In the
days of yore, when pop music meant something, it was filled with nourishing
musical ideas and showed the tides of progress.
But then something happened, the ability for it to fill our soul has
nearly vanished, and the masses are starved on good music. There’s the occasional quality track that
stays good after multiple spins, but it has gotten to the moment where even
good pop music gets stale. We live in a
white-bread world in mainstream music.
However, there’s salvation from the drek that the masses need to know
about. In the words of Marie Antoinette,
or more accurately The Rods quoting her: “LET THEM EAT METAL!”
Hello degenerates,
heathens, weirdos, and deviants. I am the Rock Otaku, and I’m here to
show you worlds such as hard rock, metal, punk, alternative rock, movies, TV,
anime, video games, and anything that makes us scream and shout at the war pigs.
This series is
dedicated to the best that heavy metal can offer. As you will read, I will take you on a
journey though the annals of heavy metal’s storied history from its beginning
in early 70s, its crystallization in the late 70s and early 80s, its
breakthrough into mainstream conscience in the early to mid-80s, its maturation
in the late 80s and 90s, its dominance (sort of) in the 2000s and even today,
and the rare moments that very few talk about unless in the company of
like-minded fans. Not in that order, but
I’ll be looking at the footnotes oh metal history in the order I desire. In short, this series is about metal, plain
and simple.
And for this entry,
depending on when you read it, it will have been posted at what is considered
the tail end of an era of civility. An
era of progress. An era of attempts at bridging
our differences. An era of forcing those ideals down the throats due to the left's superiority complex, which lead to the rise of the alt-right, a group of backwards-minded idiots. And
in my mind, what better way to bridge cultures, ethnicities, beliefs, and even
interests without being annoying about them is there than heavy metal. Heavy metal, a genre built on alienation,
dark undercurrents, classical ideas (from composition to philosophy and even
fashion sense), rebellion, and the sense that things are full of crap. While it may be hard to deal with depression
alone, one way that I can cope with such dark feelings is by laying back or
doing something mundane or basic while turning up a mix of Metallica, Iron
Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Slayer, Megadeth, Accept, Anthrax, Ozzy
Osbourne, Dio, Ratt, Dokken, Mötley Crue, Helloween, Manowar, Pantera, Jag
Panzer, Lamb of God, Anvil, At The Gates, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage,
Disturbed, Rhapsody Of Fire, Slipknot, Galneryus, Periphery, Edguy, Hammerfall,
Sabaton, Skull Fist, X Japan, and many others and suddenly not just have a
reason to live but realize that there are many others dealing with dark paths and
preserving on. It really is a cathartic
genre, and it could be seen as musical therapy for depression, ostracization
from society, and other issues. It can
work alongside alcohol and drugs or supplant them, and it can be seen alongside comics,
anime, cartoons, and genre films, literature and TV as a form of expression or fandom for nerds of all types. But thanks to crappy mainstream
bands like Five Finger Death Punch, we forget how nerdy metal really is, and it
all started, in the 70s, with Black Sabbath.
In short, Black
Sabbath is heavy metal. You can have a
favorite subgenre of metal, a faction you belong to, or even no respect for the
genre overall, but there’s no arguing that Black Sabbath doesn’t belong in the
history and development of heavy metal as a musical force. With their sludgy, dark riffs, thick basslines,
pounding drums, and ear-piercing vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and then Ronnie James
Dio, Black Sabbath are the band that crystalized heavy metal as an art form,
even if they were not the first band to embrace the category (Judas Priest were
the first). Said riffs are the result of
a factory accident that damaged the fingers of guitarist Tony Iommi, and the
use of power chords, fast bluesy soloing with use of
legato, and downtuning would influence guitarists everywhere. Then there’s Geezer Butler’s and Bill Ward’s
bass and drums, respectively, providing the rest of the melancholic thunder the
band is known for. Finally, there’s the
melancholy-laden vocals of initial singer Ozzy Osbourne that told tales of
horror, fantasy, science fiction, war, the occult, and drug use (not sure if he
ever sang about giving high hard one to chief’s wife, though), with his
replacement Ronnie James Dio going for more epic songs of brotherhood and
overcoming the darkness. They had a
distinctive sound, a distinctive edge, and two of the most legendary vocalists
of all time to have come out of their ranks, and they are probably one of the first bands you
think of when you hear the term “heavy metal.”
As for my
introduction? Well, I could go on a
spiel about Guitar Hero again, but I feel that we’ve all heard “War Pigs,”
“Paranoid,” and especially “Iron Man” from today’s album at least once, so that
would get boring fast. Plus I feel that
going to the first year they released albums, 1970, with their most iconic would
be my way of both showcasing the birth of heavy metal as we know it while feeling the weight of the end of the Obama administration right before Trump becomes
president. While this may not be as
important to mention for this week, but we are in for a new conservative
revolution of American politics, which could affect everything from the economy
to our relationships with other countries, and we usually ended up with harder
rock becoming huge when the President was either very conservative or preaching
to right-wing Baby Boomers, the rural folk, and the alt-right. Things get louder, angrier, and more likely
to aim for the gut than for the head.
Don’t believe me? We had hair metal, hardcore punk, and thrash metal
under Reagan and those alongside grunge under Bush Sr., post-grunge, nu metal,
emo, metalcore, and deathcore under Bush Jr., and now there’s a likelihood of
traditional metal, djent, hard indie (or modern blues, hard, and glam rock on
independent labels like The Struts), progressive metal, and kawaii metal under our first Orange
president. In short, say goodbye to
indie folk on the charts for probably 4 years (maybe 8) and get ready to get
your faces melted. But that’s just my
thought, and that would require liberals to get into much faster, heavier, and
more aggressive music with the intent on playing it, and if the reaction to
Trump is worse trap music, then I’ve lost my hope in humanity (and considering applying to NASA or Space-X to research off-Earth living). To prepare, I’d recommend paying attention to
what I say throughout this review.
But enough with politics
and assumption-filled societal analysis, let’s get to the metal:
1. Luke’s Wall/War Pigs:
Let’s face it, you
already know this song from somewhere, may it be classic rock radio play (not
the wimpy classic rock radio that plays Chicago, the ones that play harder
songs from the days of yore such as this), Guitar Hero II, or when System of a Down
referenced it in their anti-war anthem “B.Y.O.B.,” but it’s good to know where
this song came from. The year was 1970,
and there was a conflict that occurred in Southeast Asia with the battle
between freedom in the South and communism in the North, one that got so ugly
thanks to most of the fighting taking place in the jungle and various
methods to either destroy, demoralize, or desecrate the other side, and it was
such a mess that it was probably the first ever war to be protested in the
West publicly. That was the Vietnam War. And with all the stories of what happened,
the people that went in to preserve freedom and democracy against communism and
tyranny and what they went through, as well as where they came from, it led to
the realization that A) getting involved over reasons that were based in
beliefs and politics, B) the unpreparedness we were for this conflict, C) higher interests were preaching how this was important and preserving of
our honor when they did nothing while normal people went through hell, and D)
the impact of media getting dirty with the soldiers and seeing horrific sights
led to anti-war attitudes, ones that would linger to this very day. And while we’d end up with another unpopular
conflict that divided the nation, specifically one in the Middle East, the
Vietnam War was the first true unpopular war and a likely reason for the rise
of hippies in the late 60s. Then the 70s
happened, and we ended up with counterculture icons dead, imprisoned, or
deciding to live normal, drug-free, chaste lives (or just bang one woman or man
for the rest of their life), while attitudes went in a much more negative
direction.
And thus, enter Black
Sabbath with an anti-war anthem so bleak that it comes from many young
realizations. These include the fact that politics are a factor in where we go to war, and instead of
saying how they would lead the charge to end it, they resigned themselves to
the fact that the military-industrial complex has gotten too powerful, and only
God can bring its end. That is some bleak
content. And to match, the music is both
angry and depressing, all in a minor key while having some serious punch. If this is where the hippie movement died,
then they did with a massive bang, and thus, they were unable to overthrow the
governments they hated and resorted to just partying, ravaging their bodies
with drugs, and screwing enough people to have every STD in their weakened
bodies. Thank Black Sabbath for
destroying hippies. However, I’d call
this the evolution of hippies into something much darker, more nihilistic, and
more likely to drink beer and wine than use LSD and have Frank Frazetta and
Boris Vallejo paintings in their rooms rather than be the swinging type. In short, we got metalheads from this
attitude, and they would evolve into the kind we know today, just not as PC as
the ones that run Metal Injection or MetalSucks. And it came with thunderous music from Birmingham, England.
As for the music, we
have Tony Iommi’s signature guitar tone buzzing as he plays various sustained chords
in the opening with a slow opening rhythm by Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, all
while a siren plays in the background.
Then the guitarist plays two chords at a much faster pace with Bill
providing a steady rhythm with the cymbal bashing, that is before Ozzy Osbourne
comes in to wail about the injustices of war as the intensity builds up. While that setup is kept throughout the first
part of the verse, we get to the second part, where Tony Iommi throws in a few
licks. After Ozzy screams “Oh, Lord
yeah!” we get to the “chorus” which is a descending set of chords on the guitar
and bass while Bill peppers it with drum fills.
Then we get a savage riff that goes into the next part (I’m sure it’s
either the main chorus, another verse, or something else entirely), where Ozzy
continues his rage at the war machine while Tony and Geezer develop a savage
comradery on guitar and bass respectively, with the latter punching up the
formers riffs. Then we get to the part I
designated the “chorus” again before a blazing guitar solo that’s as simple to
understand as it is technical in its bluesy violence. Then another riff comes in before the final
verse, which repeats the structure of the first verse while detailing a sort of
war-torn apocalypse. After that structure repeats, we get to the outro, which includes an arpeggio, a memorably
melodic guitar line, and another amazing solo, all before the songs ends in
chipmunk mode. This is a classic for a
reason, and that opening spiel on the Vietnam War shows its significance as
probably one of the greatest anti-war songs EVER WRITTEN. It’s brutal, it’s dark, it’s depressing, and
it’s aware how current events can be changed only through a miracle. A true classic for the whole family, I guess?
2. Paranoid:
As for the rest of the
review, I have no plans on discussing historical politics or events that
inspired songs, but it’s interesting when the backstory of a song is inspired
by current history. But for this song,
this was meant to be filler, but it somehow became a classic. I’m not going to discuss how, but I’ll give
my two cents on why. The reason? It’s a fast, aggressive, and savage song
about dealing with depression, and how it makes you look insane around happy
people. Starting with a savage opening
riff before entering a palm-muted set of power chords which I’m sure influenced
everything from punk to thrash metal and even grunge. During the main riff, Ozzy sings about how
his depression is causing him to have some sort of mental instability, leading
to him cutting ties to people that care about him, looking for ways to make him
happy but unable to, losing the inability to live, and somehow having no sense
of humor. It’s dark, but it’s so
relatable to people with bouts of depression that, sometimes, we can feel blind
to things that should make us happy, but we don’t see it that way. I’m sure that’s why it caught on. It’s relatable to when we feel down, and
somehow, it’s also a warning for letting depression take over as the final part
says. Ozzy wishes that he could be
happy, but he can’t, so he’s telling us that we should enjoy the lives we got
and not succumb to the darkness. And
before I’ll talk about the ending, I’d like to mention that this song has another
great guitar solo that showcases Tony’s guitar wizardry, with its great use of
scales, legato, bends, and slides.
As for that ending,
people tend to think that he’s telling us to commit suicide rather than live a
happy life, as they confuse “enjoy life” with “end your life” due to how Ozzy
sings it. The suicide angle doesn’t work
here as the SINGER is the one likely to take his life, not the listener, he’s
telling us how much it sucks to be depressed.
And as a result, his mission is to have us EMBRACE happiness rather than
lose it, and us killing ourselves would be counterproductive. But I can hear why people confuse the lyric:
that’s what happens when your accent gets too strong on certain words (did I
mention that I’m talking about ANOTHER British heavy metal band today?) But great song though, regardless of whether
you think about the end.
3. Planet Caravan:
But just because Black
Sabbath killed the hippy movement doesn’t mean they got rid of everything about
them. Here, after two aggressive tracks
loaded with loud guitars, thunderous drums and bass, melancholic vocals, and a
depressing tone, we get an airy, acoustic track that would have not felt wrong
on an album by The Doors. With its chill
attitude, spacey vocals by Ozzy, lower volume, and a guitar part that shines
with a chill, jazzy solo, and probably some organs, Black Sabbath show that
they can go from heavy to calming. On
some albums, this would be the worst, but as a song sandwiched between face
melting metal standouts, it serves as a breather after the sadness-fueled rage. Plus the percussion has that sort of chill,
campfire bongo approach which adds to the Mary Jane-friendly groove of this
song. As for the lyrics, it’s all crazy
space stuff, making this song somehow even weirder. Plus, I’m sure that these lyrics are the
result of an acid trip the band underwent while writing this album. I mean, the song involves sailing the skies
at night, crying while the earth is covered in a purple haze, orbiting over the
world, David Bowie-style, then going off to explore the universe. It’s weird, makes no sense, and is better
after certain substances or, in the preferred case, after getting assaulted by
“War Pigs” and “Paranoid” with their aggressive melancholy. But while I’m not sure what to make of this
track, I do dig what it’s going for, especially since things may get much
heavier and darker down the line. I need
a good trip song sometimes.
4. Iron Man:
Obligatory Tony Stark
Reference:
 |
| I bet you didn’t know this existed, right? |
But this song isn’t
about the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist that got a 12-episode
anime series that’s seen as a misfire, or 3 movies with 2 of them being
contentious, is known as one of the Avengers, was a major player in Captain
America: Civil War to the point where half the movie was about his struggles
post-Age of Ultron, or a long running comic series from the 60s (plus I could
mention other projects he stared or was a major player in). It’s about someone else who gets the name
Iron Man, not because he gets a mini-arc reactor in his chest. It’s because he was literally turned into a
man made of steel. By time travel of all things, specifically to warn everyone
about an apocalyptic future (man, Black Sabbath sure loves singing about end
times, do they). And the reason for doomsday? This
unfortunate son of a bitch IS the reason for doomsday, specifically for people
not getting to hear his message. So
essentially, this dark, depressing, apocalyptic song is about a guy that the
real Iron Man would have punched in the face for using his trademark to kill
billions. So why is this song a metal
classic?
The riff. THAT.
RIFF! Hell, the song’s beginning,
where the low e string is strummed with Tony bended it behind the nut while Ozzy
says “I AM IRON MAN!” in the distorted way it was recorded (thanks to a metal
fan, believe it or not), is iconic. As
for that riff, it’s an ascending set of minor chords (plus some downslides)
that gives it a metallic, robotic feel that sounds like someone who’s fingers
were damaged in a factory accident (for real, that’s what happened to Tony
Iommi, and it's worth repeating here). Plus there’s so many great riffs
throughout, including the riff that opens and closes the guitar solo, where the
beat gets faster and more heartpounding.
Throughout, Ozzy sings to the melody, except for parts where he sings
between sustained chords before an ascending riff. Plus I have to give credit to Geezer and Bill
for keeping the rhythm in check with the pounding slow groove throughout, but
speeding up when they need to, especially the outro. What an outro it is, you get another great
riff and another great solo that continues Tony’s showcase of this skills. Overall, it’s a great song with a dark take
on time travel and the apocalypse. And
speaking of Iron Man, did you know the credits for the 2008 movie used many of
the riffs on this track, including the main one and the outro? Anyone?
Or am I the only one who noticed that?
Next side then.
5. Electric Funeral:
So there’s an iconic
doom metal named after this song. Due to
that, I have some slightly higher expectations about this Side B opener. How does it sound? It’s rather doomy. Unlike Side A, where there was a sense of
rage with the melancholy, while “Planet Caravan” gave us a breather, Side B
gives us the Black Sabbath style that made them famous as well as
infamous. Staying at a slower tempo with
a wah-laden riff, this song starts with a tone that screams bleak apocalypse
thanks to our obsession with nuking anyone who gives us a bad look. After that, we get lyrical imagery that gives
off not exactly a classical apocalypse, but one more influenced by the atomic
age, the space race, Isaac Asimov, and Salvador Dali, and the plastic culture
of the modern day (in 1970). Then the
song gets faster while Ozzy starts belting about things getting worse and you
get a moment when Ozzy and Tony combine a low chant of the title and guitar
string bending, respectively. While
there’s a semblance of a guitar solo here, it’s nowhere near as interesting as
the previous tracks. But then the
original beat and riff return with a vengeance while Ozzy sings about how the
robots taken over, the apocalyptic war has begun, and the evil souls are damned
to Hell, trapped in an eternity of torment.
Is this song good overall, it’s interesting, but it isn’t great.
6. Hand of Doom:
Where the last song
was doomy, this somehow continues the sense of dread “Electric Funeral”
solidified from Side A. While this song
may be interpreted as a song about how we are practically killing ourselves,
and that the titular “Hand of Doom” is upon us always, you may be right. With references to waiting for the end, the
atomic bomb, napalm, heroin, pills, acid, and searching for ways to get high,
this song presents a bleak understanding about how our psyches can be ruined by
the allure of Death. To match this, we
get a low-key performance at the beginning where Bill Ward provides restraint,
Geezer Butler picks a menacing bass line, and Ozzy sings at a low tone. Then when the emotions rise, and Tony joins
with a riff based around the bassline, with a few licks, and everyone picks up
in intensity. Then the songs speeds up,
is driven by Tony’s raging guitar parts, and becomes a song to headbang
to. Meanwhile Ozzy starts singing at a
higher tone throughout the song. During
this, he sings about how the drugs are screwing you up, both mentally and
physically, especially physically. Then
the beat gets even bouncier, while Ozzy belts out “You’re having a good time
baby/But that won’t last” while continuing the bad drug trip narrative. This all launches into a guitar solo that I’m
sure that might be my favorite solo at this point in the album, if not the
entire album. After that, the slower,
doomier, and bass-driven tone of the opening returns, with the same increases
in volume from that opening. This time, the
song is how about you overdosed by accident, you start to get worse, you lose
consciousness, and then die. In short,
Black Sabbath, a band infamous for making weed popular in metal, sang an
anti-drug song. A great, doomy anti-drug
song, but I’m not sure if I can take it seriously when the music has been used in this context:
 |
| Guess what Ozzy did again? |
Before we continue, type in "black sabbath cartoon" and you'll get that reference after you watch it.
7. Rat Salad
7. Rat Salad
So we have an
instrumental here. Neat, I was wondering
when we’d get a song where Tony, Geezer, and Bill would shine. And here it is. With this track, they manage to provide both
the gut punch necessary, to make this work.
The energy to keep things in gear, enough riffs too keep things from
getting stale and repetitive, and enough moments to keep us on our toes when we
listen. One aspect that keeps us on our
toes is the crazy drum solo in the middle.
Though for the title, I’m not sure why they gave it the title of “Rat
Salad.” Was it because they found a meal
at a restaurant somewhere and decided to name a song after that? I mean, that’s how we got Robot Chicken. Was it because they were trolling their record
company? A lot of artists do that. Was it because they found rats on a
salad? That’s what happens when a kid
watched Ratatouille way too many times and is easily impressionable. Was it because they were trying to creep us
out? Not sure if that works. Was is because the musical elements tied
together made them think of rat salads when they listened back to it? Then they were drugged out of their minds
when they recorded this. Was it because…
 |
| Okay, let’s get to the next song. |
8. Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots
Starting with a guitar
part that’s given an echo effect a more traditional intro is performed, all
with guitar solos. After that, the beat
changes to have more of a funky beat, and we get to the main song. Here, Ozzy sings about being terrified by the
sight of a fairy wearing boots dancing with a dwarf. If there’s one mental image I get from this
song based on the lyrics, it would be...
dancing with...
 |
| You thought of this too, I’m sure of it. |
Any final thoughts,
Denzel Crocker?
I actually think that
this is a good album. Not the best album
of all time, but up there as one of the more interesting albums to have come
out of the 70s. It’s a dark, gloomy, but
heavy and aggressive ride throughout, and there are moments where the volumes
turns down to offer something more than darkness. But don’t think that this album is all
sunshine and rainbows. With themes of
war, depression, the apocalypse, darkness, and drug abuse, this band taps into
some very dark subject matter and provide music that fits the darker themes
they sing about. As a result, outside of
conditioning on certain songs through radio play, pop culture use, and Guitar
Hero, this is a rather hard album to get into if you’re looking for a good
time. As a result, for 70s heavy metal
fans, I’d recommend this to the demented, dejected, and depressed lot while
convincing the happy-go-lucky fans to stick with Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin
(plus KISS and Aerosmith, if we count American bands). But despite that, this album rocks. The production is surprisingly good for this
album, with some muddiness to add to the bleak nature of the album while also
being clear enough to hear each instrument.
The vocals by Ozzy are spectacular, with their haunted, howling feel
while also having a surprising amount of range.
Geezer Butler’s bass work is perfectly thick and heavy, and allows for
some great grooves. Despite his
alcoholism, Bill Ward is one of the more underrated drummers, being both tight
with his rhythm while providing a strong backbone for the songs. But the standout is Tony Iommi, whose riffs
are the ones that you think of when you think heavy metal guitar at the
root. He’s probably one of the first
guitar heroes alongside Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, and Jimi Hendrix to have
developed and codified the guitar techniques and tricks that would be used in
hard rock and heavy metal. In short, if
you have to listen to the album, it’s for the guitar work. I’d say that this album is without its
faults, as there are moments when it would drift on and drag, leading to
moments when you’d want some punch or a moment where there’s some speed, but
there’s enough changes in the tone, beat, and volume to keep you from getting
bored. For the best song, I’d say that
the entire Side A would enter a bar brawl to determine the winner. For worst, I’d have to give it to “Electric
Funeral” because it’s nowhere near as strong as the four tracks before it, or
even the tracks that follow it. But if I
have a suggestion about this album, it’s probably a better idea to not think
too hard when listening to this, or you’ll end up completely depressed for the
rest of the day.
Final Rating: 8.5/10
(A stellar heavy metal classic that helped codify the genre and deserves its
status)
Next Time on Let Them Eat
Metal: Van Halen by Van Halen (don’t expect that next week)
Until
next time, this is the Rock Otaku. Live
Loud, Play Hard, and Eat Metal.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original creators.
I like to say
something for readers. The next release
will not be next week. I’ll go into
detail on why as soon as possible.
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