Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Great pressing and great sound. What more do you want? Better than the original! All of the Sabbath re-issues are in my opinion. Due to commitments (Royal Navy) I missed the original release of Vol. 4. Arriving home on my first leave I bought Vol. 4 and this at the same time. I played them back to back. I doubt many people would have been in a position to do so. It felt like a double album. Unlike a lot of bands at the time, Sabbath were able to get better and better. Not once do I recall thinking, "It's not as good as........". They always managed to produce something different whilst retaining their identity. Remarkable really.

Great album great seller thanks

The fifth studio release from the masters of the heavy rock universe is, for me, a return to form after a disappointing Volume 4. The band was still going through problems, mainly liked to substance abuse, but whereas on Vol.4 this led to a rather patchy affair on this release they managed to harness it and put it to good creative use.As well as the usual doom laden lyrics, many dealing with the band's problems, there is some excellent musicianship and vocals on display here. The band tried to expand their musical palette on 4, but it was a hit and miss affair. Now they have got the hang of it, and a much more cohesive record results, in the form of heavy rock with distinctive prog leanings.Tommy Iommi is on fine form with his trademark down tuned guitar sound, and Ozzy seems possessed with his singing. Ward and Butler are also giving it their all, and a classic heavy rock album results. Along with their self titled debut and `Paranoid' I rate this as the best from the classic Sabbath line-up. It's the greatest album cover of all time as well.

Ok insert embarrassed emogi here. This album is a total classic for sure.'What you didn't know? Call yourself a Sabbath fan since birth?'....yes it's true I never owned this album. But it's never too late as they say. Growing up on a diet of their brilliant debut, and the timeless Paranoid and Master of Reality albums you would think I'd know better.But yes after these I kind of stuck with various best ofs and some of the other albums. So Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage and believe it or not Vol.4 all got ignored. Til this year.They are all great. Don't leave it too late and buy all the first 7 albums. One of the greatest bands ever. Period.

A great, almost experimental, album at a time when the winds of change were starting to blow. This showed Sabbath coming to the end of their down-tuned, doom-riffery and exploring the realms of modern and (now) classic rock; even easy listening and jazz on later albums. The darkness still remained however and it is that which added shade to the difference of some of the more upbeat tracks.The title track is rightfully considered a classic, but to any new listeners it may be bewildering as to why? It needs a couple of spins before the lumpen riffs and tunes kick in. Great opening. 'A National Acrobat' is possibly the only filler track here. On its own it is ok but compared to the rest it's an also-ran. 'Fluff' blew me away completely. Not musically, as a feather could split it in 2!, but because of its placid, entirely serene notes. It is a 4 minute acoustic equivalent of laying in a grassy field by a river and a wood, maybe some hills, on a sunny day just after you've retired at the age of 30 with millions of pounds to do nothing with for the rest of your life - and it's sunny every day. As you can probably tell from my covert ironic-ese, it's a waft of a song. But it is beautiful. Will later appear on an album containing tracks that don't sound anything like they've been written by who they've been written by. On the down-side, it kind of sounds like the musical accompaniment to the viewers' gallery on the old Tony Hart children's art TV programme. But, actually, that isn't a bad thing. 'Sabbra Cadabbra' is more of an upbeat, traditional rock and roll tune. It's very good and is considered by many (including Metallica, who covered it very boringly) to be a classic. It's fun and breezy and tuneful and very good indeed, but it doesn't reach the heights of the title track or indeed other later tracks of other albums like 'Symptoms of the Universe'.'Killing Yourself to Live' is great. Again, no classic but a very worthy and catchy track. It has a great opening riff. 'Who Are You' is also very good but is one of the more experimental additions. It revolves around a synthesised keyboard riff and is actually all the better for it. Much better than 'Am I Going Insane' from Sabotage, which was similar in execution. 'Looking for Today' is as 'Killing...' is. It is a great track, albeit slightly throwaway. 'Spiral Architect' is a great closer. Close to a classic it has a very infectious tune, is understated and quite sophisticated.It may be a classic because of its stature in the Sabbath canon but musically it is only really a 4 star effort. This is not a criticism however as it is definitely a favourite of mine. But, in all honesty, later albums that many deride, like Tyr, The Eternal Idol and even Dehumanizer, are of equal, if not better quality.

Without out doubt this is one of the greatest musical compositions of the 20th century of any music genre. I have loved it for 46 years.

Bought this back in 83, 10 years after it was released. Had it various times since then, but tended to loan it out and lose it too often. Decided to go for the remastered version. I love Sabbath, and for me , along with Zeppelin, they have created probably the greatest riffs of all time. This album is no exception. some tracks have more riffs that you would find on one album. Musically wonderful, lyrically dark as you would expect. This would always be in my top 10 albums. Not a duff track on it.

...delivered ahead of time in good condition. All good.