Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the fifth studio album by the British hard rock/heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). Sabbath expanded upon their slow, crunching style of music and added synthesizers and orchestral arrangements.
After the recording of their previous album, Black Sabbath, Vol. 4, the band hit a dry spell and could not come up with any songs for their new album. After locking themselves away to focus and come up with new ideas, guitarist Tony Iommi stumbled upon the riff to the title track, which has been called "the riff that saved Black Sabbath." After this song was completed, the others flowed freely.
A big difference between Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and its predecessors is the songwriting style. The album begins with the heavy riff of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and ends with the string-laden, “Spiral Architect”. Some fans felt the new style signaled the beginning of the end for the band while others felt that Black Sabbath were simply expanding their sound which had been relatively unchanged through their first 4 albums.Rick Wakeman of Yes fame guested on "Sabbra Cadabra". Other keyboards and synths were played by the band.
| Released | 1 December 1973 (UK) January 1974 (U.S.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded | 1973 | |
| Genre | Heavy metal | |
| Length | 42:35 | |
| Label | WWA (UK) Vertigo (world) Warner Bros. (US, CA) Sanctuary (2004 reissue) | |
| Producer | Black Sabbath | |
Track listing
All songs by Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward.
- "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" – 5:45
- "A National Acrobat" – 6:15
- "Fluff" – 4:12
- "Sabbra Cadabra" – 5:59
- "Killing Yourself to Live" – 5:42
- "Who Are You?" – 4:10
- "Looking for Today" – 5:03
- "Spiral Architect" – 5:29
