Double dose of Sabbath this week too.
Released in 1975, Sabotage was Sabbath’s 6th studio album, the title being inspired by ongoing legal issues with their management. According to Butler: "Around the time of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, we found out that we were being ripped off by our management and our record company. So, much of the time, when we weren't onstage or in the studio, we were in lawyer's offices trying to get out of all our contracts. We were literally in the studio, trying to record, and we'd be signing all these affidavits and everything. That's why it's called Sabotage – because we felt that the whole process was just being totally sabotaged by all these people ripping us off."
The music itself was more experimental than their previous work (see 'Am I Going Insane'). Experimentation is fine, assuming it eventually leads to somewhere good, or leads to some kind of growth, which was not the case. Sabotage does however contain one of their hardest rockers – 'Symptom of the Universe', a song that some say is the first thrash metal song. The song also though, features a mellow, 2-minute “jam” at the end, very disparate from the rest of the song. Yngwie Malmsteen said the riff to 'Symptom' was the first Tony Iommi riff he ever heard and that "Tony's use of the flat fifth would have got him burned at the stake a couple hundred years ago." I don’t know what that means but it sounds like a very metal thing to say. 'Hole in the Sky' is another notable album track.
So, the importance of this release is the sad fact that this album really marked the beginning (or continuation) of the end for a once mighty band. Fans agreed, this was the first Sabbath album to not go platinum in the US. Rolling Stone liked it though, so it’s no surprise I don’t. For me, 'Symptom' is really the only noteworthy part of this record.
Quick facts:
Released 28 July 1975 (US, Warners)
August/September 1975 (UK, Nems Records)
Recorded February–March 1975
Studio Morgan Studios in London, England
Label Vertigo, Warner Bros.
Producer Toni Iommi, Mike Butcher
I found a way to get Metallica in again this week too, with their cover of 'Hole in the Sky' from Sabotage: