Black Sabbath - Master of Reality | The Documentary ⋆ Patriots Hemp

– [Narrator] After the band’s massive success with 1970’s “Paranoid” which had reached number one in the UK, Black Sabbath had been put on a rigorous touring schedule to support the album. Playing a stint in Australia, two tours of the US, as well as all of Europe, which left the group exhausted.

Yet their label, Vertigo, wanting a quick follow up to take advantage of the sales and buzz from “Paranoid”, put the tired overwork band back in the studio in the first part of 1971, to record what would be arguably their heaviest album ever “Master Of Reality.” It’s July 17th, 1970 and Black Sabbath had just released their single “Paranoid”, the title track from their upcoming album. This is only the band’s second single. The first was “Evil Woman”, off their self-titled debut album. ♪ Evil woman ♪ ♪ Don’t you play your games with me ♪

Not a song the band particularly felt strong about. For one, it wasn’t even their own. “Evil Woman” was instead a top 20 song by the obscure American group Crow and Sabbath felt like they had been forced to release their throwaway cover by management and all for nothing,

Since it resulted in zero success on the charts. Ironically, “Paranoid” was considered a throwaway song as well. Bassist Geezer Butler explained. “The song “Paranoid” was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a three minute filler for the album and Tony came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics

And Ozzy was reading them as he was singing. It took 20 to 25 minutes from top to bottom.” But this time, unlike “Evil Woman”, “Paranoid” would become a smash hit and generate good and bad things for the band. Behind the scenes, the band had been lured into believing that Don Arden’s former right hand man, Patrick Meehan and his henchman Wilf Pine would elevate them to worldwide success while their local promoter and current manager, Jim Simpson did not have what it took. Of course, “Paranoid” had already made

Black Sabbath a worldwide sensation. Still, the band struggled with self-doubt and the perception that a hungry London based management would take them into the big leagues was too good a temptation to pass up. Black Sabbath would get what they wanted, but it would come at a cost

That they would pay for the next decade and beyond. On September 4th, 1970, just 14 days before the “Paranoid” album would be released, Jim Simpson was served papers stating his services were no longer needed. And the band was now managed by Meehan and his company Worldwide Artist. Although this came as a huge blow to the kind hearted Simpson,

He would later take it in stride after winning this case five and a half years later, stating, “I was with Sabbath for their best two records.” After the September 18th UK release of “Paranoid” and only six months after their debut album released in February, 1970, Meehan wasted no time pushing them into the limelight by getting them a spot on the popular mainstream British music TV show, “Top Of The Pops.” On Thursday, September 24th, 1970, Black Sabbath pantomimed “Paranoid”

Into millions of homes across the UK. The appearance not only helped the song move up the UK charts to the number four position, but it also helped the band take over the number one spot on the UK album chart. Dethroning Simon and Garfunkel’s popular album “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

In October of 1970, Mark Plumber wrote in Melody Maker about Sabbath becoming a victim of fan worship. Sudden mainstream popularity proved a double edged sword. On the one hand, it was gratifying to reap their fruits of all their hard work. But on the other hand, pop fans were turning up at their shows,

Which made it seem like Sabbath was selling out. Although the group initially welcomed the attention, it ultimately made them uncomfortable. Guitarist Tony Iommi recalled, “Top Of The Pops attracted a lot of younger screaming kids. We weren’t that type of band. It felt wrong to us.” Lead singer Ozzy Osborne said,

“the kids who came out were okay, but it wasn’t what we were trying to achieve. Bubblegum bands come and go. We were attracting people who were just fans for the minute, mostly women. And then of course, they eventually disappeared. We didn’t wanna attract that type of fan base.

We wanted fans who were genuine.” Even one of their early supporters came out against the Sab Four once they were famous. ♪ It’s National ♪ ♪ Radio One ♪ – John Peel was a DJ on BBC Radio Station Radio One where he hosted a show called “Top Gear.”

In one of his regular segments on that show, known as the “Peel Sessions”, he would have an artist come into the BBC studio and record up to four songs live. This was a powerful way to promote a band. And often the first major national coverage many performers achieved. As early as 1969

And long before today’s social media celebrities, John Peel was known as an influencer. Peel first tried to sign Sabbath to a small record label after seeing them play on September 4th, 1969, but the band turned him down. Then on November 11th, Peel gave Sabbath their first opportunity to be on the radio.

They recorded four songs; “Black Sabbath” “Walpurgis” “War Pigs” with alternative lyrics. “Fairies Wear Boots” and “Devil’s Island, later renamed, “Sleeping Village, A Bit Of Finger.” The recording was broadcast on November 29th, 1969. No copies of the recording are publicly available or have been proven to still exist.

But in 1971, after Sabbath saw tremendous success, Peel said, “Black Sabbath will sell because it sounds like something else. You get a process where each band that is successful is a watered-down version of something else.” In another statement referring to bands like Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Peel said,

“Those bands have lost the spark somewhere down the line and are basically going through a routine.” In response. Iommi said, “That’s one we really can’t understand. We got on really well with John to begin with, but something seems to have upset him. We were really pleased about getting on TV.”

– Oh God, please help me. Oh, no. – [Narrator] According to Tony, the band had no say in choosing their first single. “The single was just one track taken from the album by the recording company because they thought it would sell and was representative of something we did. We don’t specifically record singles

And the decision to release them rests with the record company. But now we have got hassles with people saying that we sold out for getting into the top 10. It’s something of an achievement and it’s okay, but there won’t be a follow up single.” The backlash from fair weathered fans

For selling out was one thing, far more concerning was public perception that the members of Black Sabbath were actually Satanists and practitioners of black magic. This PR nightmare had been brewing ever since the band changed their name from Earth to Black Sabbath. And even though the song Black Sabbath

Was written as an anti-black magic Satan song, the band could not shake being tagged as dark and mystical cultists. In countless interviews, the band members explicitly stated that they did not practice black magic or worship the devil. Yet, they continued to receive negative press and attention from self-professed Satan worshipers

Asking them to perform at black masses. While the mystique brought them attention from those on the fringe, it also kept them from the kind of success enjoyed by bands like Led Zeppelin. Clear from interviews in early 1970, the band had grown irritated with questions about the occult as it was overshadowing their music.

In March, 1970, Ozzy made those feelings clear by saying, “You’re going to ask about black magic”, he said, anticipating the line of questioning. “It’s rubbish. Geezer wrote a song called Black Sabbath. And at the time we were called Earth, but we were constantly being confused with another group with a similar name.

And so we changed it to Black Sabbath. Sabbath was about to embark on their first US tour, the holy grail for any up and coming European band at the time. But instead of excited anticipation, the band was more afraid that their unwanted satanic image they had gained in the UK would follow them over to the states,

Uncomfortably aware of how badly that could hurt them, an easy rider country. They had good reason for concern, the trial of Charles Manson and his followers after the brutal sleighing of Sharon Tate and six others was in the news almost daily. Geezer said, “We just hope we don’t get

All the black magic confusion over there. We are frightened by the thought of the extremists. We don’t want anything to do with the Charles Manson thing. We will just be going over there as a British hard rock band. Tony added, “We might change some of the words of the songs,

So we don’t have any trouble. We were never into black magic. The lyrics were chosen to go with the heavy music. The kids are always trying to interpret lyrics and they often create things that aren’t there. The music of Black Sabbath is simple, basic stuff. Everybody thinks we’re a black magic group,

But we just picked the name because we liked it. I agree some of the numbers on the LP are about supernatural things, but that’s as far as it goes.” But it wasn’t just their name and misunderstood lyrics that pushed the critics to cry, “Satanists.” Black Sabbath was often confused

With another British band named Black Widow, a band who leaned hard into the satanic and black magic imagery and wanted the notoriety of being the band for devil worshipers. During one of the tours, Black Widow has secured the services of Maxine, wife of England’s chief witch, Alex Sanders,

To appear in their stage show as Lady Astaroth, a tormented girl from the 18th century who was driven insane and jumped to her death. Maxine would end up naked at the show’s end and simulate sex with the band’s lead vocalist. Ironically, their biggest song was called “Come To The Sabbath.”

But there was another more direct connection between the two bands. Black Sabbath’s new manager, Patrick Meehan had previously managed Black Widow and produced their last album “Sacrificed.” Ozzy said, “a lot of people have a grudge against us because of this black magic thing, but it has gotten all out of proportion.

At one time, we got so confused with Black Widow, It was unbelievable. We’re two completely different bands in music and everything.” Black Sabbath’s confusion with Black Widow got so bad that the band actually considered changing their name again. But the Meehan’s had convinced Sabbath that Black Widow would be changing their image.

Ironically, when Black Widow did back down on the occult imagery, their notoriety faded. Being associated with the devil never went away for black Sabbath or even Ozzy as a solo artist. But to be fair, Sabbath and Ozzy both used this imagery to their advantage as the years rolled on. And it’s also fair to say that the British record label

Vertigo and manager Jim Simpson knew the occult was seen as a powerful marketing strategy to tap into or create the next big thing in the youth market. Long hair no longer shot, bright and patterned clothes no longer shot, drug use no longer shot. So the occult, perhaps the last taboo along with sexuality

Was willingly deployed. Simpson later admitted that he did make up stories for shock value. Vertigo didn’t help things by releasing the first album on Friday the 13th, or having an inverted cross on the inside of the album. Although the second album saw a shift from the perceived satanic preoccupations of the debut release,

“Paranoid” was still an album shot through with dark themes. In the process of backpedaling away from the supernatural, the band refused to celebrate the witch’s Sabbath at Stone Hinge. This rejection allegedly caused Alex Sander’s, head witch in England to cast a spell on Sabbath. This story, which would be denied and affirmed

Over the coming years would become part of the Sabbath mythology in a way that illustrates the awkward push, pull that existed between the band and their co-opting of horror imagery. Uncertain what to expect in the US, the band decided to test the waters across the Atlantic

With a small exploratory tour in the fall of 1970. Sabbath had looked at coming over earlier in the year, but the reasons why they didn’t are cloudy. Some statements indicate it was because of the unrest with college students protesting the Vietnam war. Part of this theory came from the rumor that Black Sabbath had canceled the US tour before it even started

After the Fillmore East and West shut down for the summer of 1970, due to the possibilities of violence. In reality, neither Fillmore Club ever closed during this time. Another theory, was that in early 1970, Sabbath was in talks with Patrick Meehan Jr about hiring him as a manager.

Still, since they hadn’t officially signed with them yet, they needed first to ditch Simpson, and then they could resume pushing the band to the land of the yanks. The final theory, as Butler mentioned earlier was at the same time in July as Sabbath was planning to play San Francisco,

The Charles Manson trial began and worried about Sabbath’s supposed controversial lyrics and how audiences might respond, the record company, Warner Brothers may have squashed the whole outing. Now with the Meehan family, junior and senior firmly in place as their managers and “Paranoid” tearing up the charts in the UK,

It was time to go spread the sound of Sabbath. Patrick Meehan Senior stayed in the office and mainly served as an overseer while Patrick Meehan Junior’s role was more hands on. The band touched down at JFK airport on Wednesday, October 28th, 1970. It was the first time that any of them had set foot on American soil and they didn’t care that it was a low budget tour since they were playing some of the most prestigious small gigs on the east and west coast.

According to Iommi, one of the stupidest things they did was haul their entire PA system instead of renting one in the US, not realizing the US had a different electrical system, Sabbath promptly blew out the power in the first place they played. With a ticket price of a $1.50 to $2.50,

The band played their first gig at Glassboro State College on Friday, October 30th. This contradicts Ozzy and Tony’s autobiography where they state that the first gig was Unganos in New York. But the proof of this newspaper ad shows they did not play Unganos until three days after the Glassboro gig.

Their tour promoter, Rick Green confirmed that Glass Barrel was in fact their first gig in the US. He said, “The group didn’t arrive at the college until 11:30 PM for an 8:00 PM concert. And didn’t take the stage until 1:00 AM. A minute into the first song,

They blew out the power to their enormous sound system. But about 10 minutes later, it was all back to normal. They started playing again, but this time they blew out not only the power in the gym, but the campus and most of the power in the neighborhood.”

You can also see the promotional flyer Green’s little sister created for the show. This flyer would later be sold at Christie’s Auction in 2007. The last bit of proof is on Ozzy’s own website, showing Glassboro as the first Sabbath concert on US soil. Sabbath would play in 10 cities with over 18 shows

For the next five weeks. According to one music critic, they blew headliner, Rod Stewart and the faces off the Fillmore East Stage. According to Tony, “When we went on, the crowd went absolutely mental. Then Rod Stewart came on and the crowd began throwing things at him. It was just incredible.

And from then on, we became like the underground band in America.” Originally they were supposed to open for Alice Cooper at the Infamous Whiskey A Go-Go Club in West Hollywood. But when Cooper canceled, Sabbath went from opener to headliner for their five dates with two shows and nights. At the Fillmore West, they shared a four night stand with future Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh and his band, The James Gang. Iommi said, “We did the Fillmore West in San Francisco with them. And Joe Walsh was smoking this bloody angel dust. Right before the gig, Geezer said,

‘I’ll just have a puff of that.’ Ozzy joined them. They thought they were just smoking a joint.” But maybe the most significant name they played with was still relatively unknown at the time, that came on their last date before heading back to England, when they played in Ashbury, New Jersey,

Their opening act was the Steel Mill band, featuring a young Bruce Springsteen. Overall, the exploratory tour was a huge success. Just as America loved Sabbath, so Sabbath loved America. Ozzy said, “It’s every British band’s dream to play the states.” Coming from Birmingham where the fucking son never shines, it was magic to us.”

Before we move on, I’d like to call out one Black Sabbath rumor that is not entirely true. And even Tony Iommi got it wrong in his autobiography. Anton LaVey, the very real founder of the church of Satan never held a parade in honor of Black Sabbath.

What did happen, was there was a parade in San Francisco where the record company had a float promoting Black Sabbath. A man resembling Anton LaVey rode the float, but was it him? If you look at the video, it sure looks like LaVey, but there is no further evidence to back this up.

LaVey doesn’t mention it in his authorized biography and has been outspoken in his dislike of heavy rock music. All the video shows is a parade that included a single Black Sabbath float, paid for presumably by Warner Brothers. At the end of November, 1970, the band returned to England and immediately started a mini tour of Europe from December 5th in Liverpool, England, to December 19th in Paris at the Olympia Theater. They would have 12 days to rest before starting to record their heaviest album.

1970 was a whirlwind of a year for Black Sabbath. They started the year as virtual unknowns and by the end, they had released two iconic albums, hated by critics, but loved by fans. From this point forward, Sabbath would be known rightly as the fathers of heavy metal,

Even though they were all under 23 years old. Five decades later, it’s challenging to take in just how frantic the pace was for the most successful bands in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Whereas, acts these days record an album every three or four years, Sabbath was picking at a time when turning out

Two albums every 12 months or so was the norm. As a result, they were already thinking about their next record when their first US tour ended, as the band struggled to work around their frantic touring schedule, “Master of Reality” would be the first Sabbath LP that was recorded piecemeal

Rather than in a concentrated burst of activity. On the very first day of 1971, Black Sabbath entered the studio to start work on what would be one of the most influential heavy records of all time. The band went to Island Studios and worked with for the last time,

The same duo who pushed the sliders on the first two records, producer Roger Bain and engineer, Tom Allom. Tom would end up being the future Judas Priest producer. In addition to having a bit more time in the studio, they also went from having a poultry eight tracks

To record on, to a true multi 16 track recorder, which meant they could do more overdubs and experiment with their sounds. Amongst the handful of tracks recorded at this stage were; “After Forever” and “Into The Void.” Although the latter, was still known at this point by it’s working title “Spanish Sid.” Both songs were played during the band’s brief UK tour in January and during their subsequent American jaunt, although “Spanish Sid”/”Into The void”

Was still being lyrically refined. Arguably, the most bizarre recording to be taped during that session at Island was something the band called “Weevil Woman ’71.” Presumably, a mocking reference to “Evil Woman.” The song they’d been forced to cover as their debut single. At the same time the band was going into the studio, Their album “Paranoid” came out in the United States. When “Paranoid” was released in the UK on September 18th, 1970,

Their debut album was selling so well in the US, a half million copies in the first month, Warner Brothers decided to delay the release of their second album. “Paranoid” would reach number 12 on the US charts and quickly go platinum. Then on January 27th, they flew over 42 hours

With multiple stops to arrive in Adelaide, Australia to headline at the my Myponga Festival on January 31st, this would be the first time they played down under and the first time they would headline a multi-day music festival. Next, they had intended to play some dates in Japan,

But were denied entry due to their spotty criminal records. Ozzy for burglary and Tony and Bill for marijuana. It was rumored they ran into the same problem again in April of ’72, when they attempted to revisit Japan. As it would turn out, Black Sabbath did not perform in Japan

Until November, 1980 while Ronnie James Dio was in the band. With Japan out of the picture, they had a few extra days of R&R in Australia before another 40 hour trip to the Netherlands where they played two dates on February 6th and 7th. At the time, Sabbath was still the four Musketeers,

Ordinary lads from Aston who were all for one and one for all. And the band was the number one priority. Despite their jet lag and without stopping to catch their breath, they flew from Amsterdam to England and traveled straight to the studios in London to resume work on their next album. But time in the studio would again be cut short. It was time to fly back to the US and officially tour for the “Paranoid” album. Unlike the us tour just two months ago, this time they would headline most dates. The exception being Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain gigs.

Now, they would be playing in front of a thousand to 15,000 Black Sabbath fans nightly, sometimes playing two shows a night. On this North American trip, they would cross the border twice for the first time to play in Canada. Future mega bands like Fleetwood Mack and the J Isles Band opened.

Only the year before, they were making 50 pounds for playing the Bankland’s Youth Club. And only six months before that, at the same club they announced their name change from Earth to Black Sabbath. On the second night of the tour, February 18th, they played an uncommon stop for most rock bands.

Union Catholic High School in Scott’s Plains, New Jersey. The student body contacted the band’s booking agent, asking if Sabbath would play at their school. Tired of the usual dull bake sales and dances, the students at Union Catholic endeavored upon a novel approach to fundraising.

It first started with The Who concert at the school in 1967, followed by other notable bands, such as Chicago, Blood, Sweat And Tears and Cream. Black Sabbath would be the last band to play there. One firsthand account said, “As the concert started, Ozzy came out with his band from our left, then froze mid stage, facing him right up front where rows of seated priests and nuns in the audience. I still remember the puzzled look on his face. He then shrugged his shoulders and began.

Apparently the nuns and priests had commandeered the first two rows. The Marsist Brother who was assigned to the student council, took one look at Ozzy, wearing a big cross and chain around his neck and turned to a member of the student body and said, “Finally, you booked a Christian band.”

No one had the heart to tell him the truth. The sold out concert with an estimated 2200 in attendance would gross over $8,803.50. That’s over $62,222. Black Sabbath would go down as the biggest revenue generator in all of Union Catholic High School’s concert history. Sabbath’s generosity to help raise money

For charity was not a one off. On the same tour a few weeks later, they would play another benefit show in Paramus, New Jersey, the St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Coffee House sponsored Sabbath on March 9th. Profits for the two shows went to work projects and inner city missions

And local bands got to audition to open for the Brits. This is just one of the reasons Sabbath is considered a band for the people. The US tour lasted from February 17th until April 4th, 1971. And when they returned to England around April 6th, the boys headed back into the studio for a quick couple of days before heading out on April 14th for a 10 date Scandinavian tour. Then on April 26th, they ended the “Paranoid Tour”

Triumphantly at the Royal Albert Hall, where just four months earlier, the hall had refused to let them play in fear of fan violence. At this show, they were awarded their gold records for “Paranoid.” Around this time, 21 year old Ozzy found out that his then girlfriend was pregnant with their first child.

Ozzy had met Thelma Riley, also known as Thelma Mayfair at the Rum Runner Bar in Birmingham. That’s where Thelma worked part-time as a waitress when she wasn’t teaching. After living together for a few months, Ozzy decided the proper thing to do was marry Thelma before the baby arrived.

So in July, 1971, Ozzy and Thelma got married quietly at the Registry Office. Some said that they were married on April 1st, but that could not have happened since Sabbath played a gig in Rochester, New York on that day. Months later, Ozzy would adopt Thelma’s five year old son,

Elliot Kingsley from a previous marriage. Among Thelma’s various talents, she was a gifted seamstress and designed all of the stage outfits Ozzy wore on tour throughout the 70’s. The following year on January 20th, 1972, they would welcome Jessica Starshine Osborne to the family. In 1975, Ozzy’s second child with Thelma, Lewis was born.

♪ Now I’m sorry ♪ ♪ For the things I’ve done ♪ Ozzy would later admit to being a horrible father and husband to his first family. Adultery, spousal abuse, animal cruelty and child neglect. Ozzy said years later, “Thelma really suffered with me. And I really regret that.

If there’s one thing I wish for in my life, it’s that I could take it all back, but of course you could never take violence back of any kind and I’ll take this to the grave with me.” Ozzy and Thelma divorced in 1982,

And in the same year he married his manager, Sharon Arden with whom he had been having an affair. There are various accounts of when Black Sabbath finished recording “Master Of Reality”, but most reports point to the last week of May, as the band prepared for the studio, Ozzy warned the press that the new record was going to rock. Telling one reporter that the third album was going to be

“The heaviest we’ve done. It’s going to be heavier than before because that’s what people want. I don’t know whether Led Zeppelin made a big mistake or not with their third album, but personally I think a lot of people were disillusioned. If we ever decide to go acoustic with the band,

We would do it gradually. But at the moment people want heavy music. The heavier the better.” Tony Iommi said that musically, master of reality was a continuation of “Paranoid.” I think all would agree that with the exception of how they tune their instruments, his statement is accurate.

There are three songs on “Master of Reality”, where they all turn their instruments down three semitones. These are “Children Of The Grave”, “Lord Of This World” and “Into The Void.” Without getting too deep into musical jargon, This means they tuned their bass and guitars

Lower than most, if not all musicians at the time. This created a uniquely rich, dark baritone that no one else had. In another interview, Tony stated, “It was all part of an experiment, tuning down together for a bigger, heavier sound. Back then all the other bands had rhythm guitarists or keyboards,

But we made do with guitar, bass, guitar and drums. So we tried to make them sound as fat as possible. Tuning down just seemed to give it more depth. I think I was the first one to do that.” As far as we can tell, Tony is right.

Not only was he the first one in popular music to tune down, but he also started a way of playing heavy music that continues to this very day. This tuning down approach helped create many music sub genres, including the grunge sound of the 90’s, Djent, which is a sub genre of heavy metal

Characterized by low guitar tunings. Stoner rock, Nu metal and many more. So not only was “Master Of Reality” a classic hard rock album, It was an album that influenced thousands of bands. The album title “Master Of Reality came from Geezer Butler. Who said, “When you do an album, you’ve got the master tapes.

So it was the master of the album and all the lyrics were about reality.” So at the time it made sense for the band to write a song about the reality of their love for the devil’s lettuce, marijuana. – This is grass. – You mean marijuana? – Yeah. ♪ All right now ♪ – [Narrator] “Sweet Leaf” begins with a cough that moves from the left to the right channel as it becomes more distorted and ends in a loop. The cough comes from Tony. Having just taken a toke on a joint given to him by Ozzy. When handed the joint, Tony was working

On a separate acoustic track, but it’s inclusion for the beginning of “Sweet Leaf” makes sense. As the lyrics are essentially a love letter to cannabis. The cough sets up not only the lyrical theme of the song, but also the tempo. This love song for bud was almost a love song for someone else. An earlier version of the lyrics was not drug related at all and included the line such as ♪ I want you baby ♪ ♪ To be my wife ♪ ♪ To love and cherish ♪

♪ For the rest of my life ♪ The love song tone remained, but instead of the subject being a person, it became about the jazz cabbage after Geezer returned from Ireland. Geezer said, “I’d just come back from Dublin and they had these cigarettes called Sweet Afton,

Which you could only get in the Ireland. And we were going, ‘what could we write about’ I took out this cigarette packet and as you open it, it’s got on the lid, ‘The sweetest leaf you can buy.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, Sweet Leaf.'” We hate to contradict Geezer’s memory,

But our research shows that packages of Sweet Afton’s actually said “The best that money can buy.” Not “The sweetest leaf you can buy.” And there was no mention of Sweet Leaf on the packaging, but there was another brand of cigarettes Ogden that was manufactured outta Liverpool

And had the exact tagline of “Sweet Leaf.” Perhaps Geezer’s mind conflated the two. If you think we got it wrong, let us know in the comments below. Some have insinuated that Sweet Leaf guitar riff was taken from Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention’s “Hungry Freak’s Daddy.” Although Geezer was a big fan of Zappa, I think it’s a Meehan coincidence of notes. What isn’t a coincidence of notes, is the use of the rift in the Beastie Boys song, “Rhymin & Stealin.” In that song, the main guitar riff is paired with a loop of a drum sample

From Led Zeppelin’s “When The Lovey Breaks.” The biggest song to ever give a tip of the hat to “Sweet Leaf” was the ending music passage of The Red Hot Chili Pepper’s hit song, “Give It Away.” Chilli Pepper’s guitarist, John Frusciante is a known Sabbath fan and intentionally wanted to emulate the sounds of “Master Of Reality. He said, “The template for Stadium Arcadium was to have an album like Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality, where the guitars are in stereo,

Hard left, hard right and it’s just the simple power chord and sounds as thick as you’d ever want it to sound.” If you have early copies of the North American version of the first four albums, you have probably noticed extra song titles but no actual additional songs. Those are ghost titles, Warner Brother bands who played longer songs needed to give the appearance of more songs due to their publishing agreement.

So for Black Sabbath to feature a minimum of 10 song titles, those additional titles were added afterward to various sections of songs, which was common practice amongst rock bands of the era. After “Forever’s Floating” instrumental intro was given one of those ghost titles, “The Elegy.” Where “Sweet Leaf” was light in topic, “After Forever” is like a fist hammering on the pulpit. A devout Catholic who once considered becoming a priest, Geezer Butler wrote the words to this track, partly to refute the band’s satanic image. Yet as explicitly pro Christian as the lyrics are,

This fact alluded those who refused to believe it or look beyond the dark sounding music. Ironically, despite the songs pious message, the band still managed to get into trouble with complaints being directed at the line … ♪ Would you like to see the Pope ♪ ♪ On the end of a rope ♪

♪ Do you think he’s a fool ♪ Taken of course, out of context by it’s detractors. Geezer said, “That song just says that once you get to the end are you going to be prepared for what you find? Have you lived a good life?” Geezer also once put it this way.

“We were getting accused of all sorts of things, the whole Satan thing and everything. And ‘After Forever’ is just about all these people that were following us around that were into the occult and all the so-called Jesus freaks. So as a response to them, I wrote ‘After Forever’, it raises the question,

When you’re on your deathbed, who you gonna call, God or the devil?” – Who are you? – We’re the band Sanctified. We play metal and punk, but with lyrics that inspire faith in Christ. – Yeah, we proved that Christian music can be tough and hardcore. – Yeah, you guys are real hardcore.

– You bet your gosh darn rear end we are. – Say it down from Heaven! The spirit and glory! – [Narrator] “After Forever” may be the first Christian metal song ever written. It would be covered years later by the all Christian metal band “Stryper” with all the original lyrics intact. More influentially, it would establish a through line in the heavy metal genre of songs centered on

Biblical themes that carried over the decades with countless bands but comes directly from Black Sabbath. As this was not a topic Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin or even the acid rock bands were writing about. ♪ I think it was true ♪ ♪ It was people like you ♪ ♪ That crucified Christ ♪

– Unfortunately, even positive words can have a negative effect on someone mentally unstable. Apparently, serial killer David Berkowitz AKA Son of Sam would use Sabbath lyrics in his rambling writings. Ozzy said, “You remember that guy from New York, Son of Sam who was killing all the chicks? When they got into his apartment,

He supposedly had the lyrics to ‘After Forever’ written on his wall. I thought, ‘Fuck me’, are we going too far?'” The way people misinterpret lyrics would continue to be an issue for Ozzy for years to come. “Embryo” is a 28 second track for solo guitar that gives birth to “Children Of The Grave.”

This two stream medieval jaunt is Tony letting you catch your breath before he and the rest of the band propel you on a galloping ride with a horseman of the apocalypse. Tony said, “I’d like to come up with some instrumental guitar tracks like ‘Embryo.’

It’s a little classical thing to give it a little space and create some light and shade. If you listen to an album or even a song from start to finish and it’s all pounding away, you don’t notice the heaviness of it because there is no light in between it.

And that’s why sometimes in the middle of songs as well, I put a light part in to make the riff sound heavy when it comes back in. “Children Of The Grave” with a working title of “Live In The Graveyard”, illustrates the continuing Sabbath knack of making a song title sound as if it was something from a horror film, when in fact the lyrics deals with a different topic entirely. Far from being about any kind of undead or similar theme,

The track is another of Butler’s anti-war messages, coupled with his belief in nonviolent revolution. The titular children are marching to take over the world in the name of peace and love, being doomed only to become children of the grave if they fail this noble undertaking,

Ozzy calls it “The most kick ass song we’d ever recorded.” With it’s galloping, syncopated rhythm, like the four horseman of the apocalypse on their way to the end of the world party. It’s the precursor to many metal tunes. Iron Maiden owes a homage especially.

It’s as if all the turmoil in the inner city of Birmingham was converted into strident musical notes. The benefit of a 16 track studio over an eight track studio gave “Children Of The Grave, a notable extra layer of percussion with Bill Ward’s, overdubbed tymbals providing an unsettling tribal-like beat over the main riff.

“Children Of The Grave” may also be a nod to one of Tony’s and Geezer’s favorite classical composers, Gustav Hoist. They’re on record saying that Holst’s “Mars, The Bringer Of War” from the “Planet Suite” directly influenced their song, Black Sabbath. But melodically, you can also hear

“Mars, The Bringer Of War” on “Children Of The Grave.” If you are getting a “Star Wars” vibe too, you’re not wrong. John Williams, who did the score for “Star Wars” used Holst’s “Mars” as an inspiration. The song simply has the rolling power of an unstoppable juggernaut and has been a fixture in the band set list and Ozzy’s solo set as well ever since it first appeared. Indeed as the years have progressed, the song gradually took over the ever present Encore

Of “Paranoid” as the set closer that diehards wanted. The track ends with some eerie sounding, echoing music with a repeated whispered voice … Which would loop endlessly in the runoff groove on the original vinyl. The closing sounds you hear are calliope heard more fully on the instrumental version released on the Deluxe Edition. The outro section was credited on the initial US pressing as “The Haunting”, but the extra title was removed for future pressings.

Although there is no factual evidence for it, I like to believe the … In the Friday The 13th movies was in some ways influenced by the outro to “Children Of The Grave. Where “Embryo” is medieval, this interlude is somewhat more Renaissance. This one and a half minute Iommi solo acoustic piece is far more than another “Embryo.” Despite it’s brief duration, this is a supremely delicate and beautifully composed piece with a couple of brilliantly evocative chord progressions thrown almost casually into the middle.

The short length of the track may be indicative of Iommi’s lack of confidence including such a piece on a Black Sabbath album. And it wouldn’t be until the following years that he’d add longer and more developed works in the shape of “Laguna Sunrise”, “Fluff” and the intro to “Spiral Architect.”

It may also have been abbreviated by Roger Bain, who is notorious for cutting things like this. “Orchid” is a nice, acoustic piece with some death finger picking from Iommi that serves as a light contrast before being blasted into hell by the cloven hoofed “Lord Of This World.” Many Sabbath fans claim “Lord Of This world” to be the heaviest tune that Sabbath has ever recorded. Surprisingly, this most explicit reference to Satan is the most thoroughly Christian song on the album. The message is simple. God and the devil both exist. And if you don’t willfully choose to follow God,

You get the devil by default. The reference to Satan as “Lord Of This World” is straight out of the new Testament. The ultra-heavy groove is surprisingly dynamic and rich. Geezer said, “Lord of this world was about Satan because it wasn’t God’s world. It was Satan’s world. The devil’s more in control now

And happier than ever before. People can’t come together. There’s no equality. The higher you climb, the more people you have to cut down. You feel you’re better than other people, that they’re inferior to you. And it’s a sin to put yourself above other people. And yet that’s what people do.”

Lyrically, this is another piece that follows the “After Forever” model. Being a Christian message couched in black imagery, a scathing rebuke against those who pursue materialistic, self-absorbed lives, unaware that this is the path to Satan as summed up in this couplet. ♪ You turn to me ♪

♪ In all your worldly green and pride ♪ ♪ But now you turn to me ♪ ♪ When it’s your turn to die ♪ In retrospect, it was an incredible tight rope act that the band managed to pull off. While most bands would’ve been ridiculed for their Christian ideals, Black Sabbath’s name,

Spooky imagery and uber heavy music carried them forward. In effect, they managed to use the cool trappings of the dark side common to occult bands like Black Widow and Coven while escaping their gimmicky natures due to their greater musical and lyrical depth. All the while, making anti satanic ideas fascinating.

Sometime when the group was still called Earth, before rechristening themselves as Black Sabbath, Osborne and Butler had collaborated on the lyrics to a song called “Changing Phases”, which turned into “Solitude.” Solitude is a wonderful, weird tune for Black Sabbath. And there were many who thought it can’t be Ozzy singing

And assumed it was Bill Ward. Solitude is a kind of brother of “Planet Caravan” with fewer psychedelic effects and more of a proggy folk rock vibe, akin to King Crimson’s “Moon Child, or the moody blues “Vision of Paradise.” Ozzy’s voice here is masterful

And it shows just how well he could sing at the time. ♪ My name means nothing ♪ ♪ My fortune is less ♪ Ozzy’s voice aside, this is really a Tony Iommi piece. In addition to a multi-track acoustic and electric guitar parts, he also contributes some excellent flute playing,

A legacy of an interest gained during his brief stint with Jethro Tull. Iommi said, “I tried all sorts of things in the course of doing albums, even though I couldn’t play them. And after being with Jethro Tull for a short stint, I thought I might try the flute.

I did it only to a very amateurish extent, I must admit.” If you listen to Tony’s playing on “A Song For Jim”, a tribute to their first manager, Jim Simpson, you will hear that amateur or not, he was quite proficient on the flute. – Welcome back, everybody. And the first of our delights for you tonight is the fantastic … – Jethro Tull! – [Narrator] Here’s a brief overview for those who may not know the tale of Iommi being in Jethro Tull. Tull’s guitarist, Mick Abrams left the band on November 30th, 1968. Ian Anderson had seen Earth and Iommi when they opened for them a week earlier at the Mother’s Club in Erdington

And offered him the job. Iommi thought it was an excellent opportunity for himself, but did not wanna leave his band mates hanging. But after the rest of the band showed their support by telling Iommi to go for it. He did, but he quickly learned that

Jethro Tull was more like a job than a band. He was there to support Ian Anderson’s vision of Jethro Tull, not a collective group vision. That didn’t sit right for Tony, so he put in his notice to leave. Ian was calm about it, but asked, “We’re in trouble now

Because we’re doing this film, ‘The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus and we don’t have a guitar player. Would you do that at least?” Iommi agreed and played with them on December 11th and 12th. Iommi had also come up with the riff in the Tull song, “Nothing Is Easy”

From their sophomore album “Stand up.” Iommi has consistently spoken of the light and shade dynamics of Black Sabbath to provide different timbers for the listener. Master of Reality’s “Solitude” provides this contrast as much as “Planet Caravan did for “Paranoid” with its acoustic guitar, flute and light arrangements,

“Solitude” is both a gorgeous ode to proggy psychedelia and palette cleanser for the heavy, ambitious cruncher that is “Into The Void.” Much like ” Planet Caravan” was for “Ironman.” The final tune “Into The Void” is a massive dinosaur stomper that in my opinion, rivals “War Pigs, in terms of it’s changes and structure. The gruesomely heavy rift, dripping with sludge that opens a song was another ghost title named “Death Mask.” Originally named “Spanish Sid”,

This song is a sequel to “Children Of The Grave”. Whereas the closing of that song indicated utopia didn’t come about. The earth is consumed by destructive power of sin and the fires of judgment. And the only place to go is away. The sons of freedom represent a remnant of humanity

Who make their way beyond the sun to a new world. This is also an apt metaphor for the last judgment as depicted in the book of Revelation. “For the damned are condemned to the lake of fire. And the righteous are transported to a new heaven and a new earth in which they find

Everlasting life, peace and happiness.” An absolutely monstrous and challenging track to make, Iommi has said that both Ward and Osborne had trouble nailing this one down. It was time, effort and frustration well spent. Bill Ward said, “That was Black Sabbath at it’s absolute height when it was absolutely coming alive. At that point, Geezer was writing really strongly

And the band at that point was unbelievably tight. We were really becoming confident due to all the touring we’d done. Sound garden recorded this for their 1992 re-release of their “Badmotorfinger” album. Their version substituted lyrics taken from a speech given by Chief Sealth, a Native American Leader in what is now Washington State. ♪ The whites must treat the beasts of his land ♪ ♪ As his brothers not his enemies ♪ ♪ Tell them what is a man without the beasts ♪ ♪ I’ll bet he will die of loneliness ♪ Sealth, who lived 1786 to 1866 was also known as Chief Seattle

For which the city where Sound Garden was formed is named. Sound Garden was nominated for a best metal performance Grammy for the songs. Before we talk about the album cover we all know, did you know another image was first in line for Sabbath’s next album. In December, 1970 Black Sabbath bought a black and white drawing from a German artist, Peter Reuter. The plan was for him to come to London in January of 1971

And create a color version for Sabbath’s next album. Why it didn’t become the cover for “Master of Reality” is a mystery. Though, given that the band and label were trying to move away from overtly spooky imagery, this may have been the reason why. Featuring a pitch black cover with the band name eerily painted in funeral purple, the title of the record was embossed with bubbly lettering for the UK and North American release so that you could feel it with your fingers. “Masters of Reality” looked as ominous as it sounded. Later editions lacked the embossed printing

And instead render the album title in gray. In his autobiography. Iommi described the cover as “Slightly Spinal Tap-ish, only well before Spinal Tap. – What do you think? – Is this the test pressing? – No, this is it. – It says “Smell The Glove” by Spinal Tap–

– That’s “Smell The Glove”, that’s the jacket cover. – How much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black. – Is that good? – I think you’re rationalizing this whole thing, like into something that you you did on purpose. You know, I think we’re stuck with a very,

Very stupid and a very, and a very dismal looking album. This is depressing. – [Narrator] Black and purple were chosen as the theme to represent mourning colors. Many variants occurred around the world with the majority intending to make the band’s name more readable beyond the straight embossing. Post the initial pressings, There have been several variants worldwide of the color scheme with red, orange

And all but purple lettering occasionally being used, but always with the same basic design. According to disc.com, over 200 variants exist of the “Master of Reality” album cover. The original UK issues of the album had the sleeve constructed as a thin box, opening with a flat at the top, like an envelope.

A large six panel fold out poster was housed inside featuring a sinister shot of the band standing under a tree. The photo was taken by Keith McMillan, AKA Keef, who was responsible for the cover artwork of “Black Sabbath” and “Paranoid.” The location was Black Park, a country park in Wexham, England.

The Bloomsbury Group who designed the cover and McMillan, would team up again for Sabbath’s next album “Vol 4.” This was also the first Black Sabbath record on which the lyrics were reproduced on the back of the sleeve, which should have clarified what the band was about once and for all.

Early US pressings were the hallmark of injudicious planning when the title appeared in the plural as “Masters of Reality” on the vinyl label. “Master of reality” was the first Black Sabbath album, other than cover songs that didn’t include full band credits for each song. Initially “Orchid”, “Embryo”, and oddly enough,

“After Forever” were mistakenly credited only to Iommi. This was changed when the black box was released and the tunes, even “Orchid” and “Embryo” were credited to the entire band. – [Reporter] Black Sabbath has just released their third album. It’s called “Master of Reality.” – [Interviewer] What do you think about Black Sabbath? – [Fan] I love them. – [Interviewer] Why? – [Female Fan] I dunno, like they’re a good group. Couldn’t explain it. You know, they’re outrageous. – [Female Fan 2] think Black Sabbath is fantastic. They play what they feel and not like put on,

Black Sabbath really knows what they’re doing. – [Announcer] Music that drives, Master of Reality by Black Sabbath on Warner Brothers. – [Narrator] The album would be released in the UK in July and in the US in August of 1971. One of the unique promotions that they had for the album was lifted from the blockbuster at the time, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Sabbath randomly inserted 500 golden tickets

Into copies of a “Master Of Reality.” – You got it, you’ve got the last golden ticket! – [Narrator] The ticket stated, “In 10 words or less explain why you love Black Sabbath’s music.” The winner would get to hang out with Sabbath for the day. The winner ended up being writer Metal Mike Saunders, and the 10 words or less that won it for him was simply,

“Black Sabbath have discovered the secret of sound.” In the description, I will link his article about his experience named “A Dorito and 7-Up Picnic with Black Sabbath.” “Master of Reality” was a commercial hit, a top five album in the UK and a top 10 success in America. It’s the distinct point where Sabbath proved they were here to stay and far from a current fad of 1970. They were able to capitalize on the brilliant music

They had created the year before and enhanced to the stage further, all the while selling a ton of records and concert tickets and not to mention kick starting new genres and inspiring musicians who were at the time, either toddlers or not even born yet. 1971 was a great year for Black Sabbath

And marked the turning point for them as they became a massive act stateside and worldwide, yet critics still didn’t get it. Sabbath were still written about as uncouth hoodlums making simple music for grubby people. Even though the album shipped gold, went double platinum in the US and sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide,

There were still a few critics that hated Black Sabbath for purportedly killing the hippie dream. Bill Ward said, “When we did Master, I thought, ‘My God surely, this has got to get some credibility.’ Because I love Master of Reality. It’s one of the best albums I’ve ever heard.”

If we look at it through the lens of time, it’s an iconic piece of music, Billy Corgan, leader of the Smashing Pumpkins considers “Master of Reality” the album that spawned grunge. Rolling stone magazine, ranked the album in their list of the top 500 albums of all time.

Bill Ward said “When we completed that album, we were, as far as I’m concerned, truly veterans. I always looked at the first three albums as part of the same time period for us. But for me, it was Master of Reality that defined how good we’d become.

The band had sort of reached a pinnacle with it, while I like all those records, This is the one where I believe we’d found ourselves. This is really the first proper studio album. It also marked the point at which we began to develop into something else.” ♪ All right, everybody let’s go! ♪ Master of Reality was the beginning and an ending. Money, tours, unadulterated adulation, and unqualified success had come their way. It is a marvel that black Sabbath did survive, albeit somewhat for the worst. The band would go on to do their usual routine of tour, record, repeat.

The Master of Reality Tour is where they’d find their love for cocaine. Feel the wrong side of success and start to lose their innocence. – [Ozzy] We love you all, yeah! Goodnight, we love you!