Master Of Reality
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAS : Master Of Reality
Master of Reality is a heavy metal album by the rock band Black Sabbath, released in 1971 (see 1971 in music). The title refers to the state of intoxication, and the feelings of invincibility that go with it.
On this album, guitarist Tony Iommi started the practice of de-tuning his guitar down three semi-tones (or one and a half steps) to achieve a very dark, heavy sound. Bassist Geezer Butler copied this technique, which would be the standard practice for the next several albums.
Master of Reality is the most guitar oriented album in Sabbath's carrier between 1970-1978. The guitar playing is evident in all songs. Two of them, "Embryo" and "Orchid", are introductions to "Children of the Grave" and "Lord of This World", respectively. The sound is very dark and the lyrics touch on many themes such as drugs, solitude, war and theology. It is widely regarded as a classic album in heavy metal history, continuing where their most successful album, Paranoid, left off.
On the Billboard Pop Albums chart, Master of Reality peaked at #8. In 2003, the album was ranked number 298 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The songs "Sweet Leaf" and "Children of the Grave" were released as singles.
Track listing
All songs by Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne, except where noted.- "Sweet Leaf" – 5:06
- "After Forever" (Iommi) – 5:26
- "Embryo" (Iommi) – 0:28
- "Children of the Grave" – 5:21
- "Orchid" (Iommi) – 1:31
- "Lord of This World" – 5:26
- "Solitude" – 8:08
- "Into the Void" – 6:12
Credits
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass guitar
- Bill Ward – drums, Vocals
- Keef – Photography, Poster Design
- Mike Stanfod – Art Direction
| Black Sabbath |
| Ozzy Osbourne | Tony Iommi | Geezer Butler | Bill Ward |
| Dave Walker | Ronnie James Dio | Vinny Appice | Ian Gillan | Bev Bevan | David Donato | Glenn Hughes | Dave Spitz | Eric Singer | Ray Gillen | Tony Martin | Bob Daisley | Jo Burt | Terry Chimes | Laurence Cottle | Cozy Powell | Neil Murray | Bobby Rondinelli | Mike Bordin | Geoff Nicholls |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Black Sabbath | Paranoid | Master of Reality | Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 | Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | Sabotage | Technical Ecstasy | Never Say Die! | Heaven and Hell | Mob Rules | Born Again | Seventh Star | The Eternal Idol | Headless Cross | Tyr | Dehumanizer | Cross Purposes | Forbidden |
| Live albums: Live Evil | Cross Purposes Live | Reunion | Past Lives |
| Compilations: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll | Under Wheels of Confusion | The Sabbath Stones | ' | ' | Greatest Hits 1970-1978 |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.