"Black Sabbath Vol. 4" differs quite a lot from its three predecessors. It is more of a sensitive album with not so much darkness, and it also comes with some surprises, like Tony Iommi's decent piano skills in "Changes". I do not know many Black Sabbath fans that would rather enjoy a more joyful version of the band, and I am certainly not one of them. The darkness in the music was what made Black Sabbath so unique and mysterious. It made it stand out against the rest of the bands during that era.
The music itself has some bright points that makes me smile. There is some nice groove in "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener" and "Supernaut" while songs like "Tomorrow's Dream", "Cornucopia" and "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes And Goes" brings more of the real Black Sabbath sound to the table. So it is obvious that most of the songs on "Black Sabbath Vol. 4" is of rather good quality, but most of them also does not feel like real Black Sabbath tunes. Take for example "Changes", a classic Beatles inspired ballad that only consists of Tony playing the piano, Ozzy singing and some violins in the background. This is not a Black Sabbath song. This is more fitting in a The Beatles album. So why is it in "Black Sabbath Vol. 4" then? I have no idea, and I will probably will never know.
"Black Sabbath Vol. 4" is far from a bad album, and I can see why some fans love this new side of Sabbath's music. But Black Sabbath to me is when the band embrace the darkness in their music and make some sweet early doom metal. This album is more of a normal rock record, which in it self is perfectly fine, but it gives me the feeling that the album lacks that extra something to really lift it to the top of the mountain..
Songs worthy of recognition: Supernaut, Tomorrow's Dream Under The Sun/Every Day Comes And Goes
Rating: 6,5/10 Cornucopias
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