Master of Reality

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Master of Reality
Studio album by Black Sabbath
Released 21 July 1971
Recorded 1 January – May 1971 at Island Studios in London, England
Genre Heavy metal
Length 34:29
Language English
Label Vertigo
Producer Rodger Bain
Black Sabbath chronology

Paranoid
(1970)		 Master of Reality
(1971)		 Vol. 4
(1972)

Master of Reality is the third album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in July 1971. It is noted as laying the foundations of doom, stoner, and sludge metal.[1][2] Master of Reality was certified double platinum after having sold over 2 million copies. Master of Reality along with the band's 2013 studio album 13 are the only two Black Sabbath studio albums to have ever reached the #1 spot on the US Billboard Chart.

Recording

Master of Reality was recorded at Island Studios in London between February and April 1971. The album was produced by Rodger Bain, who had also produced their previous two albums. However, this would be his final collaboration with the band.

On the tracks "Children of the Grave", "Lord of This World", and "Into the Void",[3] guitarist Tony Iommi decided to downtune his guitar three semi-tones to produce what he referred to as a "bigger, heavier sound".[3] This also reduced string tension, thus making the guitar less painful for him to play; Iommi had two of his fingers partially severed in a factory accident years earlier.[4] Geezer Butler also downtuned his bass guitar to match Iommi.

Music and lyrics

During recording, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne brought Iommi a large joint which caused the guitarist to cough uncontrollably.[3] Iommi was recording acoustic guitar parts at the time, and thus his coughing fit was captured on tape. A fragment of Iommi's recorded coughing was later added by producer Bain as the intro to "Sweet Leaf", a song which was admittedly an ode to marijuana use.[3] Iommi recalls "We all played Sweet Leaf while stoned."[3]

Although the album jacket credits Iommi alone as the composer of "After Forever", Iommi admits that the song's lyrics were in fact composed by Butler.[3][5] Butler was (and remains) a Catholic[3] and the song focuses entirely on Christian themes. At the time, Black Sabbath were suspected by some observers of being Satanists due to their dark sound, image, and lyrics.[3] "After Forever" was released as a single along with "Fairies Wear Boots" in 1971.[6][7]

The song "Solitude" showcases guitarist Iommi's multi-instrumental talents, featuring him playing guitar, flute, and piano.[8] A delay effect was later added to Osbourne's vocals on the song as a means of doubling the vocal track.

Cover and artwork

The vinyl release of Master of Reality used black-on-black raised lettering for the album's title.

The first editions of the album came in an 'envelope sleeve' containing a poster of the band, and with the album's title embossed in black lettering, visible in relief. Later editions lacking the embossed printing would render the album title in grey. This was the first Black Sabbath sleeve on which the lyrics were reproduced on the back of the sleeve.

On the first North American editions of the album, several songs had subtitles given to segments, making it appear that there were more songs than there actually were. The intro of "After Forever" was given the title "The Elegy", the outro of "Children of the Grave" was called "The Haunting", the intro of "Lord of This World" was titled "Step Up", and the intro of "Into the Void" called "Deathmask". This treatment had also been used on the North American editions of Black Sabbath's previous two albums. These pressings also incorrectly listed the album title as Masters of Reality. Subsequent editions corrected the album's title and removed three of the four subtitles (all but "The Elegy").

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [9]
Robert Christgau C−[10]
Q [11]
Rolling Stone mixed[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [13]
Sputnikmusic 4.0/5[14]

The album peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart,[15] and at number eight in the United States,[16] where it achieved Gold status on advance orders alone.[citation needed] Eventually it sold two million copies in the US.[citation needed] However, it was not well received by contemporary music critics. Rolling Stone's Lester Bangs described Master of Reality as "monotonous" in a mixed review.[12] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice found the band "dull and decadent" and called the album "a dim-witted, amoral exploitation."[10]

In 2001, Q included the album in their list of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time, calling it "malevolent...casting Black Sabbath as a Titanic-style house band on the eve of Armageddon, cranking it as the bomb drops."[17] A critic for the magazine cited it as "the most cohesive record of [the band's] first three albums."[11] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 300 in their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[18] and called it "the definitive studio relic of Sabbath's golden-hellfire era (1970–74)..."[19]

Billy Corgan, leader of The Smashing Pumpkins, considered Master of Reality the album that "spawned grunge".[20] John Stanier, drummer for Helmet and Tomahawk, cited the record as the one that convinced him to do music.[21]

Covers

Songs from this album have been covered by a variety of bands.

"After Forever" has been covered by Biohazard for Nativity in Black, a Black Sabbath tribute album,[22] Aurora Borealis for Hell Rules: Tribute to Black Sabbath, Vol. 2, Deliverance on their 1992 album What a Joke, and by the hardcore band Shelter on their 1992 album Quest for Certainty. Frost Like Ashes on their debut EP Pure As the Blood Covered Snow.

The song "Solitude" was covered by English doom metal band Cathedral as a bonus track for the European version of the 1994 Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black, and later by Norwegian group Ulver on their 2007 album Shadows of the Sun.[23] The song has also been covered by death metal band Demented Saint.

White Zombie covered "Children of the Grave" on Nativity in Black, spawning a single for Nativity in Black. Racer X, Earth Crisis and Neurosis have all covered the song as well.

"Into the Void" was covered by stoner rock band Kyuss for the split EP Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, and by Soundgarden on their EP Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas.

"Sweet Leaf" was covered by Alice in Chains in a live performance in Cincinatti on August, 1991 and by Godsmack as a bonus track for the Japanese special edition of their 2000 album Awake and for the second volume of the Nativity in Black series.

The riff from "Sweet Leaf" was used as the basis for the Butthole Surfers' song "Sweat Loaf", from the album Locust Abortion Technician. Thrash metal band Anthrax, at the end of their cover of another Black Sabbath song, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" from their 1987 EP I'm the Man, launch into an abbreviated version of "Sweet Leaf" which fades to silence after several seconds. That same riff is referenced near the end of "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[24] "Sweet Leaf" has also been covered by American metal band Ugly Kid Joe on their first release, As Ugly as They Wanna Be, and by Baltimore hardcore band Next Step Up on their 1995 album, Fall From Grace. Riffs from "Sweet Leaf" and "Into the Void" feature in a live recording of a Black Sabbath medley performed by Candlemass in 1988. The medley was released as a track on the bonus CD accompanying the 2003 re-release of their debut album, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus.

Estonian band Rondellus, in their tribute album Sabbatum, covered the songs "After Forever" and "Solitude" in Medieval style with lyrics translated into Latin. "After Forever" is retitled "Post Aeternitatem" (literally, "After Eternity"), and is sung by a choir of male voices. "Solitude" is sung by male and female voices, accompanied by positive organ.

Exhorder covered the song "Into The Void" on their album The Law released in 1992.

Stoner doom metal band Sleep covered "Lord of this World" on their EP Volume Two. Grindcore band Brutal Truth made a cover of this song on their EP Perpetual Conversion. Also, Corrosion of Conformity recorded a version for Nativity in Black.

In popular culture

Several bands are named after songs on this album, or the album itself. Syracuse, New York hard rock band Masters of Reality, who enjoyed moderate success in the 1990s, took their name from the album title. Metal bands After Forever and Orchid take their name from the album tracks of the same name.[25]

Mountain Goats leader John Darnielle wrote a short novel for the 33⅓ book series with Master of Reality as a central theme. The book is written in the form of a diary of a young man who has been committed to a mental health treatment facility, and how the teen relates to the world through the songs on the album.[26]

The song "Solitude" was featured as the leitmotif of main character, Zombie, in the 1991 motion picture Zombie ja Kummitusjuna (Zombie and The Ghost Train) by Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki.[27]

Future Black Sabbath producer Rick Rubin sampled Sweet Leaf's main guitar riff in producing the Beastie Boys' 1986 song "Rhymin' and Stealin'".[28]

The track "Into the Void" was featured at the beginning of episode 23 (entitled Hog Heaven) of the ninth season of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.[citation needed]

Track listing

Original LP

All songs written and composed by Black Sabbath (Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward), except "Embryo" and "Orchid" by Iommi; all lyrics by Geezer Butler. 
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Sweet Leaf"   5:05
2. "After Forever"   5:27
3. "Embryo" (instrumental) 0:28
4. "Children of the Grave"   5:18
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "Orchid" (instrumental) 1:31
6. "Lord of This World"   5:27
7. "Solitude"   5:02
8. "Into the Void"   6:13

Original US LP Pressing

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Sweet Leaf"   5:02
2. "After Forever (including The Elegy)"   5:25
3. "Embryo"   0:29
4. "Children of the Grave"   4:30
5. "The Haunting"   0:45
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Orchid"   1:30
7. "Step Up"   0:30
8. "Lord of This World"   4:55
9. "Solitude"   5:02
10. "Deathmask"   3:08
11. "Into the Void"   3:08

Note that, while the overall timing of "Deathmask/Into the Void" is approximately correct, the apportioning of time of "Deathmask" to "Into the Void" may be arbitrary, as the 3:08 mark of the song falls during "Into the Void"'s middle-8 vocal ("Freedom fighters sent off to the sun ..."). The revised US pressing timings, shown below, compound this likely error.

Revised US LP Pressing, with Subtitles Removed

No. Title Length
1. "Sweet Leaf"   5:02
2. "After Forever (Including The Elegy)"   5:25
3. "Embryo"   0:30
4. "Children of the Grave"   5:15
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "Orchid"   2:00
6. "Lord of this World"   4:55
7. "Solitude"   8:08
8. "Into the Void"   3:08

Note that the timing of "Orchid" on revised US pressings is incorrect, as it includes the "Step Up" introductory section of "Lord of This World." The timing of "Solitude" on these pressings is similarly incorrect, as it includes the first half of "Into the Void"; the timings of "Deathmask" and "Into the Void" should have been grouped instead.

US-made compact disc pressings of Master of Reality continue to list the incorrect timings of the Revised US LP pressing on the CD booklet.[29] The songs are not indexed on the CD using those timings, however, with breaks between songs properly placed.

2009 Deluxe Edition

A two-disc deluxe edition was released in the UK on 29 June 2009 and in the US on 14 July 2009 as an import. This deluxe edition was remastered by Andy Pearce who also did the deluxe editions of Black Sabbath and Paranoid.

Disc one
No. Title Length
1. "Sweet Leaf"   5:05
2. "After Forever"   5:27
3. "Embryo"   0:28
4. "Children of the Grave"   5:18
5. "Orchid"   1:31
6. "Lord of This World"   5:27
7. "Solitude"   5:02
8. "Into the Void"   6:13
Disc two (Bonus tracks)
No. Title Length
1. "Weevil Woman '71"   3:00
2. "Sweet Leaf" (studio outtake featuring alternative lyrics) 5:04
3. "After Forever" (studio outtake – instrumental) 5:20
4. "Children of the Grave" (studio outtake featuring alternative lyrics) 4:36
5. "Children of the Grave" (studio outtake – instrumental) 6:01
6. "Orchid" (studio outtake – with Tony count-in) 1:41
7. "Lord of this World" (studio outtake featuring piano & slide guitar) 5:38
8. "Solitude" (studio outtake – intro with alternative guitar tuning) 3:35
9. "Spanish Sid (Early Version of 'Into The Void')" (studio outtake – alternative version) 6:24

Personnel

  • Keef – photography, poster design
  • Mike Stanfod – art direction

Sales accomplishments

RIAA certification[30]

Date Designation Total Sales
27 September 1971 Gold 500,000
13 October 1986 Platinum 1,000,000
26 July 2001 2x Multi-Platinum 2,000,000

CRIA certification[31] (Canada)

Date Designation Total Sales
1 September 1977 Gold 50,000
1 September 1977 Platinum 100,000

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 21 July 1971 Vertigo LP 6360 012
1992 Castle CD CA198
United States July 1971 Warner Bros. LP BS-2562
12 May 1987 CD 2562-2
UK remastered 29 March 2009 Sanctuary double CD 2701108

See also

Book icon
  • Book: Black Sabbath


Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/master-of-reality-mw0000189231
  2. ↑ Taylor 2006, pg. 199, "Some say that Master of Reality was the first stoner rock album."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Iommi, Tony (2011). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-30681-9551. 
  4. ↑ VH1: Heavy the Story of Metal, Part One.
  5. ↑ Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970–1978) (Media notes). Rhino Records. 2004.
  6. ↑ "BLACK SABBATH DISCOGRAPHY v.5.0". Retrieved 14 March 2009. 
  7. ↑ ""After Forever" single cover". Retrieved 14 March 2009. 
  8. ↑ "Black Sabbath online". Retrieved 15 March 2009. 
  9. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review Master of Reality". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2009. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Christgau, Robert (12 December 1971). "Consumer Guide (21)". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved 22 October 2012. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Review: Master of Reality". Q (London): 122. January 2001. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bangs, Lester (25 November 1971). "Review Master of Reality". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 
  13. ↑ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 June 2012. 
  14. ↑ Stagno, Mike. "Review Master of Reality". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 18 November 2011. 
  15. ↑ "UK chart history – Black Sabbath Master of Reality". www.chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Allmusic Billboard albums". Retrieved 28 January 2009. 
  17. ↑ "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time". Q (London): 86. July 2001. 
  18. ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
  19. ↑ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. Rolling Stone The 500 Greatest Album of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. 
  20. ↑ "Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins talks about the records that changed his life". starla.org. Retrieved 20 January 2014. 
  21. ↑ Billboard, Vol. 105, Num. 21, 22 May 1993, p.80
  22. ↑ Siegler, Joe (12 February 2009). "'After Forever' Cover by Bio Hazard". Black-Sabbath.com. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
  23. ↑ "Ulver". Retrieved 15 March 2009. 
  24. ↑ Torreano, Bradley. "Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-02-05. 
  25. ↑ Garry Sharpe-Young, New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Zonda Books Limited 2005, ISBN 0-9582684-0-1, ISBN 978-0-9582684-0-0
  26. ↑ Information of 33 1/3 book. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  27. ↑ "Soundtracks". Retrieved 15 March 2009. 
  28. ↑ Raul Pollicino. "Information on the song Rhymin' and Stealin'. Includes list of samples.". Beastiemania.com. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
  29. ↑ Master of Reality album booklet
  30. ↑ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". Retrieved 28 January 2009. 
  31. ↑ "CRIA certified awards". Retrieved 8 February 2009. 

References

  • Taylor, Steve (2006). A to X of Alternative Music. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-8217-1. 
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