Sabbra Cadabra: Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath at 50
Was it the last great album from the heavy metal pioneers?
What a difference a riff can make. After touring in support of their album Vol. 4, Black Sabbath was on its last leg, struggling with the demons of addiction and exhaustion.
Originally, they tried to record their fifth full-length at Los Angeles’s Record Plant but the creative spark was completely extinguished. They packed their bags and traveled to Clearwell Castle in England to try to see if a change of scenery would help.
After arriving, guitarist Tony Iommi wrote the opening riff to what became the title track of their new album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and the band became instantly revitalized. It’s an iconic riff, easily standing next to the band’s best moments, the stomp of “Iron Man” or the epic cadence of “War Pigs,” or even the wide-eyed mania of “Paranoid.” And with the exception of the more jazz-inflected chorus, every riff in the song is a blueprint for rock and metal in the decades to come.
If that iconic opener set the mood, “A National Acrobat,” kept the momentum. A bit more spidery in both riffing and song structure, the tune is still a fan favorite. This is in no small part to Ozzy’s excellent vocal performance. The song is as spacious as it is ambitious, and there’s always room for Ozzy to pepper in another hook.
The third song on the album, “Fluff,” might be the one head-scratching moment on the album. An acoustic instrumental that clocks in at over four minutes long, it seems oddly placed so early in the record, somewhat displacing the one-two punch of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “A National Acrobat.” Dedicated to disc jockey Alan “Fluff” Freeman, one of the few members of the music establishment that Sabbath didn’t hold in complete contempt, the tune threatens the kind of saccharine melodies that occasionally sneak into their sound, a la “Changes.” Thankfully, Ozzy chose to sit this one out.
“Sabbra Cadabra,” featuring Rick Wakeman of Yes on keyboards, puts things back on track. The quartet lets their blues rock influences shine without ever losing sight of their metal heart. The synth that creeps in for the bridge is far more psychedelic than progressive and when combined with Ozzy’s vocal effects, creates a powerful mood. Meanwhile, “Killing Yourself to Live” is another solid mid-paced rocker, most distinguished by the warbling guitar effect used during the chorus which adds a bit more atmosphere to the song. The final portion of the song kicks the tempo up a notch and seems reminiscent of “Children of the Grave” or “Faeries Wear Boots”.
Speaking of older tunes, the idiosyncratic “Who Are You?” sounds like Rush covering Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom” on keyboards. It’s a weird detour and not terrible, but not really what one thinks of when considering classic Black Sabbath. The uptempo “Looking for Today” is an effective rocker that tackles the toll of drugs and alcohol was taking on the band.
The album closes with another bona fide classic, “Spiral Architect.” The lyrics, penned by bassist Geezer Butler, are a contemplation of the mysteries of DNA, and the music seems to reflect the profundity of the subject matter. The guitar turnaround that is peppered throughout the track is vintage Tony Iommi while the inclusion of the strings gives the song an epic feel. It’s a triumphant end to a classic album.
While the lineup still had a lot of work to do, Ozzy Osbourne has stated he probably should’ve left after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Indeed, their next album, 1975’s Sabotage, was recorded under the ever-present stress of a lawsuit and other industry woes. The two records after that, 1976’s Technical Ecstasy and 1978’s Never Say Die!, are usually considered the most dubious releases of the original lineup, although Never Say Die! is a strong record in hindsight. The band wouldn’t regain their true glory until Ozzy’s exit and Ronnie James Dio joining for Heaven and Hell. But Sabbath Bloody Sabbath deserves its place among the original lineup’s canon. It proves an equal part of heavy metal’s blueprint yet shows Sabbath’s continued evolution toward greater depth and complexity. This is classic Black Sabbath and integral to both the development of heavy metal and rock music overall.
While Sabbath had a lot left to give, it is arguable that the riff to “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” was the last great riff of the original lineup, a riff that changed the trajectory of rock music to come.
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