Sabbath Poll

We need some more votes for sabotage! Come on, you can't go wrong with "hole in the sky" or "symptom of the universe!"

MetallicSeminarian wrote:

We need some more votes for sabotage! Come on, you can't go wrong with "hole in the sky" or "symptom of the universe!"

..or Megalomania or The Writ.  

I could easily have picked any of the first 6 albums as my favorite depending on what mood I'm in that day.

As far as the Ozzy/Dio thing, the band with Ozzy were bona fide originators, so unique that no subsequent lineup regardless of how great they were (and the Dio lineup was great) are anywhere near as important in the overall history of the music.

Which I understand and I have so much respect for them and enjoy those albums but Dio era is the one I personally like best.

Vol. 4 for sympathetic reasons and also because I really like it.  It is solid. It was one of the first albums I ever had.  I got it at a thrift store on 8-track. 

I remember the handles on my dresser sounded like some of the sounds in the song "FX" when I lifted them and let them "knock."  I would try to mimic the song with them.  It's one of those albums that brings back a lot of childhood memories.

Favourite is Heaven and Hell, but for some reason there's only six options? H&H is in my top ten albums of all time by any band ever, for sure.

If we're talking greatest Sabbath album (which you specifically said we weren't), then I'd go with the debut. Or Paranoid. Either one is a good choice. The debut was ground breaking and had that "holy shit what am I listening to?" factor in it. Paranoid took it to another level, improved and enhanced the music, had more focused (and commercial) songs, and most importantly had the SOUND. That thick, heavy metal guitar sound. It wasn't as unique though.

So... in my summary I think Paranoid is my favourite Ozzy era album, though the first six are all awesome, but since my absolute favourite (Heaven and Hell) is not listed, I'll just take this poll as a "greatest" Sabbath record vote and place my vote on the debut.

Lari wrote:

Favourite is Heaven and Hell

Same here.

I believe the point of this poll was "original" Black Sabbath, I'm assuming the OP decided to leave off Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die because he figured nobody would vote for those.

Same here. Which is what makes this poll quite difficult.

EDIT: Messed up here. I was referring to S.D.'s earlier quote: "I could easily have picked any of the first 6 albums as my favorite depending on what mood I'm in that day."

It would be "Vol. 4" for me. A decade ago, I probably wouldn't even have given this album the time of day, as it was way too mature of an album for me to appreciate. In many ways my love for this album mirrors that of let's say a Led Zeppelin III, another mature record.

metalinmyveins wrote:

It would be "Vol. 4" for me. A decade ago, I probably wouldn't even have given this album the time of day, as it was way too mature of an album for me to appreciate. In many ways my love for this album mirrors that of let's say a Led Zeppelin III, another mature record.

I like vol 4 quite a bit (almost voted for it), and III is easily my favorite Zep album.

I left off Tech and Die as well as later eras not because I thought no one would vote for them but because I wanted to focus on the most successful albums of Sabbath's career. The first six represent their strongest attributes as a band and also were a consistent force of songwriting. Most of us can agree that Tech and Die, while both being decent albums, were somewhat of a shadow of decay in the Sabbath catalog.

In other words, the first six albums were all equally masterpieces, which is why it's interesting to explore everyone's favorite in that group. Just look at the numbers so far; it could easily end up being a six-way tie.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath for me, but if I were asked when I was a teenager I would have said SBS sucked. I didn't quite understand it at that point.

  Aaargh!!! Can't decide 

It's like trying to pick a favorite child! (actually, it's more like having to admit that you have a favorite child!)

Sabotage and Sabbath Bloody are not only 1 & 2 on this list, but 1 & 2 of any albums by any artist at any time for me.
Vol 4 is also a top 10, and the first three no longer contenders only because I played them absolutely to death back when, so I obviously loved them as well. I consider them sort of like teddy bears with the ears and eyes worn off. Sometimes those old albums make a comeback as has happened with Machine Head, these are from the days when I only owned maybe 25 albums so it was easy to wear them out.

Old albums CAN have that effect. For instance, Number of the Beast was one of my worn out teddy bears back in the day, but recently I pulled it out and it just felt fresh and new to me. I was headbanging like a fifteen-year-old in denim and patches. Same with Zepplelin. Pulled out my worn vinyl of IV that I hadn't heard since the late 90's and it was pure magic. As for Sabbath, I'm always revisiting those albums at least a couple times a year. I should give them some time so I can revisit them with that same feeling.

In any case, you have a great analogy there. 

I went with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath with Sabotage next. Hard to pick since I really like all of the Ozzy era.

Just thought I'd post an example of this shadow of decay!



Funny, cause it sounds flipping brilliant to these ears 

Never Say Die especially is a great, mature record but tends to get lambasted because it doesn't sound like Master Of Reality Part 2.

Again, they weren't bad albums, IMO they were decent and, contextually, highly experimental. By "shadow of decay" I mean that one could tell the band was falling apart because the songs were so disjointed and erratic in trying for different styles. The tension in NSD is more than noticeable, which in fact contributes to the moodiness of the record. Regardless, things got a little awkward there. The first six albums would progressively become more experimental but not as abrupt as the last two. And again, the first six albums were solid, full of airtight compositions and continuity in style. They were all equally great albums, which is why it's so difficult to choose the best one.

I'll say it again: no Sabbath album is a bad Sabbath album, at least in my mind.

I just think that both albums get a unfairly bad rep (I much prefer TE myself) I also love keyboards with the original Sabbath line up.

I do get where you are coming from though, to be honest, I'll defend all of the Ozzy/Dio Sabbath records as they are all great! (not the two live offerings though)

Boris2008 wrote:

I just think that both albums get a unfairly bad rep (I much prefer TE myself) I also love keyboards with the original Sabbath line up.

I do get where you are coming from though, too be honest, I'll defend all of the Ozzy/Dio Sabbath records as they are all great! (not the two live offerings though)

And rightfully so you should. Those two albums do get a lot of unfair criticism because, as SD said, they just don't sound, shall we say, "Sabbath-y." I say whatever to the critics, 'cause they do rock.

As for the live albums, it's just like Roth-era VH; when in God's name are we gonna get a decent live album?!

You want a great Black Sabbath live album?  Search for "Asbury Park, 1975", it's a bootleg soundboard recording from the Sabotage tour.  3 songs made it onto the "Past Lives" release but they should have just reissued the full concert.  

Killing Yourself To Live
Hole In The Sky
Snowblind
Symptom Of The Universe
War Pigs
Megalomania
Sabbra Cadabra (a 20-minute extended jam)
Supernaut
Iron Man
Iommi Improvisation (including an early jam on the Rock 'N' Roll Doctor riff)
Black Sabbath
Spiral Architect
Children Of The Grave
Paranoid

Screw it, I'l do all of em'

1. Master of Reality
2. Black Sabbath
3. Paranoid (might be 2 or 1 if I wasn't a bit tired of it)
4. Sabotage
5. Vol. 4
6. 13
7. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
8. Never Say Die
9. Technical Ecstasy

Oh btw Corplhicks. If I ever form my own doom metal band (which I won't) I'm stealing 'Shadow of Decay'