Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

I don't think Ozzy's voice has ever sounded as good as it does on this record. As well Tony Iommi's guitar work is as good as it gets and pretty much sets the stage for a lot of the heavy metal that came after this album. Listening to this record (as well as the ones in the Sabbath catalog that surround it) one also hears the roots of drone metal. Where would a band like Sunn 0))) be without Master of Reality?


High points on the record are Sweet Leaf, After Forever and Children of The Grave. I love Children of The Grave. With the cheesy whispering at the end I can just picture stoned teenagers listening to it in their wood paneled basements at 2:00am in 1975, plotting a school shooting spree. God, it sounds like it was written just for that demographic. Lord of This World is also a pretty good song, with some of the best guitar work on the album. The songs are very repetitive with lumbering melodies. If we had to pick a Jungian archetype for 70's heavy metal I think that this record would have to be it.

Dr Reverend's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2011 Inductees

Inducted into my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this day are:

Black Sabbath - How could anyone have a hall of fame without them? And I don't just mean a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but any hall of fame. If I ran a Transportation or Dental Surgeon hall of fame I'd them in there too.

Kraftwerk - If I have to explain this one to you then you just might be a retarded person.

Neil Young - I'm not his biggest fan, he made a few really good records back in the 70s, plus some of the work he did in bands, (which he never seemed to remain in long) like Buffalo Springfield and CSNY was pretty good. He's made records in 5 different decades and continues to be strong influence on modern music.

Ray Charles - This was Skippy's pick. He's a boarder line pick for me, but Skip has so little in his life and I that this will make his year.

Well, that's it for this year. Thanks for reading and I promise to post more in 2011.