Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | 
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| Artist: Black Sabbath
Label: Sanctuary UK
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $6.65
You Save: $5.33 (44%)
New (10) Used (6) from $6.65
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 129470
Format: Import, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 5 x 0.4
EAN: 5050749203526
ASIN: B00022TPTS
Release Date: May 31, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new and factory sealed. In stock and ships within 48 HOURS of order!! FREE upgrade to first class shipping!! Satisfaction guaranteed.
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| Tracks:
| • | Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | | • | A National Acrobat | | • | Fluff | | • | Sabbra Cadabra | | • | Killing Yourself to Live | | • | Who Are You? | | • | Spiral Architect | | • | Looking for Today |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
1996 reissue on Castle of their top 20 1974 album for WarnerBrothers. Digitally remastered from the original mastertapes with faithfully restored artwork, it contains alleight original tracks, including the title smash and'Killing Yourself To Live'.
Album Details
Limited Edition Reissue, Replicating the Original Album Packaging in a Cardboard Digipak.
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| Customer Reviews:
My favorte Sabbath January 17, 2006
Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If one were to ask what Black Sabbath's golden era was, most ivory-tower music historians and co-called "experts" would probably say it was the band's first four albums. If you were to ask anyone (critic, or fan) what was Sabbath's best offering, "Paranoid," (1970) or perhaps the self-titled debut, (1970) or even "Master of Reality" (1971) would be your answer. For this fan, however, I'm going to have to go with the band's fifth album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1974) as being my personal favorite album by the legendary British metal band.
In terms of creativity, musicianship, and songwriting, the iron was still hot by the time Sabbath recorded "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." Key elements that so defined the band's first four albums are still in place; blues-based, sluggish riffs, a gloomy outlook, and gothic trappings abound, but this time the band try to expand their sound by introducing synthesizers and orchestration into their formula (courtesy of Rick Wakeman of YES). Like any of the band's first six albums, Sabbath is as focused and tight as ever.
In all honesty, the first six albums are all classics, all flawless; you could really argue any of the first six releases as being the band's best album. I tend to give the nod to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" because I think it showcases Iommi's best riffs and the added synths work really well encompassed into the band's bluesy/sluggish signature sound.
On "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," like any classic Sabbath or early Ozzy solo work, we see Ozzy in his prime. Long before Ozzy Osbourne became a parody of himself, being known to most as an oafish buffoon on a reality show as opposed to an icon, he really was genuinely chilling. Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward's (drums) bone-crunching rhythm section are as intimidating and intense as ever.
The opening title track "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" stands as one of the band's greatest songs. From the second the needle hits the groove of the record, or you press play on your CD player, your senses are almost overwhelmed by a riff that is simultaneously intense, gripping and infectious. As the song grinds along, it goes from angry, lean and mean, to a melodic, almost bittersweet, to a full-throttle attack. After the overwhelming "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," the listener is offered a reprieve with the laid-back yet fully captivating "A National Acrobat." The beautiful melancholy acoustic "Fluff" is perhaps Iommi's all-time greatest instrumental and serves as a sharp contrast to the rest of the album. The band's experimentation makes itself known with the hard-hitting "Sabbra Cadabra," as synthesizers and piano come out of left-field, throwing the listener a welcome curveball. One of the band's bleakest songs, "Killing Yourself" is kind of like a heavy-metal version of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero." The gloomy-as-could-be synth-heavy "Who are you" enters prog-rock country. The album offers another surprise with the pop-savvy "Looking for Today," and the epic closing "Spiral Architect," the latter adding orchestration. The orchestration works well in combination with Iommi's killer solos.
When a band tries to expand their sound with experimentation it doesn't always work. This isn't the case at all, however, with "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." This album is the perfect example of a band experimenting, growing, and maturing, without loosing its teeth or letting its ambitions run wild. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" stands as not only one of the band's best albums (or best) but is also one of the best rock albums from the 1970s.
Sabbath's Finest Hour October 9, 2004
D. Donohue (Nova Scotia)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As far as the original (Ozzy era) Sabbath albums go, this has to be classified as the best of the bunch. While it may lack the sonic, crunching guitar chords that Black Sabbath is known for, it is musically their masterpiece. That's not to say that this album is not as heavy as other Sab products, but it is certainly a step beyond being a mere "metal" album. Songs such as "A National Acrobat" and "Looking For Today" shine with a definite British, almost Beatle-esque quality that show a band firing on all cylinders. While many will, in all likelyhood, point out "Paranoid" as the band's true masterpiece, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is actually a step beyond that. THIS is the album that all other metal acts since have tried to make, after achieving their own success. Few have accomplished it. Anyone who knows only of Ozzy Osbourne as the befuddled, remote control-challenged man he is today, need only hear this album to understand why he is the metal icon he is today. This is a prime example of heavy metal at it's finest.
Sabbath branches out and kicks ... April 20, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It takes a while to grow on you, but this is really the best Sabbath studio LP of all. Though there is no such thing as a perfect Sabbath album, this album has a spot of genius in every song: the choruses of "Looking For Today" (you buried the lead, guys) and "Killing Yourself To Live", the brief descending guitar breaks in "Spiral Architect". And the grooves are the deepest Ozzy & Co. ever cooked up. The title track is just death itself; some enterprising rapper oughta hook up with "A National Acrobat" tout suite; and despite the cliche-squared lyrics, "Sabbra Cadabra" cooks harder than the Meters, even. The instrumental is pretty and dealable, and "Who Are You"'s melody ultimately overcomes the lack of Iommi-skronk. Overall, one killer record.Incidentally, the remastered version is worth purchasing - brighter, and with much more bottom end.
The Best Bloody Sabbath July 15, 2000
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is easily the best Sabbath album. The songs "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Killing Yourself to Live", and "Looking For Today" are awesome. Everyone knows that Paranoid is a great album, but this one is even greater. On this one, the songs are remastered and never sounded better. Don't waste your money are the US version, it sounds horrible. It also includes all the original artwork--something very important for us collectors. I waited too long to buy album, so don't make my mistake.
The original Sabbath's Finest Hour May 30, 1999
dpbelle@aol.com (North Carolina)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In a world of heavy metal imitators, no one does it better than Sabbath. Sure they had their peers (but Deep Purple was never really metal, and Zeppelin were kind of overrated), and they had their heirs (Priest and Maiden, and perhaps early Metallica). But to this day Black Sabbath define metal,and Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath is the finest album by the original four. It has just the right blend of electric and acoustic guitars, a variety of tempos, and lyrics that mix magic with the basest of real-life existentialism. Kudos also to Drew Struzan, who created a cover which flirted with Satanism but actually invokes the duality of man. Now, I was only 2 when it was first released, but I can only guess that this album captures exactly what it was like to be a teen in 1973. How I wish I could have seen Sabbath, Purple, or Elf in their '70s heyday. And frankly, "Fluff" is so wonderful I wish I could have had it played at my wedding.
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