Black Sabbath: Sabotage (Remastered 2015) - LP

"Sabotage" is the sixth studio album by the British band Black Sabbath.

For years, singer Ozzy Osbourne has often complained in interviews that this album marked the beginning of Tony Iommi's obsession with studio recording. Compared to previous albums, Sabotage took noticeably longer to record and produce, making it the band's most expensive album to record at the time (their first album cost a few hundred pounds and took only a few days to record).

The album continues the trend that began on the previous album. Tony Iommi started using keyboards and "orchestral" arrangements even more, as well as similar songwriting approaches (e.g., the choirs in the track "Supertzar"). The song "Symptom of the Universe" is considered the very first track to feature thrash metal characteristics.

In the mid-70s, the negative effects of constant touring, alcohol, and drugs began to take their toll on Black Sabbath. It was during this time that their sixth studio album, Sabotage, was released, and it remains one of the most underappreciated Black Sabbath records. This might be due to the gradual disappearance of the chemistry between the band members, which had radiated from previous LPs like Paranoid or Vol. 4. Nevertheless, Tony Iommi pulled an arsenal of booming, ultra-heavy guitar riffs out of his sleeve, which give life to tracks like the opener "Hole in the Sky" or the drug anthem "Symptom of the Universe". With their sound, Black Sabbath came closer to garage rock than perhaps ever before in their history.

However, the most surprising track is the melodic affair "Am I Going Insane (Radio)", whose synthesiser arrangements push it towards the then-popular power-pop genre. Lyrically, though, it's the same old Black Sabbath – the song depicts a person's descent into a spiral of madness. Although this album is often overlooked in Black Sabbath's discography, it is certainly an interesting record worth listening to.

On some early vinyl/cassette releases (and on all reissues), at the end of the track "The Writ", there is a short, 23-second hidden track called "Blow on a Jug". It is recorded at a very low volume.