Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

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Free Music Notes for Master of Reality

Free Music Review: The Gloomiest, Darkest Sabbath Ever...
Hit: 5 Stars

The rather plain cover basically says it all: the music is black, very black, with shades of dark purple and gray. Considering all that was going on in the world at the time, this music was apt: The Vietnam War was still going on and, at that time, had no end anywhere in sight. People were being beaten senseless and, in the case of Kent State University in Ohio that year, even killed---just for protesting against this inhumane and immoral war. Race riots were the norm. Peace seemed like a toddler's fantasy. Nixon was President. This was the context of the times in which Black Sabbath recorded & released this, their third album.

Sporting the deepest, darkest riffs this side of a dead plane engine, MASTER OF REALITY opens with the infamous ode to marijuana, "Sweet Leaf," goes right into the argument for life after death (and God), "After Forever." By the way, anyone who still wants to argue---incorrectly---that Black Sabbath were into Satan needs to be shown the lyrics to this song, which says plaintively, "Perhaps you think before you say God is dead and gone/Open your eyes, just realize that he is the one, The only one who can save you now from all this sin and hate."

Anyway, the band then segues into a very short and odd-sounding instrumental "Embryo," then goes right into the dark, fast plea for peace, "Children Of The Grave." Again for the doubters, this song says, "So you children of the world listen to what I say/If you want a better place to live in spread the word today." The next song is a beautiful, one-and-a-half-minute instrumental breather, "Orchid," which shows that guitarist Tony Iommi knows how to do a lot more than just crunch electrical chords. Then comes the deep crunch of "Lord Of This World," which addresses the ways of evil by saying, "Your world was made for you by someone above/But you chose evil ways instead of love."

Next comes one of the most beautiful, depressing songs ever, the extremely moody, dark, soft and acoustic rejection ballad "Solitude." Despite what some people think, this song is actually sung by Ozzy Osbourne, NOT drummer Bill Ward. (Many people don't realize that Ozzy can display vastly different intonations with his voice; it's just that he doesn't usually do this. Bill Ward has in fact, sung lead on only two Black Sabbath songs ever: "It's Alright" from the 1976 clunker TECHNICAL ECSTASY and "Swinging The Chain" from the 1978 Ozzy Osbourne swansong NEVER SAY DIE!) "Solitude" is extremely sobering, even numbing, and is an excellent song to play for people who think that Black Sabbath is all about noise. Beginning with the lyric, "My name it means nothing/My fortune is less," "Solitude" is poetic and heartbreaking. Then, just in case we forgot that we are, in fact, listening to a Black Sabbath record, the final track "Into The Void" comes roaring at us with some majorly deep, fast, heavy riffage from Tony Iommi while Ozzy sings about the hypocrisy of NASA and the Space Program, "Rocket engines burning fuel so fast/Up into the night sky they blast/Through the universe the engines whine/Could it be the end of man and time?"

With lyrics so poignant, with songs so powerful, is it any wonder that this album was more popular than either one of their first two albums? (Look it up: BLACK SABBATH got as high as #23 on Billboard, PARANOID hit #8 and MASTER OF REALITY went up to #4.) Is it any wonder that Black Sabbath, on their 1998-99 Reunion Tour, played almost every single song from MASTER OF REALITY? Sure, this album is only about 34 minutes long (making it the shortest Black Sabbath album ever); however, it is the quality of the songs that matter. MASTER OF REALITY has quality coming out in spades.

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