Black Sabbath and the birth of Heavy Metal - A dive into the main motifs used in the first metal album

Black Sabbath - 1970 - Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath GIF

"What is this that stands before me,a figure in black which points at me". 

That mysterious dark silhouette appeard in a dream "Geezer" Bulter had was probably Satan and it might have been inspired by the occult stories he was into, at that time,  according to what he revealed in some of his interviews, later on.

Also, it might symbolize the materialization of a
new rock genre, demanding you to follow into the most exciting, creative, imaginative and energetic music of all times - HEAVY METAL!

Once the flower power movement gained its momentum and started to slowly fade away, there was a need for a new artistic expression for the disillusioned youth. 

Something to mirror and exorcise their deep concerns, fear and unrest towards this unforgiving sick society.

The end of an era, for sure, and the beginning of the metalhead "breed", which is so well described by Henry Rollins in an interview when he pictured the typical Black Sabbath fans' behavior in the mid of the 70's.

Musically and conceptually speaking Heavy Metal inherited elements from the venomous blues such as Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry's rebel musical groundbreaking rock'n'roll attitude and the Robert Johnson's dark satanic vibes added upon the above mentioned blues skeleton, psychedelic and/or the other rock style called acid/dirty rock.

On the other hand, the dramatic overtones of classical music inspired the sonic structure and the song writing in years to come, according to the musical analysts.

Composers like Wagner, Beethoven or the Paganini's mad virtuosity inspired bands like Van Hallen, Yngwie Malmsteen and most of the bands from the later N.W.O.B.H.M movement.

Later on, it has been revealed that the genre was baptized by the Steppenwolf 's song "Born to be Wild" where the phrase "heavy metal thunder" coined this new, heavy musical approach on which, back in those days, the Sabbath crew was reffering in their interviews with the term of "heavy-rock", when they were asked.

Besides their counterparts from Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly or Jimi Hendrix who are, also cited among the pioneers in creating the genre, they are more regarded as the creators of the Hard-Rock scene.

In comparison, Black Sabbath sounded a lot heavier starting with their very first release by fully introducing the riff, via the riff master himself - Tony Iommi.

Let's see what happens behind curtain of the pouring rain and the sinister bell chimes...

First of all, what differentiates this album from their future works is the undeniable underground and occult attitude of the music, here, accentuated by the baritonal tone used by Ozzy in order to fit the overall riff-tone contruct.

The album begins with a journey to the witches' sabbath accompanied with a crushing and one of the most memorable riffs of all time, devilish tritones and an almost dancing groove in the end, the much praised Black Sabbath track created both heavy metal and doom metal at once, greeted with a smile from the dark one as the "flames got higher and higher". 

Nothing more to add about this classic.

As a second card in this pack, the harmonica blues-influenced "The Wizard" balanced the previous evil deed with his determination to dissipate evil by spreading his magic. "Never talking, just keep walking". 

The music itself suggesting the mission developing and galloping in order to accomplish the compelling quest.

"Behind the Wall of Sleep" transports you to a mid-paced doomy work, a great landscape added at the lyrical section, genius bass lines and brilliant guitar licks provided by the riff master Tony Iommi. 

The backbone of the album for sure and the Sabbath's creativity in full display. There's no question about it!
 

With the "N.I.B." song we get a quite strange riff following now-the-well-known bass introduction , judging by today standards, and the groove provided here can be considered catchy and fun for a listener back in those days.

As for the overall atmosphere, the obsession for the occult and the love affair with Lucifer must be the main deliverer here.

What follows is a very enjoyable tune. A cover version from the band Crow called "Evil woman, Don't you play your games with me!". Again, the more baritone tone of Ozzy's voice stands out on this one.

"Sleeping Village", could be considered as the second back bone of the album matching perfectly with the art cover, like a soundtrack of the mysterious picture. A crescendo solo ends the song in the same bluesy fashion.

The last chapter for the trip "Warning (Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation Cover)" it's a monument of guitar virtuosity.

Besides the first part of the song, being some of pure blues awesomeness interpretation, Iommi builds up a bridge showing off and let loose his soloing cascade at the end, before the final closing chorus.
 

Just to summarize the ingredients for the overall occult climax of the album we have :

 - The pouring Rain

 - Bell chimes

 - The Figure in Black

 - The Wizard

 - Lucifer

 - Countryside Village

 - The evil woman and her deeds

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