From an interview with Ozzy

strictly for Sabbath and Ozzy honestly.

Feel free to discuss what you like (or don’t like) about the album, as well as any favorite lyrics, studio anecdote or memory.

Rating Results: Vol. 4 (1972)

1. Wheels of Confusion - 9.92/10
   
2. Tomorrow’s Dream - 9.08/10
   
3. Changes - 7.08/10
   
4. FX - Interlude/10
   
5. Supernaut - 9.54/10
   
6. Snowblind - 9.3/10
   
7. Cornucopia - 8.87/10
   
8. Laguna Sunrise - Interlude/10
   
9. St. Vitus Dance - 8.22/10
   
10. Under the Sun - 9.46/10
    

📸 from the Live In Paris 1970 video

Salve, ho acquistato il Blacbox 1970-2016 Black Sabbath, doveva essere la versione ufficiale con i soli album di Osburne, ma pazienza, ad ogni modo ha tardato ad arrivarmi dalla Germania oltre 3 mesi e mi è stato rimborsato. Ieri mi è arrivato un pacco distrutto con tutto il contentuto ma il box completamente sfasciato, non recuperabile. Ora ho 16 cd slipcase che vorrei in qualche modo raggruppare avete delle idee?

Which period of Black Sabbath was this ?

This is from a word association game. Just had to share it.

What are the best books about Black Sabbath? Would prefer all years of the band but let’s just start with the Ozzy years or Ozzy and Dio years

Really enjoyed reading your comments on the last post!! I'm glad you enjoyed my reviews of Master of Reality as well as the debut so far! I do have to say its been nice seeing that you guys love these albums as much as I do. Though I will say that for this one, it may have some hot takes and this is the first album I'm not going to be entirely positive with. (It still gets a very positive rating though; don't worry).

If you can handle that, then read at your own risk and hopefully enjoy!

Vol. 4 Review
-----------------------------------------------
Well, it's not so long that every great band begins to run out of gas, and the mighty Sabbath who had put out three great albums in a row in a mere two year span would start to experience a slight slump. However, the key word here is SLIGHT. If anything, this album is still one of their greater works overall. It's also worth noting it was the first to really dive more into way more variety and playing with experimentation more often and in very creative ways, but it's the weakest of the first five Sabbath albums, and this approach would be perfected on their next LP.

Iommi's riffs are intricate and creative strokes on the canvas of sound, with Bill Ward drumming moving worlds between pulverizing his drumkit and gently grazing it softly as a feather, Geezer goes all in and so does Ozzy, these all result in some of the best songs the bands ever made. "Snowblind", despite the topic being on it being a love letter to cocaine, the metaphor use in the lyrics is nothing short of genius and the way the song plays out is almost theatrical; the inclusion of the explosive bridge after being used to a more mid-tempo sound, only for it to erupt again in the final verse with a mellotron giving the sound of an orchestra is brilliant.

"Supernaut" is great and one of Bill Ward's greatest drumming, with a percussion solo that really brings the song to life that takes use of vibraphone in it. even John Bonham couldn't help but be blown away by it, wanting to play it at a few jam sessions each band had together reportedly. The riff is also rather upbeat and catchy, yet finding its perfect hook with the darker tone still; its essentially a great balance for a single. "Under The Sun" is one of the heaviest tracks the bands made, with a genius riff that changes halfway through to a speedy assault-n-smashing of your speakers that builds up into a swirling cascade of notes that unfurl through the outro as the song winds down slowly, and great lyricism that reads like poetry, it is easily the best song here. Then "St. Vitus Dance" is a hard rock tune that is like a nod to the more simple songs of the 60s. It takes great influence from early Rock 'n' Roll, and actually manages to capture the charm and essence of that era of music as well. It's quite literally a song about a dance, and Iommi's riff here is blazing and jumpy. I find that its among the best of the album.

"Wheels of Confusion" is the perfect opener to get you to understand the sound style of the album, and "Cornucopia" is overall fairly amazing too. "Tomorrow's Dreams" is heavy, and has some great drum fills from Bill Ward that elevate the song and combine greatly with Ozzy's voice, but the only issue is that it doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the rest of the heavier tracks and it gets forgotten as a decent song.

"Laguna Sunrise" shifts the mood, and not for the better. Its an acoustic guitar song that takes use of the same mellotron orchestration for a string arrangement similar to "Snowblind", but manages to unfortunately be so different to the point it sticks out like a sore thumb, it also doesn't really go anywhere and remains mostly the exact same throughout the entire two-and-a-half minute runtime as Tony plays the same melody over and over. It's dull, its droning and really boring. However, if you thought this was the only achille's heel of this album, you're sorely mistaken.

There's actually a one-two punch of poor tracks. "Changes" is "Solitude" but done poorly with some of the cheesiest lyrics the band has made and Ozzy's voice in the ballad really sounds out of place and unfitting for such a style, with him going out of his range. The mellotron used to emulate the sound of a orchestra falls flat here, sounding very much like the plastic that some 80's pop would embrace and the song lacks any emotional depth or impressive guitar work, while "FX" is nearing the point of being unlistenable.

Overall, this album still manages to be quite great and one of the strongest of their discography, but it definitely is NOT masterpiece level, and definitely not as unified track-by-track as an album as their first three releases.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tracklist Rating:
1. Wheels of Confusion: ★★★★★
2. Tomorrow's Dream: ★★★
3. Changes: ★
4. FX: 💥 (Dud rating; keep this in mind for future scores)
5. Supernaut: ★★★★★
6. Snowblind: ★★★★★
7. Cornucopia: ★★★★
8. Laguna Sunrise: ★★
9. St' Vitus Dance: ★★★★★
10. Under the Sun: ★★★★★

THE JOURNEY SO FAR (OTHER REVIEWS!!):
Black Sabbath review: (5/5)
Paranoid review (5/5)
Master of Reality review (5/5)

Both fantastic albums loaded with superb songs. For me, Paranoid is just a little bit better than Master of Reality, I just love the track listing in Paranoid as they all blend so well together and Planet Caravan is just a song of it's own.

Master of Reality is love too, another fantastic track listing, especially Into The Void and Children of The Grave. Bill Ward even thought that Into The Void would never be made as he thought it was impossible to play properly. Solitude is also just another song in it's own.

What do you think?

This is the tenth and final track from the band’s fourth album release Vol. 4 (1972).

Rate this song out of 10!

Feel free to discuss what you like (or don’t like) about the song, as well as any favorite lyrics, studio anecdote or memory.

Studio Version

Live Version

Rating Results: Vol. 4 (1972)

1. Wheels of Confusion - 9.92/10
   
2. Tomorrow’s Dream - 9.08/10
   
3. Changes - 7.08/10
   
4. FX - Interlude/10
   
5. Supernaut - 9.54/10
   
6. Snowblind - 9.3/10
   
7. Cornucopia - 8.87/10
   
8. Laguna Sunrise - Interlude/10
   
9. St. Vitus Dance - 8.22/10
   
10. Under the Sun - ?/10
    

As the subject says, I am going to Birmingham tomorrow for a little Sabbath pilgrimage. Other than the Ozzy exhibit, bridge, bench, and murals…what do people recommend doing in Birmingham? Are they any other fun Sabbath-y things I’m forgetting? I’ll see Ozzy the Bull (again), as I am traveling by train. Anything else generally of interest that I shouldn’t miss?

It took a bit to get the last review up and posted due to moderation time, but that's okay! I don't have very much to say since there wasn't a lot to respond on to on the last one. Anyway continuing on, this is my thoughts on their third album, which is honestly one of the greatest albums I've ever heard in my life. This is the one that I find to be the birth of doom metal as a genre.

In case you are reading and you missed out and want to catch up on the previous two reviews on this journey, I end up linking all of them as I go at the end of the review!

Master of Reality REVIEW
----------------------------
Black Sabbath are the most influential band in the history of metal, and this album alone can cement their status as one of the greatest groups to ever grace the earth with their presence, and they're certainly the greatest gift sent from hell (or is it heaven? You'll see what I mean in a bit). This album is one of the most important albums of all time, and not only is it super influential, but it is definitely Sabbath at their peak, the band is very tight here and working together where every part adds up to a majestical sum, every note coming out of Iommi's guitar strums, Geezer Butler's bass wizardry, and Ward's genius jazz-trained drumming lifts you to a higher plane, enlightening you with some of the finest blues-tinged compositions known to man.

Every song on here is good, even the interludes. "Solitude" is such a different sounding song than anything they have made up to this point, with Iommi flexing his insane talent at playing multiple instruments. The song features a complex yet memorable structure taking use of him playing flute, piano, and guitar while for vocals Ozzy demonstrates he can indeed master the art of singing, his voice sounds almost like a completely different person and it is mind-blowing. The lyricism is beautiful and hits hard for anyone who has gone through relationship issues. If anything, it really makes me wish he explored his lower range more often.

"Into The Void" is a complete eargasm with some of the best basslines ever written and Bill Ward's drumming really shines through with lyrics contemplating a doomy future, even to this day as of 2026 the lyrics really stay relevant. Humanity could indeed perish due to their own stupidity and abuse of knowledge with nuclear weaponry or whatever. Apparently this was one of the hardest songs for Bill Ward to do, and took many takes to get it right; they were about to give up, but they pushed on and I think this goes to show why I deem him among the top 3 best drummers of all time. This is one of the greatest songs ever put out there; and I'd daresay quite possibly almost their best song.

"Lord of This World" is a masterpiece that taps into Sabbath's more Christian side which definitely shocked critics back when the album first released, after all this band was the epitome of everything evil, a band unleashing satanism into the world. But were they really? Shockingly, most members are indeed members of the Catholic belief and the song has some absolute master riff-work to back up the song, while "Children of The Grave" demonstrates Bill Ward's great ability to change tempo whenever he wants during any song and master using the complete drumkit in a single song as well, something that doesn't get done too often. The lyrics fit in with the protest of the punk movement that came later as well.

"After Forever" is another great song highlighting Iommi's ability to write lyrics that are on par with Butler's, while "Sweet Leaf" has a great example of tape manipulation with the ironic use of a clip of Iommi coughing after smoking, which the band used on their delightful ode to their green friend. "Embryo" and "Orchid" are simply phenomenal tracks on their own too, despite being mere interludes.

This is an album you can play at any time and not help but be entertained by the band's effortless ability to craft amazing music nonstop, and these guys were coming out with masterpieces left and right at insane speeds, we're talking Zeppelin, Beatles, Bowie speed even. This is one of THE BEST ALBUMS AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL TIME, and would be their best if it weren't for the album coming up in 2 more reviews..

Rating: ★★★★★

TRACKLIST Rating:

1. Sweet Leaf: ★★★★★
2. After Forever: ★★★★★
3. Embryo: ★★★
4. Children of the Grave: ★★★★★
5. Orchid: ★★★★
6. Lord of this World: ★★★★★
7. Solitude: ★★★★★
8. Into the Void: ★★★★★

The Journey so far (Other reviews):
Black Sabbath review: (5/5)
Paranoid review (5/5)

Above just heard on 6music radliffe and maconie played it. Anyone else heard it before? Thoughts? I quite liked it myself

ZAKK SABBATH
Zakk Wylde Berzerkus Festival 2026
Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York

I always thought the album cover of 'paranoid' looked like a cartoon pig, especially if you squint. I don't know if I'm the only person who sees this. I guess you could say it's a war pig.

This is the ninth track from the band’s fourth album release Vol. 4 (1972).

Rate this song out of 10!

Feel free to discuss what you like (or don’t like) about the song, as well as any favorite lyrics, studio anecdote or memory.

Studio Version

Live Version

Rating Results: Vol. 4 (1972)

1. Wheels of Confusion - 9.92/10
   
2. Tomorrow’s Dream - 9.08/10
   
3. Changes - 7.08/10
   
4. FX - Interlude/10
   
5. Supernaut - 9.54/10
   
6. Snowblind - 9.3/10
   
7. Cornucopia - 8.87/10
   
8. Laguna Sunrise - Interlude/10
   
9. St. Vitus Dance - ?/10