Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the fifth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973.[2] It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the album, which began in Los Angeles, California, was initially hampered in part by the band's substance abuse and fatigue following their 1972–1973 world tour in support of their previous album, Vol. 4.[3] The band then relocated to Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, where guitarist Tony Iommi conceived the main riff of what became the album's title track and lead single.[4]
Following Black Sabbath's 1972–1973 world tour in support of their album, Vol. 4, the group returned to Los Angeles to begin work on its successor. Pleased with Vol. 4, the band sought to recreate the recording atmosphere, and returned to the Record Plant Studios. The band rented a house in Bel Air and began writing in the summer of 1973 but, due in part to substance abuse and fatigue, were unable to complete any songs. "Ideas weren't coming out the way they were on Vol. 4 and we really got discontent," said guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi. "Everybody was sitting there waiting for me to come up with something. I just couldn't think of anything. And if I didn't come up with anything, nobody would do anything."[3] In 2013, bassist Geezer Butler told Mojo magazine that after the tour in support of Vol. 4 the band was "absolutely, completely exhausted" and by the time they played the Hollywood Bowl, "Tony collapsed. It was really touch-and-go at one point whether he'd survive or not because he was totally depleted. So we had to cancel the rest of the tour and we actually took time off for the first time since the band started. We got away from each other and had a social life. Then we came back together to start on the next album, and couldn't come up with anything." In his autobiography I Am Ozzy, singer Ozzy Osbourne states that in the time leading up to the Hollywood Bowl "Tony had been doing coke literally for days – we all had, but Tony had gone over the edge. I mean, that stuff just twists your whole idea of reality. You start seeing things that aren't there. And Tony was gone. Near the end of the gig he walked off stage and collapsed." Regarding his writer's block, Iommi admitted to Phil Alexander in 2013, "I panicked because I didn't have a single idea about what to write. It might have been the drugs, it could have been the pressure, but either way I felt it was my fault." The band were also disappointed to discover that the room they had used previously at the Record Plant had been replaced with a "giant synthesizer" by Stevie Wonder, who had recently recorded there.
After a month in Los Angeles with no results, the band opted to return to the UK, where they rented Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, in which the likes of Led Zeppelin, Mott the Hoople and Deep Purple wrote and recorded. The medieval surroundings may have revitalised the band musically, but also left a sinister impression; in the liner notes to the 1998 live album Reunion, Iommi recalls, "We rehearsed in the armoury there and one night I was walking down the corridor with Ozzy and we saw this figure in a black cloak ... We followed this figure back into the armoury and there was absolutely no one there. Whoever it was had disappeared into thin air! The people that owned the castle knew all about this ghost and they said, 'Oh yes, that's the ghost of so and so. We were like 'What!?'" Adds Butler, "We rehearsed in the dungeons and it was really creepy but it had some atmosphere, it conjured up things, and stuff started coming out again".[5] While working in the dungeon, Iommi stumbled onto the main riff of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", which set the tone for the new material.[4] In 2001 Butler admitted to Dan Epstein of Guitar World, "We almost thought that we were finished as a band ... Once Tony came out with the initial riff for 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' we went 'We're baaaack!'" The spooky atmosphere at Clearwell Castle perfectly complemented the band's practice of playing practical jokes on one another. In the documentary Black Sabbath, Volume 1: 1970–1978 Iommi recalls, "I've got to be honest, we frightened the life out of each other. We had to leave in the end, everybody terrified of each other because we were playing jokes on each other and nobody knew who was doing it... We used to leave and drive all the way home and drive back the next day. It was really silly." In his autobiography Osbourne cracks, "We weren't so much the Lords of Darkness as the Lords of Chickenshit when it came to that kind of thing ... We wound each other up so much none of us got any sleep. You'd just lie there with your eyes wide open, expecting an empty suit of armour to walk into your bedroom at any second to shove a dagger up your arse." Osbourne also writes that he nearly burnt the castle down one night when he fell asleep with his boot in the fire. Osbourne said that when it came to the shenanigans Bill Ward typically "got the worst of it", with the drummer eventually going to bed at night with a dagger.
Although the band's then-manager Patrick Meehan received credit as co-producer, Iommi said years later that Meehan had virtually no actual involvement in the album's production, saying "Meehan's ego got involved, and he stuck his name down as producer".[3] Recording was completed at Morgan Studios in Willesden, North London in 1973. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman of the band Yes (who were recording Tales from Topographic Oceans in the next studio) was brought in as a session player, appearing on "Sabbra Cadabra".[6] Wakeman refused payment from the band and was ultimately compensated with beer for his contribution.[7] The members of Led Zeppelin, close friends of the band from their early days in Birmingham, showed up at the studio during Sabbath Bloody Sabbath's recording.[7] Drummer John Bonham was eager to play on "Sabbra Cadabra", but Sabbath preferred to play material other than their own for the occasion.[7] In the end, the two bands had an improvised jam session which was recorded but never released.[7]
Osbourne has said that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was "the beginning of the end" for Black Sabbath's original line-up.[8] In 2013, the singer elaborated to Mojo, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was really the album after which I should have said goodbye because after that I really started unravelling. Then we ended up falling out of favour with each other." Fuelled by rampant drug and alcohol use within the band, tensions began to mount. Iommi began to resent doing most of the songwriting and studio work, thus having no social life.[8] Bassist Butler also began complaining that vocalist Osbourne had become too reliant on him for lyrics.[8]
Building on the stylistic changes introduced on Vol. 4, new songs incorporated synthesizers, strings, keyboards and more complex arrangements. Iommi experimented with sitar and bagpipes in the studio but was not able to master the instruments to his satisfaction.[7]
The lyrics also delved into new areas, with Mojo opining in 2013, "The title track led into an expansive set as Butler's lyrics contemplated the mysteries of birth and DNA in 'A National Acrobat' and "Spiral Architect', respectively." "'A National Acrobat' was just me thinking about who selects what sperm gets through to the egg", Butler explained in the liner notes to Reunion in 1998. "'Spiral Architect' was about life's experiences being added to a person's DNA to create a unique individual. I used to get very contemplative on certain substances. I still do, but without those substances." In his autobiography Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath, Iommi reveals that the initial riff for "A National Acrobat" was written by Butler, to which the guitarist "added bits to it. Geezer can write some great stuff." According to the book How Black Was Our Sabbath, the band invited an orchestra to play on 'Spiral Architect' "but couldn't cram all of the musicians and their instruments into Morgan Studios. They ended up at the nearby Pye Studio along the road, with Ozzy trying to explain what he wanted them to play like some sort of mad conductor. He had no written music to give the orchestra, he just hummed the part and they picked it up."
Osbourne purchased a Moog synthesizer; though he "didn't know how to use it" according to Iommi, he was still able to compose the song "Who Are You?" with it.[7] In his memoir Osbourne states, "I'd written it one night at Bulrush Cottage while I was loaded and fiddling around with a Revox tape machine and my ARP 2600." The singer also writes that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was "Our last truly great album, I think... And with the music we'd managed to strike just the right balance between our old heaviness and our new, 'experimental' side." "Killing Yourself to Live" was a Butler composition written while he was in hospital for kidney problems caused by heavy drinking. Ward was also drinking heavily, and the song reflects the problems caused by their "extreme" lifestyles. An early incarnation of the song can be heard on the live albums Live at Last and Past Lives. The instrumental "Fluff" was composed by Iommi and named after BBC radio disc jockey Alan "Fluff" Freeman.[7] Freeman was one of the few radio personalities in Britain to play Sabbath's music on-air.[7]
Artwork
Illustrator Drew Struzan created coloured pencil drawings for both the front and back album sleeves. The front, drawn primarily in red tones, depicts a nude man on an elaborate California king satanic bed with a large “666” on the headboard tormented by nude male and female demons and rats. The back shows a more peaceful scene, rendered mostly in blue, with a dying man surrounded by grieving loved ones and sleeping lions.[9]
The Vertigo LP featured a gatefold cover, with the interior showing a color photograph of translucent members of the band standing in a furnished bedroom.
Black Sabbath released Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in late November 1973. For the first time in their career, the band began to receive favourable reviews in the mainstream press, with Rolling Stone calling the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success".[15] Later reviewers such as AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia cite the album as "a masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection", while also displaying "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity".[10] The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the United States. It reached number four on the UK charts,[16] and number eleven in the US.[17] In the UK, it was the first Black Sabbath album to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in February 1975. The album would go on to be regarded in high esteem by the band members themselves; when asked by Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1994 which songs he would like to see on the upcoming Black Sabbath box set, Butler replied, "Probably anything off of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The song "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" itself. It was a whole new era for us. We felt really open on that album. It was a great atmosphere, good time, great coke! Just like a new birth for me. We had done the first four albums and done it that way. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was like Part Two of your life. It was a weird feeling; a good feeling." In his memoir, Iommi calls the album "the pinnacle".
The song "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" has been singled out for praise by many hard rock and heavy metal guitar players, with Slash from Guns N' Roses stating to Guitar World in 2008, "The outro to 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the heaviest shit I have ever heard in my life. To this day, I haven't heard anything as heavy that has as much soul." Brent Hinds of Mastodon agrees, telling Nick Bowcott in 2008, "The 'dreams turn to nightmares, Heaven turns to Hell' riff at the end of that song is unbeatable." Kirk Hammett of Metallica cites "Killing Yourself to Live" as his favourite Black Sabbath song, revealing in the Holiday 2008 issue of Guitar World that "A lot of people gravitate toward the album's title track, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', but for me this is the stand out cut on the album." Metallica would later cover "Sabbra Cadabra" on their 1998 covers album Garage Inc.[18]Dave Williams of Drowning Pool stated that he would want the album with him if he were stranded on a desert island.[19]
The initial Castle Communications CD release from 1986 (NELCD 6017) also featured a live version of "Cornucopia" from Live at Last as a bonus track. The subsequent Castle CD release (CLACD 201) returned to the original tracklist.
^The Bicycle Music Company. (2014). Vintage Drowning Pool - Dave’s Desert Island Albums #UnluckySinner13. Retrieved July 21, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Y4m7hJ58Y.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
Street in Berlin, Germany You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (December 2019) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated t...
توماس بلوم هانسن معلومات شخصية الميلاد 22 يناير 1958 (65 سنة) مواطنة مملكة هولندا الحياة العملية المدرسة الأم جامعة آلبورغ المهنة عالم إنسان[1]، وأستاذ جامعي[1]، وأستاذ جامعي[1] اللغة الأم الإنجليزية اللغات الإنجليزية مجال العمل علم الإنسا�...
كاتاراغوس الإحداثيات 42°19′48″N 78°51′56″W / 42.33°N 78.8656°W / 42.33; -78.8656 تقسيم إداري البلد الولايات المتحدة[1] التقسيم الأعلى مقاطعة كاتاروغوس، نيويورك خصائص جغرافية المساحة 2.899932 كيلومتر مربع2.899934 كيلومتر مربع (1 أبريل 2010) ارتفاع 419 متر عدد ال
Une clérouquie (en grec ancien κληρουχία / klêroukhía) désigne l'assignation par tirage au sort de lots de terre civique (kleros) à des soldats-citoyens, les « clérouques », et par extension ce type de colonie militaire elle-même. On trouve des clérouques à Athènes au Ve et au IVe siècle av. J.-C., et dans le royaume lagide en Égypte à partir de la fin du IVe siècle av. J.-C.. Un kleros désigne en Grèce antique le lot de terre d...
Ferrocarril Córdoba a Rosario Estación Rosario Central CórdobaLugarUbicación Santa Fe, CórdobaDescripciónInauguración 1890Clausura 1913Inicio RosarioFin RafaelaCaracterísticas técnicasLongitud 291 kmAncho de vía 1.000 mm[editar datos en Wikidata] El Ferrocarril Córdoba a Rosario fue una empresa de capitales británicos que funcionó desde 1890 hasta el año 1913. Origen Por ley de la Provincia de Santa Fe, del 2 de septiembre de 1886, se concedió a Santiago Temple la con...
ميّز عن مناعة اجتماعية. يُظهر المُربع العلوي تفشي المرض في مجتمعٍ فيه عددٌ قليلٌ مُصابٌ من الأفراد (كما هو موضح باللون الأحمر) ويكون الباقي بصحةٍ جيدة ولكنهم غيرُ محصنين مناعيًا (كما هو موضح باللون الأزرق)، وبالتالي ينتشرُ المرض بحريةٍ بين جميع الأفراد. يُظهر المربع �...
إن وجهات النظر المعروضة في هذه المقالة منحازة ثقافيًا أو جغرافيًا. فضلًا، ساهم في تحسينها من خلال إزالة أي محتوى منحاز وتطوير محتواها لتعرض وجهات نظر متنوعة بصورة حيادية. (نقاش) جزء من سلسلة مقالات حولالعنف ضد المرأة القضايا اعتداءات رش الحمض كي الثدي العنف خلال فترة الموا�...
This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources. (July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sneltram Hasselt - MaastrichtOverviewLocale Province of Limburg, Belgium Maastricht, Province of Limburg, NetherlandsTransit typefast tram / light railNumbe...
Railway division of India Madurai railway divisionFront view of Madurai JunctionOverviewHeadquartersMaduraiLocaleTamil Nadu, IndiaDates of operation1956; 67 years ago (1956)–PredecessorSouthern RailwaysTechnicalTrack gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)Previous gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)Length1,356 km (843 mi)OtherWebsiteMadurai railway division Madurai railway division is a railway division belonging to the Southern Rail...
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Mark and recapture is a method commonly used in ecology to estimate an animal population's size where it is impractical to count every individual.[1] A portion of the population is captured, marked, and released. Later, another portion will...
American DJ and rapper (born 1958) Grandmaster FlashGrandmaster Flash performing in 2014Background informationBirth nameJoseph Robert Saddler[1]Born (1958-01-01) January 1, 1958 (age 65)GenresHip hopold-school hip hopbreakbeatfunkelectroOccupation(s)DJrapperproducerYears active1978–presentLabelsSugar HillEnjoyElektraSpouse(s) Brittany Williams (m. 1999; died 2015) Brittany Silver (m. 2018; d...
M. SoebijaktoBupati Jombang 6Masa jabatan1956–1958PresidenSoekarnoGubernurR. SamadikunR. T. A. MilonoPendahuluIstadjab TjokrokoesoemoPenggantiR. SoedarsonoMasa jabatan1960–1961PresidenSoekarnoGubernurR. Soewondo Ranuwidjojo Informasi pribadiLahirSitubondo, Jawa TimurKebangsaanIndonesiaSunting kotak info • L • B M. Soebijakto (EYD: M. Subiyakto; lahir di Situbondo, Jawa Timur) adalah bupati Jombang ke-6, yang menjabat pada dua periode yakni 1956-1958 dan 1960-1961. Ia lah...
Unidentified murder victim in the United Kingdom Modern graffiti, photographed in 2006, on the Wychbury Obelisk. The original 1944 graffiti, written on a wall in Birmingham, was worded and spelled slightly differently. Who put Bella down the Wych Elm? is a graffito that appeared in 1944 following the 1943 discovery by four children of the skeletonised remains of a woman inside a wych elm in Worcestershire, England. The phrase, or a variant with the preposition in and/or the spelling Witch, is...
UK radio program This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Fighting Talk – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Fighting TalkOther namesFTGenreSports panel gameRunning time50 minutes (approx)Country of originUKLanguage(s)EnglishHome ...
هذه المقالة بحاجة لصندوق معلومات. فضلًا ساعد في تحسين هذه المقالة بإضافة صندوق معلومات مخصص إليها. هذه المقالة يتيمة إذ تصل إليها مقالات أخرى قليلة جدًا. فضلًا، ساعد بإضافة وصلة إليها في مقالات متعلقة بها. (مايو 2020) لواء بدر هو وحدة تضم نحو 1500 جندي فلسطيني ممن يتلقون رواتبهم ...
Brand of pipe tobacco This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; try the Find link tool for suggestions. (April 2022) This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate externa...
Warszawa Pragafrüher: Praga Nadwiślańska Gleisanlagen des Bahnhofs im Jahr 2015 Daten Lage im Netz Durchgangsbahnhof,Haltepunkt, Güterbahnhof Eröffnung 1877 Lage Stadt/Gemeinde Warschau Ort/Ortsteil Targówek Woiwodschaft Masowien Staat Polen Koordinaten 52° 16′ 33″ N, 21° 1′ 23″ O52.27593121.022981Koordinaten: 52° 16′ 33″ N, 21° 1′ 23″ O Eisenbahnstrecken Warschau–Danzig (km 10,100) W. Główna Towarowa �...
Mysore State RailwayIndustryRailwaysFounded1879Defunct1951Area servedKingdom of Mysore and Mysore State Mysore State Railway (MSR) was a railway company which was operated by the government of the Kingdom of Mysore.[1] After India's constitution into a republic, MSR became part of Southern Railways of the government of India on 14 April 1951. History In 1879, the Madras Railway Company constructed a railway line from Royapuram in Madras presidency to Bangalore city. At that time, Maha...
DVD format for storing high-fidelity audio DVDA redirects here. For the band, see South Park § Music. DVD-AudioDVD-Audio release of Rumours by Fleetwood MacMedia typeOptical discEncodingMeridian Lossless Packing or uncompressed LPCM[1]Capacityup to 8.5 GBRead mechanism640 nm wavelength semiconductor laserStandardDVD Books, Part 4, DVD-Audio Book, DVD Audio Recording Book [2][3][4]Developed byDVD ForumUsageAudio storageExtended fromDVDCompac...
