It's a remarkable comeback for an album. I clearly remember at release many hard core Sabbath fans started to back down after first disappointment with the mellower "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and just seeing this as further low point. Others hailed it of course, but the overall reaction was more ambivalence than unconditional love. Checking a bunch of net reveiwers today some embrace the sh*t out of it, giving the impression it's always been publicly regarded as one of their best. That's not all true, but...whatever. As a whole it's an honest statement with lyrics almost entirely about the situation they were in back then - drugs, fickle group dynamics and the feeling of being betrayed by the former management. I could have done without "Supertzar" and "Am I Going Insane" - not bad, but not really them either. "The Writ" is not as much a song as a loosely doweled compendium of diverse melodies, styles and riffs. The cut has enough good ideas for an entire album and I wish they'd done that instead of just mangling it together. The rest is pure joy. "Hole In The Sky" and first part of "Symptom Of The Universe" sounds borderline garage rock or pre-punk - on the spot simple, powerful and mad as hell. "Megalomania" is another multi-theme song, but unlike "The Writ" elaborated and harmonic, making it a magnetic ten minute journey. First press had an additional unannounced cut at the end of side two - "Blow On A Jug" - thirty seconds of Bill Ward playing the piano and singing with Ozzy chipping in. Early US on Warner Brothers (BS 2822). Premiere UK had label as shown here and thin structured cover. (BLÄC*)
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