Proto-Metal/Classic Hard Rock Reviews

If you have or want to write reviews for bands/albums in this genre, you can do so in this thread.

BLACK SABBATH - Sabotage (1975)

***** (5 out of 5 stars)

This album is nothing short of a heavy metal masterpiece, in my humble opinion. Sabbath really redefined their sound and peaked with both this and their previous release, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. One can hear layered guitars galore and a production that gives the entire album an "otherworldly" sound (and transports the listener entirely somewhere else indeed!)

The album comes out swinging with "Hole in the Sky" which showcases all four mambers at the top of their craft. A classic riff by Tony along with a wonderfully dissonant double-tracked harmony guitar lead, a soaring and melodic vocal line by Ozzy, an incredibly fluid and contrasting bass line coupled with finely crafted lyrical imagery by Geezer, and thundering drumming by Bill Ward all combine to make an incredible whole that is DEFINITELY more than the sum of its parts (and this is only the FIRST TRACK!) A short, classically inspired and dissonant acoustic guitar piece by Tony follows and segues into the classic and bone crunching "Symptom of the Universe" which includes a beautiful acoustic layered and melodic outro that is just as lovely as anything the classic prog-rock bands ever did (i.e. ELP, Yes, Tull, etc). This hard/soft formula works so well for Sabbath on this album that they continue to employ it with several of the upcoming tracks. "Megalomania" takes it and reverses the order, starting out with an ambient arrangement that can only be described as "haunting". Midway through the song, the tempo changes and Sabbath pounds it home like only they can with possibly the most classic and ne'er heard riff of their career and definitely some of the most sinister vocals ever heard on tape before or since.

(Here comes side two, for all of you who first discovered this gem on VINYL.)

Just when you think it can't possibly get any better, "The Thrill of it All" comes in with an incredible start/stop riff that leaves you drooling on your fretboard! The "hard/soft" formula is again employed and the outro section is every bit as exquisite as the ones that preceded it, if not more so. Next, the Sabs take it up another notch with the awesome "Supertzar", which is an instrumental piece that uses a full choir to sing the phonetic and inspiring vocal lines. GEEZ! If only to give us a break, the next track, "Am I Going Insane (Radio)", is the "single" on the album (if there really ever was such a thing on a Sab release). Lesser in total track time, but no less weird, the protagonist of the song continually asks the listener about the state of his mental health over rhythm tracks that race probably as fast as the poor man's thoughts and sound equally dissonant as his cognitive processes. At the end, one can hear bizarre screams of agony over careless laughter which only slightly prepares you for the magnum opus which is to come. "The Writ" starts out innocuously enough with a fluid bass line that only slightly hints at the massive wall of sound to follow. Lyrically, the piece seems to lash out at the horrible management situation the Sabs had jsut crawled out from under. Sonically, the song is no less poignant. As if stating that the previous efforts did not quite meet their own great expectations, they go again into a melodic outro that seals this masterpiece in the annals of heaviness.

As if at this point the quivering puddle of what was once the listener on the floor really cares...

Randy Michaud - 7/29/02

BLACK SABBATH - Technical Ecstasy (1976)

*** (3 stars out of 5)

"Tech Ec" is definitely the weakest of the original lineup's studio releases. There are a couple of classics on here, however. "Back Street Kids" and "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" are probably the most finely crafted pieces here. Two additional treats are "You Won't Change Me" with it's nice and slow doom-metal pace, and Bill Ward's vocals on the ballad "It's Alright". Again, it's not up to the usual standards one would expect out of Sabbath, but if you love their creativity, this one is a must to complete the picture. This effort captures a moment in time for a band whose members were experiencing personal turmoil and seemed tired of the image they had been presenting on their previous six studio outings. I mean, it IS the original lineup, and can you really go wrong with that great chemistry? It's cool, even if only for the contrast it provides against the other works. But if you really dig the creativity that Sabbath demonstrated, check it out - but leave your preconceived notions at the door.

Randy Michaud - 7/29/02

BLACK SABBATH - Never Say Die! (1978)

**** (4 out of 5 stars)

Wake up, people! This is definitely THE most underrated Sabbath album of the Ozzy era! There are some classic moments here if one is able to just let go of the preconceived expectations of what Sabbath is "supposed" to sound like. There isn't really a bad song on this album, in my opinion. The title track, "Johnny Blade", and "Shock Wave" are all hard hitting Sabbath rockers with classic riffs to match, while "Junior's Eyes", "Air Dance", "Over to You" and "A Hard Road" are melodic and slower paced, but emotional and thought provoking numbers. The final cuts, "Breakout" (an instrumental complete with saxophone) and "Swinging the Chain" are definitely different for Sabbath, but Bill Ward handles the vocals on the latter song and how often do we really get to hear him belting out a number? The man has a passion and a rawness to his voice that definitely added another dimension to the already multidimensional Sabbath sound. This album also featured a certain air of hope and positivity that really makes it sound as fresh to me today as it did when I first heard it. Open your mind and give this one another chance. You won't be disappointed.

Randy Michaud - 7/29/02

URIAH HEEP-Look At Yourself - For anyone looking to discover the earliest roots of the tree of epic Candlemass/Solitude Aeturnus style doom this masterwork is highly recommended.Early Heep was doom before doom existed.Black Sabbath provided the basic sound, but the soaring vocals,epic length and fantasy themes of so many modern doom,heavy goth and heavy progressive metal bands existed first in the heavy riffs of Uriah Heep.Heep was one of the very few bands of their time that used keyboards, and actually sounded just as heavy with them.Looking for the roots of heavy goth,you will find it in the somber atmospheric gothic "Shadows Of Grief".Majestic heaviness is present in the fantasy themed "I Wanna Be Free",and along with some of the material on Demons and Wizards is the prototype for fantasy/mystical metal.This work is a mastery of early hard rock,even the piano driven ballad "What Should Be Done" has overtones of gothic mystery and hard truth doom-like lyrics.The same is true for the driving title track as well ,which sets the tone for all that is to follow.Hail the mighty Heep! Sabbath Steve

Many of you know that I LOVE early hard rock ... especially from this era (right around teh time of early Sabbath). However, I have never been into Heep. Why? The albums I've heard haven't thrilled me, though I honestly can't remember which albums they were ... perhaps I need to give these bad boys another chance.

Cool review man, I will take another look into early Heep.

dOOm&gLOOm wrote:

Many of you know that I LOVE early hard rock ... especially from this era (right around the time of early Sabbath). However, I have never been into Heep. Why? The albums I've heard haven't thrilled me, though I honestly can't remember which albums they were ... perhaps I need to give these bad boys another chance.

Cool review man, I will take another look into early Heep.

HEEP's catalogue gets kinda spotty after David Byron's and Ken Hensley's respective departures, but try these early ones out and you should hear what Steve's talking about (some titles differ in cover art and track listings between the US and UK versions):

-Collections:


The Best of Uriah Heep - 1976
(GH comp on Mercury label - good to start with for a brief overview of the classic early years)

-Byron/Hensley-era albums:

(US) (UK)
Uriah Heep (a.k.a. Very 'eavy, Very 'umble) - 1970

(US) (UK)
Salisbury - 1971

(US) (UK)
Look at Yourself - 1971

<--ESSENTIAL!!!
Demons and Wizards - 1972


The Magician's Birthday - 1972


Uriah Heep Live - 1973

-Post Byron/Hensley-era albums:

<--ESSENTIAL!!! (plus, it features "Monkey Demon" on the cover! )
Abominog - 1982

Those should get you started. I have a few more, but they haven't really taken root for me yet, plus there are still a bunch that I haven't even heard yet from the later years. I just pick up the ones I don't have as I find them used.

Cool guys thanks. I always knew they were classic but couldn't
understand why I didn't like em. I probably heard more 80s stuff then,
or at least from a different era than those ones.



I'll keep an eye open for Uriah Heep circa 1970-1973.

Absolutely cool display there Trogman,I had never seen the UK version of Salisbury and don't really understand the photo reference, of course I never had the lyrics ,so maybe I missed something,I do think the US cover is better though.

Yeah! Gotta give it up for the HEEP!

What no love for the Doors?