Your top 3 Black Sabbath albums?

Yeah, I've taken some crap for feeling the same way.

 

The only reason people dismiss the 86-95 stuff is that they rightfully don't consider it Sabbath, that's all. Was it named Tony Iommi's Cross or something a-la Rainbow nobody would even mind. Headless Cross and others are fine melodic hard rock/metal records and would have a much higher rating if the name was different.

 

Paranoid, Master of Reality, Sabotage.

 

Hello,

They're all great albums ! Really hard to pick just 3, as there's IMO 3 distinct sounds & periods in their music from the first era with Ozzy...
1. The first 3 albums are really heavy blues albums IMO, with extraordinary lyrics.
2. The next 3 got my vote, as the sound expanded & produced far better progressive like, & melodic music, also with extraordinary lyrics. - ( esp. S.B.S. & Sbtg ).
3. The next 2 albums IMO offered great music too, but possibly aimed at a more commercial radio audience, & the lyrics seemed to lose their insight & rude awakening.

Anyhow, I love them all, but Vol.4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, & Sabotage are the desert island takings for me. (And Never Say Die might just sneak in among them too).

Ciao,

Gregster

 

Love 'em all up to and including Born Again (I really like Seventh Star as well, but that is probably because it was the first one I heard). Yup, I actually love Technical Ecstacy and Never Say Die. Sue me!

Picked Vol. 4, SBS, HaH.

 

To me, the quintessential Sabbath album is the first one. It blends the fantasy imagery of heavy metal with musicianship that's been copied over and over. It sounds cartoonish yet can be taken seriously at the same time, much like Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards.

The next two are my next favorites but have a more serious tone. They are also the albums that began the Black Sabbath cult following which, in itself, I've always found a bit comedic. It's the crossover of these three albums that makes everything in metal defendable. It's how war, misogyny, death, satan, and whatever other morbid subject, in metal, is defended as fantasy. For a person to believe this argument, they need a reference point where heavy metal sounds like fantasy and the first Black Sabbath is that point.

 

Uh, no. Most people I know (myself included) "dismiss" it because we just don't like it that much, whatever the band name might be.

 

I basically like all their catalog of all the eras, though Forbidden was not a gem.

So I voted for:
1st album - recorded in what, a day or something? Great songs, sounds quite good considering the recording conditions.
Heaven and Hell: my nod to the Dio era, some really hard powerful stuff.
Headless Cross: saw this in a shop in London, brand new, I flipped out and snagged it. Love the title track, such power from Cozy Powell's drums.

 

In order

Master Of Reality
Paranoid
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

 

3. Vol 4
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1. Paranoid

 

S/T
Paranoid
Vol. 4

 

The first six kick an immense amount of ass, giant game changing masterpieces all of them. Certainly very difficult to pick the top three but I voted self titled, Paranoid, and Vol. 4 (which I am blasting an original US pressing right now)!

 

S/T
SBS
Vol. 4

 

My top 12 list as I feel today: (changes daily)
1. Black Sabbath
2. Vol. 4
3. Paranoid
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
5. Master Of Reality
6. Sabotage
7. Never Say Die
8. Technical Ecstasy
9. Heaven And Hell
10. Mob Rules
11. "13"
12. Dehumanizer

 

1. Sabotage
2. Paranoid
3. Vol. 4

 

My choices were SBS, Mob Rules, and Born Again, but could have easily had been your three.

 

I am now unleashing a Black Sabbath vinyl listening marathon. So far completed Vol. 4, Paranoid, and finishing Master of Reality right now. Hmmm, what masterpiece is next?

 

Tyr
Born Again
FOrbidden

 

Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Master Of Reality

Vol.4/ SBS/ Sabotage have their moments, but, for me, they're more 'consolidate' than 'innovate'. After that, I thought they became a parody, then a farce.

 

I unconditionally love all the 70s Ozzy albums and H&H.
Mob Rules is very good.
Born again has some filler as well as the infamous terrible sound.
Seventh star is half good.
Eternal Idol has some great riffs. Dehumanizer is mostly great and one of their heaviest albums.
Devil you Know is okay.
13 is pretty much great.
Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes and Forbidden are all problematic for me.

 

SBS on vinyl and Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978.
But, truth be told, those are the only SBS albums I've ever owned. Those and the Black Sabbath Story, Vol 1 and 2 videos on DVD.
I have a difficult time getting over Tony's attempt to eradicate Bill's existence on their official website.
The Official Black Sabbath Website :: Vintage Black Sabbath Photos »

 

1. Vol. 4
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Paranoid

 

How I'd rank the Sabbath albums (keeping in mind that I haven't heard some of the post-Dio albums in a number of years, so the order of those could change more radically if I were to listen to them all just now with ranking them in mind):

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabotage
Never Say Die
Paranoid
Volume 4
Master of Reality
Technical Ecstasy
Mob Rules
Heaven & Hell
Black Sabbath
Forbidden
Dehumanizer
13
Born Again
The Eternal Idol
Tyr
Headless Cross
Seventh Star
Cross Purposes

 

Born Again is the WORST sounding CD I have ever heard. I imagine the vinyl is marginally better but I can't rate that album more than a 6 out of 10 based on sub-par material and some horrible singing (screaming) by Ian Guillen, and piss poor production. In saying that I am a big Deep Purple fan but found his style to not fit Sabbath and vocals to be the weakest of all of their singers. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules both are masterworks with the incredible legend Ronnie James Dio. Of the rest I have only heard The Eternal Idol which I like a lot. Tony Martin is an amazing singer. 13 is incredible but suffers from poor Rick Rubin production, some outstanding songs on that one though. I wish I was able to catch the last tour.

 

Only have their first. It will be that one three times.