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(THE ORIGINAL) BLACK SABBATH
Symptom of the Universe (1970-1978) (Rhino)
Reviewed by Holly Day
Oh, my husband was all over me when this came in. For three days in a row, he kept coming over to my desk, looking over my shoulder at what I was writing, asking, "Did you review the Black Sabbath CD yet? Did you? When you do, can I have it?" which, honestly, made me not even want to write the review, just because I don't like being told what to do, even if it is by the nice guy I'm married to. Anyway, to call this 2-CD set a "must" for anyone who's a Black Sabbath fan, or anyone who just appreciates decent, original-style heavy metal, is a given. Their spooky, droney stuff absolutely defined what "metal" was going to be for the next two decades, and obviously heavily inspired grunge bands like Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots years later; their prog-rock jam-sessions inspired generations of guitar noodlers who could only dream of someday being able to pick as good as Tony Iommi. The collection starts with the ultra-doomy track "Black Sabbath" and goes through what even the pickiest of Black Sabbath fans would define as classic tracks, including "The Wizard," "Paranoid," "War Pigs," and "Am I Going Insane," with a total of 29 of the best tracks from the first 8 albums/years of the band (Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, and Never Say Die!). There's also a really cool, 49-page full-color booklet included with the collection, detailing the history of the band, including interviews with most of the members. Honestly, listening to the albums now puts a weird perspective on things - a lot of these tracks sound silly and self-indulgent now after bands like Sisters of Mercy and Marilyn Manson and everyone else has driven the subjects of Satan and Dark Lords and Dead Things etc. into the ground, but these guys were the original reason that organizations like Tipper Gore's PMRC and many anti-rock church groups were even formed - I'm guessing 30 years ago, this stuff was pretty scary shit.
© 2002 - Holly Day