Seb's Web

I’ve been listening to the early Ozzy albums today and, my god, these are even better than I remember. Sure, I always have some rock in my rotation, I get to a bit of Sabbath and Ozzy on my rockin’ days, but even though I’ve been playing these on shuffle for two decades, I never really listened to the albums front to back. What an absolute delight.

When you read a bit about how the first two albums were made, it’s clear how these guys were not only the pioneers of metal but also its absolute kings. Black Sabbath was recorded in a single day and they were “back in the pub for last orders”. The title album of “Paranoid” was made on the spot in less than two hours from stuff they’ve been improvising in earlier gigs. I mean it’s fucking “Paranoid”, one of the best heavy metal songs ever made. It once took me more time to make a pasta dish.

“Master of Reality” and “Vol. 4” are brilliant, but “Black Sabbath” takes the cake for its atmosphere and blues-rock influences. Clearly of the era and yet revolutionary.

Off they go on my 1001 album list, with flying colours.