Anything Else Forum

Anything Else Forum

Offtopicland. Remember: no politics, religion, or hot-button social issues.

July 28 - TIM(etal)H - Sabotage, Black Sabbath

+5 HS
Ludwig Yards's picture
July 28, 2016 at 11:50am
53 Comments

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

 

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

View 53 Comments