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"Black-Sabbath" CD Cover Download

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Album Description: 2008 digitally remastered and expanded deluxe double vinyl LP pressing of the classic sophomore album from the Heavy Metal kingpins led by Ozzy Osbourne. Originally released in 1970, Paranoid still stands as an important milestone in the history of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. This ultimate edition features a beautifully remastered version of the album on the first slab of wax plus an alternate version of the album including instrumental mixes, alternate recordings on the second slice of vinyl. Majestic Metal, indeed. Sanctuary. essential recordingThough most of Black Sabbath's classic material from this album ("War Pigs," "Iron Man," "Fairies Wear Boots," and the title track) can also be found on the collection We Sold Our Soul for Rock & Roll, Paranoid is essential for the completist. One of the best albums from one of the bands to define heavy metal, this album is chock-full of the best stuff from Sabbath's Osbourne years. (Where else will you be able to hear "Rat Salad?") The music isn't exactly complex, but it doesn't need to be; its importance lies in its evocative power, with which any teenager will be able to identify. --Genevieve Williams

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Black Sabbath CD Cover Download

Amazon.com Review: One can make the case that the Beatles, while the most important band of all time, wasn't the most influential. Decades after Black Sabbath laid down the commandments of heavy metal--lyrically, not for the squeamish; musically, dynamic and resolutely heavy--their impact remains improbably undiminished. One needed only to hear the first notes of the eponymous track on their eponymous 1970 debut to know that a new régime had arrived. And while one could (and should!) have mocked them, they would not be stopped. Black Box includes the eight albums recorded between 1970 and 1978 by the founding lineup--Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, and Geezer Butler--in one suitably weighty package. Forgoing bonus tracks (aside from an entertaining but brief four-track DVD extra), the box is rounded off with an impressive 80-page booklet. While the foursome was considerably less fearsome by the time they checked out with Never Say Die, more than half of this collection represents heavy metal with a lasting impact. --Steven Stolder

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Black Sabbath CD Cover Download

Amazon.com Review: Product DescriptionNo Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BLACK SABBATH
Title: BLACK SABBATH
Street Release Date: 04/26/1988
Domestic
Genre: HEAVY METAL essential recordingSome might claim that this 1970 debut is the definitive Black Sabbath record. While the gothic overtones of the opening track, "Black Sabbath" (thunderstorms and foreboding church bells introduce Ozzy Osbourne's howl and Tony Iommi's sludgy guitar), and the raucous defiling of Cream on "N.I.B." were thrilling then (and remain so now), there is too much wanking here to really qualify the collection as the must-have Black Sabbath record. (That prize would have to go to Paranoid.) But the blues-heavy riffs of "The Wizard," the soon-to-be-famous chord-progression stylings on "Wasp," and the grunge-boogie of "Wicked World" allow it to stand as a solid testament to the deep and lasting influence the band has had over the years. --Lorry Fleming