Master of Reality is the third album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1971. The album's "darker" or "heavier" sound was a significant influence on the metal sub-genres known as doom metal and stoner rock. Master of Reality was certified double platinum after having sold over 2 million copies.
Recording
For the recording of this album, guitarist Tony Iommi, who had injured his fingers in a factory accident years earlier[3], decided to de-tune his guitar down three semi-tones (or one and a half steps to C-sharp). This reduced string tension, thus making the guitar easier for him to play. Geezer Butler also de-tuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. The result was a noticeably "darker" or "sludgier" sound.
Master of Reality was recorded at Island Studios in London, UK between February and April 1971. The album was produced by Rodger Bain, who had also produced their previous two albums. However, this would be his final collaboration with the band.
Music and lyrics
The slow and heavy songs that comprise most of the album are interspersed with quiet ballads written by Tony Iommi. Two of these, "Embryo" and "Orchid", are short instrumentals serving as interludes. The third, "Solitude", is much longer in comparison and features Ozzy Osbourne's soft, woeful vocals.
Unusually, the lyrics of the song "After Forever" written by Terry "Geezer" Butler[4] , focus entirely on Christian themes. At the time, some viewed Black Sabbath as Satanists due to their dark sound, image and lyrics. Similarly, the song "Lord of this World" has lyrics that deal with Satan mocking those who unwittingly follow him. It was released as a single along with "Fairies Wear Boots" in 1971." [5][6] Rolling Stone criticised the lyrics but welcomed the arrangement,[2] while Wilson & Alroy's called the guitar sound "crude but effective".[7]
The song "Solitude" showcases Tony Iommi's multi-instrumental talents, featuring him playing the guitar, flute and piano.[8]
The album opener, "Sweet Leaf", is a song about cannabis. "Children of the Grave" was written about war, peace and revolution.
Artwork and subtitles
The album cover reads Master of Reality coloured grey, underneath Black Sabbath coloured purple, against a black background. The words are written in a large font with a ripple effect like that of moving water or a waving flag. The first editions of the album came in an 'envelope sleeve' containing a poster of the band, and with the album's title embossed in black lettering rather than in grey. This was the first Black Sabbath sleeve on which the lyrics were reproduced on the back of the sleeve.
On the first North American editions of the album, several songs had subtitles given to segments, making it appear that there were more songs than there actually were. The intro of "After Forever" was given the title "The Elegy", the outro of "Children of the Grave" was called "The Haunting", the intro of "Lord of This World" was titled "Step Up," and the intro of "Into the Void" called "Deathmask". This treatment had also been used on the North American editions of Black Sabbath's previous two albums. These pressings also incorrectly listed the album title as Masters of Reality. Subsequent editions corrected the album's title and removed three of the four subtitles (all but "The Elegy").
Release and reception
The album broke the top ten in both the United Kingdom (#5) and United States (#8)[9] and achieved Gold status on advance orders alone. Eventually it sold two million copies in the US. However, critical response of the era was again unfavourable, with Robert Christgau giving the album a C- as well as, in a clearly exasperated tone, calling the album "a dim-witted, amoral exploitation."
Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissed Master of Reality as "naive, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel". However the same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003[10] and in describing the album referred to the band as, "The greatest sludge-metal band of them all...".[11] The magazine described the album as "the definitive studio relic of Sabbath's golden-hellfire era (1970-74)..."[12]
Thirty years after the album's release, Q magazine (7/01, p. 86) included it in their 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time and described it as "malevolent...casting Black Sabbath as a Titanic-style house band on the eve of Armageddon, cranking it as the bomb drops." Another edition of Q magazine that year (1/01, p. 122) gave it 5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "the most cohesive record of their first three albums."
Covers
Songs from this album have also been covered by a variety of bands.
"After Forever" has been covered by Biohazard for Nativity in Black, a Black Sabbath tribute album[13], Aurora Borealis for Hell Rules: Tribute to Black Sabbath, Vol. 2 and Deliverance on their 1992 album, What a Joke.
The song "Solitude" was covered by UK doom metal band Cathedral as a bonus track for the European version of the 1994 Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black, and later by Ulver on their 2007 album Shadows of the Sun.[14] The song has also been covered by death metal band Demented Saint.
Stoner rock band Kyuss covered the song "Into the Void" for the split EP Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age.
The hard rock band Godsmack covered the song "Sweet Leaf" as a bonus track for the Japanese special edition of their 2000 album Awake and for the second volume of the Nativity in Black series.
In popular culture
Several bands are named after songs on this album, including the Dutch metal band After Forever, as well as Baltimore's Bullet Therapy (now called After Therapy) when playing live as a Black Sabbath tribute band.[15]
Mountain Goats leader John Darnielle wrote a short novel for the 33⅓ book series with this album as a central theme. The book is written in the form of a diary of a young man who has been committed to a mental health treatment facility, and how the teen relates to the world through the songs on the album.[16]
The song "Solitude" was featured as the leitmotif for main character, Zombie, in the 1991 motion picture Zombie ja Kummitusjuna (Zombie and The Ghost Train) by Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki.[17]
Beastie Boys sampled the guitar riff for Sweet Leaf on their 1986 song "Ryhmin' and Stealin'.[18]
Track listing
All songs by Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne, except where noted.
Side one
- "Sweet Leaf" – 5:05
- "After Forever" (Iommi) – 5:27
- "Embryo" (Iommi) – 0:29
- "Children of the Grave" – 5:18
Side two
- "Orchid" (Iommi) – 1:30
- "Lord of this World" – 5:27
- "Solitude" – 5:02
- "Into the Void" – 6:13
2009 Deluxe Edition
A two-disc deluxe edition was released in the UK on 29 June 2009 and in the US on 14 July 2009 as an import. This deluxe edition was remastered by Andy Pearce who also did the deluxe editions of Black Sabbath and Paranoid.
Disc one
Same as original 1971 UK LP release and all subsequent CD releases.
Disc two (Bonus tracks)
- "Weevil Woman '71"
- "Sweet Leaf [Studio Outtake - Alternative Lyrics]"
- "After Forever [Studio Outtake - Instrumental]"
- "Children of the Grave [Studio Outtake - Alternative Lyrics]"
- "Children of the Grave [Studio Outtake - Instrumental]"
- "Orchid [Studio Outtake]"
- "Lord of this World [Studio Outtake]"
- "Solitude [Studio Outtake - Alternative Version]"
- "Into the Void 'Spanish Sid' [Studio Outtake - Alternative Version]"
Personnel
Sales accomplishments
|
RIAA certification[19]
| Date |
Designation |
Total Sales |
September 27,
1971 |
Gold |
500,000 |
October 13,
1986 |
Platinum |
1,000,000 |
July 26,
2001 |
2x Multi-
Platinum |
2,000,000 |
|
CRIA certification[20] (Canada)
| Date |
Designation |
Total Sales |
September 1,
1977 |
Gold |
50,000 |
September 1,
1977 |
Platinum |
100,000 |
|
Release history
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review Master of Reality". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3ifpxqq5ld6e~T1. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ^ a b Bangs, Lester (25 November 1971). "Review Master of Reality". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blacksabbath/albums/album/134886/review/5941551/master_of_reality. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ^ VH1: Heavy the Story of Metal, Part One.
- ^ (2004) Album notes for Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970–1978) by Black Sabbath. Rhino Records.
- ^ "BLACK SABBATH DISCOGRAPHY v.5.0". http://www.black-sabbath.de/sabdisco.gr2. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ ""After Forever" single cover". http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/black_sabbath/after_forever___fairies_wear_boots/. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ Master of Reality on Warr.org
- ^ "Black Sabbath online". http://www.black-sabbath.com/discog/masterofreality.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ "Allmusic Billboard albums". http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3ifpxqq5ld6e~T3. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 18 November 2003. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/3. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ "Master of Reality". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 1 November 2004. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6626687/298_master_of_reality. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. Rolling Stone The 500 Greatest Album of All Time (3rd edition ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1932958614. OCLC 70672814.
- ^ "After Forever" Cover by Bio Hazard
- ^ "Ulver". http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=164086. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ Garry Sharpe-Young, New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Zonda Books Limited 2005, ISBN 0958268401, 9780958268400
- ^ http://33third.blogspot.com/2008/01/master-of-reality.html Information of 331/3 book
- ^ "Soundtracks". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103337/soundtrack. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ http://www.beastiemania.com/songspotlight/show.php?s=rhyminstealin&band=b Information on the song Rhymin' and Stealin', Includes list of samples. From Beastiemania.com
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=master%20of%20reality&artist=black%20sabbath&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
- ^ "CRIA certified awards". http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=1&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25black%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=60&csearch=20&nextprev=1. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
