Episode 3 – Side One
Heavy Is, As Heavy Does
Coming in at number three on the episode list is also the number three album from the greatest heavy metal band of all time, all time, all time.
Invented heavy metal they did, and as such, went on to define the genre for generations of musicians and music lovers.
That being said, let’s take a big bite out of –
Considered to be one of my favorite albums of all time, “Master Of Reality” completely changed my reality, for all time. Let me tell you about it.
At 15, I was a complete Led Head, although Kiss and Kansas were also big influences on me musically. Anyway, I met this cool little burner named Brett and we started hanging out. We both loved Kiss and we both had super cool long hair and really long leather whip key chains, which was a thing at the time. I had never tried “The Pot” before, but Brett was about to open the door to the promised land and I was more than happy to step over the threshold.
One day, we were riding our bikes around the junior high school and he asked me to follow him to his house. This was all the way across town via 125th street so there were a lot of broken sidewalks and grassy knolls to cover. By the time we got there, I was pretty beat and totally thirsty so Brett offered me an ice cold “Kool-Aid“. Once I had sucked that baby down and fought off the brain freeze, Brett was standing there with something in his hand that looked like a crumpled up piece of tinfoil. I soon found out that it was actually a crumpled up piece of tinfoil, but finding out what was inside the crumpled up piece of tinfoil would change things forever.
Brett told me to take this, go home and smoke it. “Now get the hell out cuz my mom’s coming home.” I put the tinfoil in my pocket.
So now, I’m riding all the way back to 8th avenue by myself, thinking “Yeah right, I’m not going to smoke this shit all alone at my house” and “Hey! Watch out asshole! I have the right of way, you can’t just run me over with your piece of crap Gremlin!”
By the time I got home, I was really contemplating this thing right, so I went upstairs to my room, closed the door behind me and plopped down in my orange fuzzy bean bag. I slowly opened the crumpled up piece of tin foil and lo and behold there was a small joint already rolled up in a Zig Zag and twisted to perfection. Brett, you mad man!
I had been exposed to a lot of Black Sabbath from radio airplay and I thought Paranoid was rockin’, Iron Man was badass, but overplayed and War Pigs was like this insane political statement designed to kick the man in the balls. Loved it! But that was about the extent of my Black Sabbath enlightenment up to that point. Their first record wasn’t really getting much airplay at that time but, I did however pick up the album “Master of Reality“, because I heard this amazing track that started out with somebody coughing their lungs out. The coughing then bounced between the stereo spectrum and the heaviest, baddest ass guitar riff that seemed to be tuned down to very depths of hell came in and melted my face. Cool.
Side One – Track One – “Sweet Leaf“
Composed by Black Sabbath
The first track of the record sets the tone of the album with the iconic cough loop panned in stereo from right to left. Possibly the coolest way to start off an album – ever! Definitely the most unique. The coughing is actually a recording of lead guitarist and heavy metal maestro Tony Iommi. From the track’s title we presume this is Tony’s signature cough after taking an enormous toke off a spliff and so it is written in the history books (AKA Wikipedia). Ah, the fun things you can do in the studio.
“When I first met you, didn’t realize
I can’t forget you or your surprise
You introduced me to my mind
And left me wanting you and your kind
Oh, yeah”
– Ozzy Osbourne
According to legend, the idea for the title of the song was spawned by a pack of Irish cigarettes (not sativa), that had the catch phrase “It’s the sweet leaf”.
Whatever the inspiration, the song has blown my mind countless times within many states of mind. Hear me now and believe me later – this one song is reason enough to have this album in your collection, but seriously let’s move on.
Track Two – “After Forever”
Composed by Tony Iommi
So after you have your mind blown by the sweet leaf, you must have reality altered by some backward flanged gongs and cymbals padded by synthesizer. I mean this record is planned out perfectly!
Suddenly, a wall of guitars, bass and drums.
Tony will now smack you in the head with his guitar.
The prophet Ozzy now gives his sermon to the masses.
“Have you ever thought about your soul,
can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you’re dead,
you just stay in your grave”
Ozzy Osbourne – After Forever
The lyrics were written by the bass player, Geezer Butler and are primarily focused on a Christian theme, although Sabbath were considered by many to be Satanists at the time only because of how dark and heavy they sounded. I always got a very positive vibe from this piece and felt its message to be one of independence. Don’t let other people steer you away from what you believe and that sort of thing.
“After Forever” was released as a single in 1971 with “Fairies Wear Boots” as the flip side. I wish I had this one!
Track Three – Embryo
Composed by Tony Iommi
Rolling in at 28 seconds, this track is an instrumental piece that serves as a warning that shit is about to get real. Often mistaken as the opening of the next track “Children of the Grave”, “Embryo” is definitely a track all it’s own with the cleanest, in your face medieval guitar sound you may ever hear from the band.
“Children of the grave should never be played without Embryo”
– Black Sabbath Fans
After all, before they were children – they were embryos.
Track Four – Children of The Grave
Composed by Black Sabbath
The opening of this song is a stark contrast to “Embryo”. It begins with a strong thumping bass backed by rolling thunder drums that grow to a crescendo of cymbal crashes and classic Iommi hard driving guitar riffs.
The image is of a fierce army marching across a torn and barren landscape. Ozzy’s vocals hit hard and paint a picture of hate and war.
“Revolution in their minds,
the children start to march
Against the world in which they have to live
and all the hate that’s in their hearts”
– Ozzy Osborne
This one is a massive crowd pleaser. It is often played live on tour, appears on many greatest hits compilations and is also covered by many bands. The anti-war theme is a warning to the youth that inherit our world to beware of “The shadow of atomic fear”. Make your hearts right and spread peace and love, or all will be lost.
For me, the song is just powerful in every way and just seriously rocks!
Of course, we all know that any song with any kind of war theme goes over real big in this country because well, Merica.
The structure of “Children Of The Grave” is unique in the fact that there is really no chorus, just three very intense verses that IMHO can only sound right with Ozzy at the helm.
At 2 minutes, the second verse ends and there is a about a minute of breaks and amazing percussion by Bill Ward followed by a return to the original groove and Ozzy with the third verse. The verses are accented by Bill’s voracious tom strikes which are highlighted with violent synth notes by Tony Iommi.
“Children Of The Grave” also has the dubious distinction of having one of the creepiest endings in all of rock. I hope you have headphones for this one.
I haven’t quite figured out who whispers “Children of the Grave” in there (probably Ozzy) but wow, it sounds cool!
So maybe you have figured out that all of this has something to do with the first time I ever smoked pot. Well indeed it does my friends and as a music loving teenager in the seventies, I chose this record as the best option for my first adventure.
It did not disappoint.
After sitting in my fuzzy orange bean bag for what seemed like an hour contemplating the consequences of my actions, I finally lit a candle and pulled out the vinyl. Mine is the original jacket with embossed letters on the cover, “Black Sabbath” in purple and “Master Of Reality” in jet black.
I lifted the dust cover on my ADC 1500 FG turntable and removed the holy wax from the sleeve of righteousness. I then proceeded to engage the controls of my Marantz 2238B receiver (with Gyro-Touch tuning) to send the proper signal to the KLH Baroness 335 speakers, so that I may partake in the ceremony of rock.
It was now time to get experienced. I dropped the needle on side one and the coughing began.
Sitting down was in order for this life changing event (whatever), I then took the hand rolled cigarette in my hand and lit it just like all the stoners before me. After a puff or two I was like, “Oh, I get it now”.
The joint was put out when I got down to about half and then I just listened to Black Sabbath shred. Only this time, I really listened. It was amazing. The continuity, the power, the heavy darkness. I had never been into a side one of any album so much in my life!
Then an idea hit me – I had to do something special for Side Two.
