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Sweet Leaf
After Forever
Embryo
Children Of The Grave
Orchid
Lord Of This World
Solitude
Into The Void
If 1970’s Paranoid album raised Black Sabbath’s profile on both sides of Atlantic, it was the follow-up, 1971’s Master Of Reality, where everything truly came together.
Producing the album themselves gave the band the opportunity to experiment – most notably, Iommi’s decision to tune his guitar down by three semitones, to reduce string tension and make the instrument easier to play with his damaged fingers, inadvertently made Sabbath’s sound even heavier, denser and doomier.
“On the first album, we had two days to do everything, and not much more time for Paranoid," said Bill Ward. "But now we could take our time, and try out different things. We all embraced the opportunity: Tony threw in classical guitar parts, Geezer’s bass was virtually doubled in power, I went for bigger bass drums, also experimenting with overdubs. And Ozzy was so much better.”
The result was an album that set the template for stoner rock, sludge and doom metal. Sweet Leaf is the quintessential pothead anthem, introduced by the sound of Iommi choking on a joint. And in contrast is the quiet beauty of Solitude, cited by the guitarist as "the first love song we ever did."
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in August 1971
- Tago Mago - Can
- In Hearing of Atomic Rooster – Atomic Rooster
- Fillmore East – June 1971 - The Mothers of Invention
- Who's Next - The Who
- Surf's Up - The Beach Boys
- The Sun, Moon & Herbs - Dr. John
- If 3 - If
- A Space in Time - Ten Years After
- Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin' - Butterfield Blues Band
- White Light - Gene Clark
- A Space In Time - Ten Years After
- New Riders Of The Purple Sage - New Riders Of The Purple Sage
What they said...
"If a core of five songs seems slight for a classic album, it's also important to note that those five songs represent a nearly bottomless bag of tricks, many of which are still being imitated and explored decades later. If Paranoid has more widely known songs, the suffocating and oppressive Master of Reality was the Sabbath record that die-hard metalheads took most closely to heart." (AllMusic)
"I feel entitled to put this in its place. Grand Funk is like an American white blues band of three years ago – dull. Black Sabbath is English – dull and decadent. I don't care how many rebels and incipient groovies are buying. I don't even care if the band members believe in their own Christian/satanist/liberal murk. This is a dim-witted, amoral exploitation." (Robert Christgau)
"The thick, plodding, almost arrhythmic steel wool curtains of sound the group is celebrated and reviled for only appear in their classical state of excruciating slowness on two tracks, Sweet Leaf and Lord of This World, and both break into driving jams that are well worth the wait." (Rolling Stone)
What you said...
Shane Hall: Clocking in at under 35 minutes, Master Of Reality is one of Black Sabbath's shortest albums, but one of the most impactful. From the hacking cough at the opening of Sweet Leaf to the closing notes of the science fiction-themed Into the Void, Master Of Reality is a metal masterpiece whose influence can be felt more than 50 years after its release. Not one note of filler in this package.
Sweet Leaf, a love letter to the joys of cannabis, opens the album. After Forever and Lord Of This World are underrated classics -- the latter providing a cautionary tale about the forces of darkness and the former with themes of finding your faith late in life. Hey, kids – when the youth minister tries to tell you Black Sabbath were satanists, hit him with After Forever. And of course, we cannot forget the classic Children Of The Grave, a staple of Sabbath live sets. Meanwhile, Orchid and Solitude provide lighter touches to the heavy metal riffing on the other tracks.
An enduring classic from start to finish.
Brian Anderson: Very much in the bottom half of their catalogue for me, I have it at number 13.
Evan Sanders: As a more casual fan of Black Sabbath, I had rarely paid much attention to any of their albums after the self-titled debut and Paranoid. Master Of Reality was therefore a welcome listen to me this week in memory of Ozzy.
Unlike Sabbath's first two albums, this one really dials in the "Sabbath sound". And although it's a short album even by 1970s standards, it has the Sabbath classics of Sweet Leaf and Children Of The Grave. The two instrumentals are not filler and do a good job of showing off Tony Iommi's skills.
With this one, Sabbath was setting the stage for a run of successful albums, which unfortunately was marred by drug problems and Ozzy's departure. I'm glad we'll always have the music to remember him. Either 7 or 8 out of 10, one below Paranoid.
Chris Downie: With a six-album run that remains unsurpassed, except for perhaps only Iron Maiden's first 7 releases from 1980-88, there continue to be countless arguments in pubs and online about which album best defines the original Black Sabbath line-up. With its downtuned heaviness and short-and-sweet runtime, encompassing six songs and two very brief interludes, Master Of Reality doesn't waste a single moment in staking a very good claim to be the best of them all.
While the debut could justifiably be cited as the Year Zero for what we now know as Heavy Metal and its quick follow-up Paranoid refined that raw power into a cohesive whole, Master Of Reality is a taut body of work, which trimmed any remaining excess from their blues roots. From the opening chords of the infamous Sweet Leaf to the riff-fest that is Into The Void, this is arguably the heaviest of the Ozzy era and paved the way for both the Doom and Stoner sub-genres.
Aside from the aforementioned classic numbers and the immortal Children Of The Grave" however, the remaining tracks are all gems; the up tempo rocker After Forever rages against religious intolerance, while Lord Of This World is a stomper of a tune. Yet the wild card among the mayhem is the ballad Solitude, which arguably betters the previous album's Planet Caravan and provides some respite before the powerhouse of Into the Void kicks in.
While fans all have their favourite Sabbath album, all of the above combines to provide a very compelling case for Master Of Reality. While there is no radio hit like Paranoid, this is the album where they truly nailed their sound and came of age and, along with Heaven And Hell, is probably the most important album of their career. 10/10.
Brian Carr: What can a rock music history nerd say about Master Of Reality other than it’s a masterpiece. I suppose it isn’t exactly a flawless record, but the (ahem) highs are so high they make up for any shortcomings. How many killer riffs can one man create? Sweet Leaf, Children of the Grave, Lord of This World and Into the Void are absolute guitar feasts. Sabbath shows they have a sensitive side with the mesmerizing Solitude, complete with flute! Master Of Reality has the added bonus for me that all of the songs are still fresh - there’s nothing here that is overplayed by radio. Right in my wheelhouse.
Shortcomings? The record is short and two instrumental tracks can be construed as padding. However, Embryo can be considered a prelude to Children Of The Grave. As for Orchid, it doesn’t exactly dazzle or go anywhere as a guitar piece, but it’s a fine showcase of Maestro Iommi’s abilities outside of the distorted guitar realm. As for the length, it was their third album in a year and a half. And likely touring relentlessly. And likely high as hell. It was the 70s, that’s how things were done. Legendary performances from all involved.
Neil Immerz: I was listening to this just yesterday as my tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath. I love the whole album, but Children Of The Grave is my absolute favourite track. It’s an album I never tire of and there’s always something new to find within the music.
As with everyone, I’m still processing Ozzy’s death but hearing him helps in the healing.
John Davidson: I didn't own Master Of Reality in the 70s or 80s. I had been given a copy of We Sold our Souls and was assured that Sweet Leaf and Children Of The Grave were the best songs off Master and I was more interested in their proggier side like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
Listening to it later. I realised how much I'd missed. The two acoustic songs are pleasant enough filler and Solitude avoids being a sappy breakup song by immersing itself in an eerie ghostly charm, while the rest of the album is a sonic mudslide of down tuned riffs and baleful singing that is utterly captivating. Geezer Butler's lyrics are sharper too.
Sweet Leaf is love letter to marijuana. After Forever is almost a christian hymn for a modern generation of metal maniacs, Children Of The Grave shows off Bill Wards amazing skill, Lord Of This World is warning about Satan's lure and Into The Void is a riff-laden masterpiece about escaping a world broken by war and pollution - that is just as relevant today as is was in 1971.
By the time he died, Ozzy had gone from hero, to joke, to legend and Master Of Reality offers a fitting tribute to his memory. 9/10.
Mark Herrington: With Master Of Reality, Black Sabbath slipped over the Metal Event Horizon and into bone-crushing density.
The album's peak for me , Children Of The Grave, with its death rattle gallop, is a rare acceleration of pace across a much darker, sludgier album than Paranoid.
There are plenty of other classics here with the ominous Lord Of This World, Into the Void and the unmistakeable Sweet Leaf.
Across their first six albums , they pioneered a multitude of metal genres, and truly excelled at each inspired turn. Although Paranoid and Sabotage are my personal favourites , every one of those first six is peerless. A high score for Master Of Reality, consequently.
Andrew Cumming: That cough, that riff, that sound. Brilliant brilliant album. Effectively six tracks - and killers all! Sweet Leaf, After Forever, Children of the Grave. What a side one. Then Lord Of This World, the hugely underrated Solitude, and in case that’s not enough, Into The Void! Every bit as good as the first two albums (if perhaps the songs haven’t quite risen to the same iconic level). What an album. Thank you Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. RIP Ozzy.
Gus Schultz: I think not too much can be said for this album that hasn't been said before or perhaps any of their 70's work. Sweet Leaf is one of my all time favourite riffs, with the rest of the album sounding dark and muddy it's a great listen albeit short. It's not my favourite album, preferring Vol 4 a couple others before and after it as well. Certainly a must have for Sabbath fans collections.
They were such an original band, influencing many others to follow and even the title of Master Of Reality influenced a band to name themselves after it. Ozzy's voice meshed so well with the music , that I had found it difficult to listen to any of his replacements. Hard to believe he's not around anymore, but the sad reality is we are losing our rock heros as we all age and this was a big one! RIP Ozzy.
Paul Painter: One of their best!
Pete Delgado: Amazing album!
Philip Qvist: Master Of Reality gets off to a good start, with guitarist Tony Iommi coughing after smoking some Sweet Leaf, which not so coincidentally was the title of the first track. And the album keeps much of that momentum for the remaining 30 or so minutes; with the guitarist being the star of the show.
Children Of The Grave is probably the big highlight of this album, although After Forever and Into The Void run it close. You have a couple of short instrumentals, with Orchid being my pick of those two songs, while Solitude, complete with flutes and sleighbells, gives a much needed respite from the general heaviness of this record.
Some rate Master Of Reality as Black Sabbath's best album during the Ozzy era, and I can see why. It is a great album, but Paranoid and Vol 4 are still my go to albums - although it will definitely get a high mark from me this week.
And finally, RIP Ozzy and thanks for all the memories. Metal fan or not, you can't say that he never entertained us.
Jonny Wilford: Classic! One of their best 🤟
Adam McCann: Heavy metal classic album. The blueprint for stoner rock/metal. Nothing more to add. Objectively one of the best heavy metal albums ever released.
Brandon Hoyt: Got it on tape from a garage sale in 2005 when I was in 5th grade. Played it all day everyday until it started getting “quiet spots” (or whatever they’re called). Will forever be my favorite Sabbath album.
Keith Jenkin: Almost impossible to pick fault with this one, two absolute classics in Sweet Leaf and Children Of The Grave and the remaining tracks would be career highlights from most other bands in the genre. Fair argument it's the ultimate stoner rock record. Acts like Trouble, Candlemass, Orange Goblin and Cathedral amongst others, surely used this one as their template.
I had one of the early copies in the carrier box style embossed cardboard sleeve with the vertigo swirl on the label, took it to a party once and never brought it home again, must have been a great party. Volume 4 is actually my favourite Sabbath album, but(much like all their first six albums) it would be very hard to not also suggest a perfect ten out of ten for this one too.
Troy Geitman: Although not my favorite from the band an absolute classic. The only fault I find with this is that it’s too short.
Michael Ladd: Black Sabbath and Paranoid are my go to Sabbath albums but Master is also a great album. Had to find a weakness in any of the first five Sabbath albums.
Craig Feiser: Lord Of This World is my fave on this flawless album. That riff!
Jim Mccue: The first Sabbath I ever owned and probably the one that got me into them way back in 1971. Great album. Not a bad track on it.
Dave Hinsley: Woof! 10/10!
Chris Elliott: One of the earliest albums I bought. Alongside Paranoid it's Sabbath at their finest. Don't listen to it that much these days but it was the soundtrack to my late teens.
Not as even in quality as Paranoid but Children of the Grave/Sweet Leaf smooth over the weaker bits. The fact it's barely 35 minutes long is one of it's strengths - arrives - makes a wonderful racket and leaves.
Melanie Kyle: 100 out of 10! A perfect album from start to finish. I heard it the first time in 1974 when I was 13 years old. I have been a life long fan. RIP Ozzy.
Lloyd Bolster: This album has a special place in my musical life. It was the first Sabbath album I bought and heard aside from a greatest hits package and Live At Last that my brother had. Loved the heaviness of it. A classic album. Didn’t believe for years that Ozzy sang Solitude, it was so different.
Brad Kyle: Straight up all time metal masterpiece. One of their absolute best and where I came into the Sabbath story myself. The template for everything after.
Mike Canoe: Master Of Reality is a slight step down from Paranoid mainly because of brevity. Six songs and two acoustic guitar instrumentals with a running time of less than 35 minutes.
But the six songs are pretty outstanding. The riff in Sweet Leaf is so sick that I can just envision parents in hysterics over the "devil's cabbage." After Forever and Lord Of This World have intelligent and insightful lyrics that make it clear the band weren't devil worshippers but questioned the hypocrisy of blind faith and organised religion. The anger expressed in Children Of The Grave is palpable and Into the Void is the greatest sci-fi horror story never committed to paper. Solitude, like Planet Caravan before it, may be soft in comparison to the songs around it but is too eerie and despairing to offer any respite.
According to the band members, this was the first time they had more than a few days to record. It would have been nice if a couple more proper songs had come out of that extra time. Otherwise, the album's flawless. RIP, Ozzy.
Greg Schwepe: Master Of Reality. 34 minutes of pure unadulterated sonic sludge. And in this case, the term “sludge” is a good thing. A very good thing. Having borrowed the Black Sabbath compilation album We Sold Our Soul For Rock ‘N Roll from a dorm friend back in college, I became familiar with bits of Sabbath’s catalogue. And years later, did the ol’ “Now that I have a job and money, I’m gonna have to buy everything in their catalogue” thing. And I soon found out that besides the two songs from that compilation that are from Master Of Reality, the rest kicks too. And I guess I knew that, because when I had seen this album in the record store ages ago, something told me that the purple “inflated, wobbly” font spelling out "BLACK SABBATH" on the album cover meant this album would be heavy.
And right out of the gate, you kind of have a song template for heavy metal with Sweet Leaf. Take one slow riff right at the start and repeat. Then insert a killer hyper sped up repeating guitar riff right about halfway through. That solo tells you that Tony Iommi was able to adapt his playing quite well after that little industrial accident of his. Lastly, make the lyrical content about something some (many?) listeners in the 70s could relate to. Yep, it’s about pot! Every time I hear this I envision two giggling high school stoners listening to this in a 70s Pontiac Firebird going “man, I can’t believe this song is about pot and they play it on the radio!”
After Forever bounds in next and Mr. Iommi is at it again. Riff architect. Embryo” is one of two interludes (the other being Orchid) that precedes rumbling, stumbling, knock down, drag out that is Children Of The Grave. Again, a song template for heavy metal.
My only slight disappointment is the wispy Solitude. I’m not against a slow quieter Black Sabbath song, it’s just that this contains a little too much, what I call “seventies flute” in it. This is the kind that is a little too whimsical for me. Flute in rock music? Totally OK with it. But this particular style just doesn’t sit well with me. Plus the song meanders a bit much for my tastes.
But all is well that ends well. Because after that quieter piece, we end with what might be my favourite song on the album: Into The Void. Big. Fat. Riff. Repeat. Then chug your way to the end. Ozzy’s banshee vocals in full force.
9 out of 10 on this one for me. Not a Sabbath masterpiece, but a good rocking album. Thanks Ozzy. And Tony, Geezer, and Bill.
Final score: 9.08 (178 votes cast, total score 1618)
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