the song into breaks into a very loose and mellow acoustic section. The transition is strangely quite natural. The second half's various bluesy parts mesh with a playful intricacy. Again, Sabbath successfully use the momentum from the visceral first half to carry the listener out of the song in euphoria.

Don't Start (too late) is the prelude to Symptom of the Universe, but it's not at all a throwaway track. On top of an odd, not wholly consonant bass texture, quiet acoustic guitars arc up strange, thoughtful arpeggios, pitted against each other in odd harmony before trading off contemplative baroque-feeling fragments.

Hole in the Sky, the song before that, is a filled with groove and good texturous riffs. It feels good and right as the first song on the album.

The Thrill of It All and Am I Going Insane? (Radio) are both happier and closer to traditional 70's rock. While they're the worst songs on the album, they're both pretty tolerable and have their moments.

Megalomania, on the other hand, starts as a sprawling, despairing song. It thickens and saturates during the choruses of the first half. The second half of the song continues with a more regular riff, rhythm-wise. It roils around, letting the sort of odd, slightly "frying" distortion breathe and fizz. Unfortunately, cowbells and happy riffing come around occasionally during this part of the song and take me out of it a bit, although I'm sure that they did it intentionally for contrast.

The Writ is another huge and two-headed song like Megalomania. After setting a tone with samples of insane crying/laughing and ominous, watery bass undertones, Sabbath breaks the mood with a big rock riff, consisting of big stomping chords. Reminds me of bagpiping. The watery ominous bass returns for the second verse, but so does the rock riff. This time, they build into a Sabbathy grooving/despairing riff. In turn, this gives way to a nice acoustic section. As much as I hate to describe this way, it reminds me of twinkling stars. The song ends the way it should, with the heavy riff.

Supertzar was the real surprise for me the first time I heard this album. It is a simple song consisting of an acoustic part and three serious riffs, the main one being very militant. They are all played in the middle register to be closer to the range of the chamber choir. The chamber choir sometimes provides a swelling backing for the guitar, and sometimes it sings the same lines as the guitar. Together with the military drumming, the effect is amazing. The choir, guitar, and drums blend powerfully. It is the most effective use of a choir in metal that I have heard.

All in all, Sabotage is good album. It's got one legendary song, a few other great songs, and the rest sounds good in its place.


© 1999 abasmagorsulpherion