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Title: One of Black Sabbath's best, due to dramatic effect.
Review: The band never sounded more evil or subversive as on this, a depressed sludge of amplified guitars, pagan guitar riffs, and Ozzy Osbourne's bewildered, haunted wail rolling out from your speakers like so many sheets of black. The band's namesake song is here, still the most chilling composition in Sabbath's catalogue and a successful sonic interpretation of the horror genre; as well as metal classics like "N.I.B." and "The Wizard". In terms of songwriting Sabbath was still in its infancy, this debut album carrying a jammy, oftimes meandering feel, but I still play it pretty regularly, for in many ways, this is the perfect embodiment of the band's thematic and musical identity.
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