Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath- A Classical Musician’s In-Depth Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- Here’s the second half of my first Black Sabbath experience! I discovered some fascinating details, both about the song and about the band. If you love this type of metal, I hope it enhances your enjoyment of the song; if, like me, it’s not a style towards which you naturally gravitate, I think you will still find something interesting in it!
Link to the original song by Black Sabbath:
• Video
Link to Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War”:
• Gustav Holst - The Pla...
Link to the story of Black Sabbath’s inspiration for the song:
• How Heavy Metal was Bo...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA. 
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Hi everyone! Please drop under this comment your questions ONLY! I will do my best to answer them all!
Has your close friend, and guide, mentioned Progressive Rock to you? Ask him about the group “Yes”. I think their song “Close To The Edge” would amaze you.
@@interstellardave it is rather amazing to me that they’ve managed to avoid that genre altogether. It would seem a natural fit.
Can we make a suggestion for a genre for the next poll? Maybe even suggest bands?
Along the lines of Helene's question: What is the method used for selecting the Monthly bands on the polls? Most popular chat bands? Vlad's picks? Combo? Highly guarded channel secret? For what it's worth I thought the last poll was a good balanced selection.
@@helenespaulding7562 According to the Community Tab: Saturday, October 1st, 11:00AM (CDT) / 04:00PM (GMT)
Amy wears all black and wonders if Tony Iommi’s accident was a tragedy. Amy is officially Metal now.
Yes, metalhead!!!
Best comment ☝️
It begins.
Yes she is "Back in Black" !!
Incredible comment!
I feel like somebody could steal this for a thesis paper. The amount of work and care that you put into this presentation is obvious and I want you to know it is appreciated.
Yes! Agreed! Much appreciated!
I'll second this. I like to watch reactors. There are a handful of reactors that stand out to me as doing better and more sophisticated analyses then the others. This channel's reactions stand out because of her two-part method. She does exceptional work with the first part, namely, that immediate reaction while hearing a song the first time. But then she takes it it several steps further. After her initial viewing, she takes the time to do real research, real study, and organize it into a well-designed defense of substantive claims about the music. It is unreal. I feel like she should have her own documentary-style show on PBS or something. It is fantastic.
@Virgin Rock: Thank you for what you are doing!
She compared Black Sabbath to peanut butter hahaha.😂
No doubt, the band was quite
sticky.
Amy doesn't need printed lyrics for Ozzy. He's notorious for giving incomprehensible interviews. How someone can sing but can't speak is one of the great mysteries of life.
Huh? Ozzy's speech is perfectly clear. I've transcribed what Ozzy said at a concert despite heavy distortion on a poor recording on one of Ken Tramplin's videos.
@@RobBCactive There is a famous meme of Ozzy mumbling incoherently during an interview.
@@WayneKitching I never said his mind is coherent 😁 🤘🤘
Jokes aside, speaking and singing actually rely on different parts of the brain. It's why people who stutter or suffer from other speech impediments can often sing without issue. There are forms of speech therapy based on this.
Listen to interviews of young Ozzie; totally different, very articulate. He has developed neurological challenges over the years.
I'm not sure if you're aware of Django Reinhardt. He was a Belgian musician, who lost his third and fourth fingers of his left hand in a fire. After the loss of his fingers, Tony became aware of Django and was inspired to carry on. If you get the chance, playing some Django Reinhardt would be of great interest to many. His ability to play is second to none, even though he's playing with only half of what most players use. Iommi was the main "idea man" in the band. He's said many times before that if he didn't come in with ideas, half the Sabbath material would have never been written. Iommi seemed to be a nearly endless reservoir of riffs, melodies, and ideas. Amazing man, amazing band.
One little thing, Bill's drums are talking through all the quiet bits. His sympathetic comping is one of the hallmarks of this legendary band.
Bill was definitely a Jazz swing drummer, almost all the drummers from that era were swing drummers. When Metal evolved into the more modern versions with a metronomic March type of beat it lost most of it charm for me.
@@Hartlor_Tayley I agree - look at Ian Paice too
@@robertritchie2860 he’s another good example. It’s true for all rock drummers that out the sixties. Jazz swing was really the only drumming there was and certainly what they studied
Bill Ward's drumming on "War Pigs" is stellar and genre defining for his instrument. @Hartlor Tayley I couldn't agree more about Ian Paice! He's phenomenal.
@@Hartlor_Tayley metal lost a lot charm when it abandoned the blues roots too and replaced it with pseudo-classical melodies
Sometimes the RUclips algorithm comes up diamonds.
Well said!😂😂😂😂😅😊
I've always loved how Geezer's bass carries almost all the weight of the second part of the song and I'm happy you noticed that as well.
Ward was really a jazz drummer which added some secret sauce to Sabbath. Great breakdown of this classic song!
The swing drumming can’t be over emphasized, it pretty much defines the classic era from the modern era.
I always loved Ward’s drumming, but never quite made this realization until now (that he is a jazz drummer).
I play guitar, bass, and drums. I find that I have recently noticed that a huge jazz influence when it comes to drums, and now that you pointed it out, I know I got it from Bill Ward. Just as my bass playing is heavily influenced by Jeff Ament (subtle and melodic with lots of slides), and my guitar playing is influenced by Jimi Hendrix (dirty blues with the double stops).
I did not make conscious decisions about any of these styles. They all just clicked for me. I believe I am going to focus on some jazz rudiments now.
@@kyleolin3566 it’s all true. Great comment. Yeah it’s that swing, makes all the difference. I think it’s helpful to think of Rock as a sub genre of Jazz, especially as a drummer, virtually all drummers were Jazz drummers in those days. Also if you’re not familiar with Mahavishnu Orchestra and you like Hendrix and sabbath and play drums with a curiosity about Jazz then start with their first album “ Inner Mounting Flame”.
All the best rock drummers have a jazz background.
To me Bill Ward has some African drum sounds mixed in and also in a book I read he said he drummed with some Cuban style of drumming.
The story of the Mars suite inspiring Sabbath is fascinating. I've always felt that certain classical pieces were the ancestors of heavy metal, Mars being one of them, but also some works by Beethoven, Mozart and others. I can imagine Mozart being delighted with the fast, complex virtuosity of musicians like Steve Vai, and Beethoven appreciating the power and bombast of metal.
After watching her reaction video to the song, it made me think about the beginning to Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and then think about the beginning to this song, and you realize that they are not entirely worlds apart. They have the same dramatic sense of grandeur and power to them.
Tony’s fingertip loss resulted in the most important aspect of Sabbath’s sound, which is there use of “heavier” tunings (lower string tension meant it was less painful for him to play). If you didn’t come across it in your research you should check out the animated short narrated by Iommi about his fingertip loss and how it changed his playing
They didn't use alternate "heavy" tunings! They use standard Eb (as is very common on studio recordings).
He got over the tension by using lighter gauge strings, originally using banjo strings but now uses 008s.
@@theorc9098 Tony tuned down on the third album. Some of it is in standard, one in D and 2 in C sharp. The next two albums were mainly in C sharp. Tony came back up to E and then took to E flat on Heaven And Hell. His endless guitar modifications (even the weird zero fret) seem to have affected his tone quite a bit too.
@@mojobag01 The point is, that unusual tunings were on occasion, not the norm
@@theorc9098 , by the third album, he had started detuning, though, which helped create the great extra effect, and also gave him a greater bending ability, which really shows up in Into the Void.
Tony DID NOT tune down AT ALL on the first two Sabbath albums.
When Toni had his accident and wanted to give up playing, a manger at the factory where he had his mishap introduced him to the music of Django Reinhardt. Django was another musician who had a terrible accident and wound up only having use of his first two fingers (index and middle). He then went on to be one of of the inventors of gypsy jazz. Every guitarist… actually every musician should understand his story. There is so much inspiration, admiration and adulation for Django. It would be a perfect bookend to this experience. Start with minor swing…. Anyway, thanks! I love the in depth analysis you provide!
Watching this on Tony Iommi’s 75th birthday. I’m glad to see such an in-depth appreciation of his achievements, and the composition of this song. As you rightly point out, while the individual components are simple, the repetition and progression of the piece are what make it such a monumental and important landmark. The arrow was shot straight and hit the mark. Thank you.
You have taught me so much i been a Black Sabbath fan for 41 years.But your musical wisdom is so articulate even on reviewing Old School Heavy Metal.The old School Heavy Metal had alot influence with Classical Music.👍Love it.
To adapt to his injury Tony Iommi also used really light gauge strings on his guitar when playing in standard tuning and also experimented with downtuning his whole guitar a step and a half in order to reduce the string tension of his guitar and the amount of pain he felt playing. This had a huge effect on his tone and helped to shape the sound of metal.
This is the best, and most accurate break down of this song I’ve ever heard. It was like I was sitting in a university lecture. I have known this song since the album was released in 1970, when I was 13, and have always called it classical in composition. Also, I’ve always referred to Tony Iommi as the ‘riffmeister,’ as he was attributed as the one who made rock riffs a staple of every heavy metal act that followed. Awesome post. 🙌
One of my favorite aspects of "Black Sabbath" is how the sense of dread established at the beginning slowly builds into anguish, despair, fear, panic, and chaos. If the band stands as a counter to (or rejection of) the London scene and the Summer of Love, this song epitomizes that idea better than anything else they created. This is blues for a world coming apart at the seams, brutal, malevolent and unrelenting.
I love this lady! Nice ,educated & open minded musically!
I love the transformation of this channel. You're on the right track and doing something very rare by not just reacting to the music, but also offering thoughtful, credible analysis.
I love that you took the time to dig into the band, and member's history to find context for how the song was written, and how the band evolved it's sound.
Knowing when to stop is a really interesting point, and as Amy says, it is one that straddles many creative endeavors. It also reminds me of a quote by Erik Satie - "I never wrote a note I did not mean". Sage words for all artists, I feel.
In 1983, I was 7 years old. I had been raised on gospel and country music. After my parents divorced, my mother got a boyfriend, one day he put on this 8-track cassette. It was the song Black Sabbath. It was the first time I had ever heard heavy metal music. And instantly I was hooked. It was like a drug. I felt such a rush of excitement and horror of this scary, yet thrill, song. I wanted to hear it again and again. I wanted to hear more songs by this band. And I wanted to hear more music like this.
The song Black Sabbath was not only the birth of heavy metal for the world, but in 1983 it was my first metal experience. So I know what it must have felt like for the people in 1970 hearing this song for the first time.
Similar experience to me
What a revelation to see such a serious and interesting analyse of an iconic song. When their first album was released they got a very dismissive reaction from all the "fine" critics. They just didn't get it. Well, time tells. Good and well crafted music will always have an appeal to a new generation of devoted listeners
I often wonder if Critics know exactly what they're doing when they trash a new band or sound in a certain way...actually driving people to listen to it and embrace it out of spite towards authority.
February 13th, 1970 was the very first day of heavy metal ( the day the first Black Sabbath album was released ).
Lol of course it would be released on the 13th.
And of course it was a Friday, too!
@@MarcelVolker Correct! Friday the 13th ;-)
We all love your channel, Virgin Rock!
"Was ot really a tragedy?" A flower growing from a pile of manuer does not change the nature of that manuer. Yes it was tragic, and we often see tragedy result in greatness. The greatness that springs from tragedy takes nothing away from the tragedy and, it could be argued makes the tragedy all the more tragic by contrast.
Exactly!
@@VirginRock It reminded me of how Bowie embraced, having one of his eyes permanently dilated due to a losing a fight. A very happy accident!
I think if at all possible it's important to listen to the entire album in one sitting. That's how we listened to this music 50 years ago. We would play the entire album over and over until we got tired of it and went on to something else. We were blown out of the water with this album. It was new but we could hear our familiar blues and gritty rock & roll with wild vocals. When their 2nd album came out "Paranoid" they solidified their place in music history. Now when I listen these days one or two of their songs show up on a playlist and it still rocks just like it did so many years ago.
This has been amongst my favourite music since my teen years, however my Mum and Dad were heavily into 'Country' and often said my taste in music was located in my 'nether region'. I wish Dad was still alive to hear your excellent critique and analysis of this music.
This is absolutely fascinating how you break this all down. I've been listening to Black Sabbath since the 70s and this gives me new appreciation. Thank you!
You are correct in saying that there may have been songs that were heavy metal before this song, but Black Sabbath were the first to base the entire band experience around the heavy metal sound. As they released more albums, you can begin to hear influences from genres ranging from blues to jazz to classical. On the first album you can hear classical influence in the title track and jazz in the track, "Wicked World". There is a strong blues sound in the song, ""Behind the Wall of Sleep". Other albums have very melodic instrumental pieces such as, "Laguna Sunrise" or "Embryo". I look forward to seeing you hear and react to other songs by them and hearing your analysis of them.
Of course there are elements in songs, or even whole songs from bands and artists prior to Black Sabbath that can be named the root of heavy rock and metal, but the constant, continuous and deliberate attitude to produce metal sound, imagery and lyrics came together for the first time with this band and their albums. Great reaction and analysis as always.
Tony's accident was a tragedy that he turned into a benefit through willpower. Huge respect to him for it
I found your channel today, and I'm just gonna say you're doing a fantastic job. Channels like yours are a rarity in the reaction scene, unfortunately.
I'm a metalhead myself, but it took me some time to get into the genre. I think once you familiarize with it, you're gonna love it. Metal is the genre in rock that's most closely related to classical music, and many high profile metal musicians are huge fans of classical music.
Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple (who I see are winning in your poll) are known as "The Unholy Trinity" of metal, the three most influential classical bands.
I don't know who thought it would be wise to introduce you to King Diamond at such an early stage; even many metalheads consider him an acquired taste. And I'd most definitely would have chosen a different Metallica song for your first introduction.
Anyway, please keep up the great work, don't let the trolls discourage you. I'm very much looking forward to your analysis of Stargazer by Rainbow, another one of the greatest rock songs ever - if you continue your journey, it'll cross your way sooner rather than later.
Stargazer is a great suggestion.
As an interesting non sequitur, did anybody else know that the actor Christopher Lee, a frequent Dracula, and Count Dooku in Star Wars, sang vocals on several metal songs? It's almost indescribable, but Lee had a fantastic voice. It's here on RUclips, check it out.
@@dennisharrell2236 that’s precisely the kind of info I hope to read in comments. Thanks
I agree, there are many pieces from Metallica, Black Sabbath and so many more. Love to hear her reviews on more of their biggest hits
As a teenager in the 70's I grew up to this genre and was blown away with Black Sabbath. Now, to see someone else experience this for the first time as well is quite exhilarating. Music has the capacity to carry one back in time, yet you've made me hear it in a different way. Bravo, and carry on!
I once read a question somewhere "Why is Black Sabbath so metal?"; of course the replies were along the lines of "Why is metal so Black Sabbath?"
Man I don’t normally get distracted, but the particles floating about kept pulling my attention. Great video by the way. It’s always great to see musicians sympathize with one another when it comes to facing hardships that affect their playing. Especially when someone finds a way to adapt and overcome it.
Particles ? I thought they were fairies 🧚♀️
@@Hartlor_Tayley They’re in Germany, so they might be.
@@44.caliberbrainsurgery63 in England the fairies wear boots, you’ve got to believe me.
@@Hartlor_Tayley I believe you! 🧚♀️ 👢👢
I thought she might be either in the Upside-Down or maybe a post-apocalyptic fallout zone...should've been to "War Pigs"
OMG, Amy!! I just commented on your other video about how I just tonight saw The Nashville Symphony perform "The Planets", by Gustav Holst! You're making great connections!
I really do love these videos and this format. Thank you for the Holst suggestion.
Do not get discouraged if the more sophisticated content gets less mass attention. RUclips is a medium for quick mass consumption after all.
I am sure that those of us who stick around really apretiate and connnect with the content.
I'm always amazed to find what sorts of musical influences went into a song so familiar. Thanks for your in-depth research! Such a joy.
One other thing I have noticed in this song, having re-listened to it several times since your Announcement video, is the way Tony uses his vibrato technique to help portrait that sense of doom during the slow tritone section.
Do you mean vibrato or his use of a trill up to the next semitone? He does actually use both techniques.
@@DarrellW_UK I meant vibrato, but the trill also applies. He does use both for the same effect (at least to my ears). Almost sounds like he is alternating between the two at one point. (edit: good observation, I should have noted and made the distinction)
@@LeeKennison I knew a guy who could play this on a Trombone right along to the record vibrato trills and slides. I would love to hear Amy play it on the Cello, maybe I’ll ask her.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, and the slides are another thing that sounds cool in this song. Both Tony and Geezer use them. They are very quick slides. Geezer uses his as a little extra ornamentation at the end his tritone semi-trills (not really trills, just a quick series of 8th/16th note tritones). Sometimes he uses a quick bend instead. Hearing this on the cello would be cool.
Most metal fan think Black Sabbath birthed metal, all others bands some people sometimes name are mostly rock bands with some hint of heavier bits, The first Sabbath album has blues influence in it But Sabbath went all heavy after the 1st album. making them the first metal band because they were really dedicated at composing heavy and menacing music. they paved the way and gave a blueprint for bands to create new genre like thrash, death, black doom , gothic and so on ...
Another side-effect of the injury was that Tony tuned his instrument down to C#, F#, B […] which added to the heaviness of the music
A lot of early Black Sabbath is in standard tuning, though. They only started down tuning on the third album.
The tri-tone, the tempo, the lyrical content, and the Timbre. Those are what makes this Metal! 👏🏽🤘
Just to add that "Mars, the bringer of war" has been adapted to Rock music a number of times. Most notably, and I believe is *the* adaptation, by King Crimson in live performances back in 1969. (And then they brought it to the studio under a different name in their "In the wake of Poseidon" album.). I'll be surprised if Black Sabbath weren't aware of that version, as King Crimson were making a splash in 69.
I reiterate; your concision is exquisite.
I love your analysis of the music. I am a rock music fan and guitarist, but I am also classically trained. The 'runnin' section of this song always reminded me in part of Erlkönig by Franz Schubert. It partially resembles the way the notes ascend. Also interesting is in Schubert's piece, the triplet is meant to paint a picture of the galloping horse in the story - similarly in Black Sabath, that triplet feel paints a picture of people running away.
I have to say - I love your channel. I don't always get to see it, but when I do, it is a treat. And that wrong note that is played is one of the notes I often play when just warming up on my guitar.
I love all the guys from Sabbath, but it's very refreshing how you pay attention to Geezer's and Tony's role in the music. For some reason everyone focus on Ozzy, but personally I think Tony and Geezer always were the driving musical forces in Black Sabbath and deserve more respect and appreciation.
Ozzy is a cool showman with iconic voice and not to forget Bill on drums, he is also incredible.
Hello Amy music has been a part of my life starting before I could walk. When I was cranky mom would roll me in the walker in front of the radio/turntable and I would be all happy again. I was born in 1959 . I've only been listening to your channel for maybe 10 hours and I've learned about the tritone motif or as you said the double tritone motif.i don't play music I just never got it. I do paint abstract acrylic pour painting and I had a good laugh when you were talking about artist knowing when to stop.🤣😂 I've had disasters because of that . I can relate. When I hear a good song I get goosebumps and the hair on the back of my neck stands up . Love what you're doing. 🎶❤️🎵
Now you absolutely must listen to The Kinks. I would suggest The Village Green Preservation Society, Celluloid Heroes or Waterloo Sunset. Early British Invasion music and in my humble opinion, the most underrated band in all of rock n roll. Love the channel ❤️
“Something else” is full of great songs as is the village Green.
This is the first heavy metal song. There were earlier songs that included or even featured one or another critical element (as far back as 1956 with "Race With the Devil" by Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps), but this was the first to cover all the bases: extreme volume, heavily distorted guitars, the tritone, abrupt changes between slow and fast sections, flashy guitar soloing, stupid lyrics about Satan or some other manifestation of evil, and a high tenor vocal. In the late '60s, things were definitely moving in this direction (Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf), and the idea was clearly in the air, but Black Sabbath absolutely deserves the credit. Crucially, this beat Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" by nine months.
You got it right. There's lots o f heavy music to discover that was before the Sabs. But no other band was as consistent in a bleak and plodding sound and (genius lyric writer Geezers)realistic/pessimistic lyrical content.
As a proto metal geek I love to listen to the heavy fore runners. But Sabbath distilled the sound to a perfect mix
@@megamaniac7402 there were a lot of bands back then that could be seen as ahead of their time. There really wasn’t a whole lot new styles to emerge after the mid seventies that wasn’t done before. Garage bands and underground bands were playing everything but weren’t being recorded or promoted. ruclips.net/video/llaDswZVdLY/видео.html
You left out an often overlooked but key component that others also didn't have, and that was loud, prominent, distorted bass.
@@mikeg.4211 very true. And the way Geezer played the bass was groundbreaking
@@megamaniac7402 check out the song “Hassles” by Fresh Blueberry Pancake , 1970 sabbath like but not quite there.
I feel like every word out of Amys' mouth, is carefully processed, and fully vetted by her brain, before any word is uttered, very carefully and deliberately. What a joy to encounter this music through her frame of reference.
Tony is such an incredible guy and the way he wrote and performed music was amazing. He got the tips of fingers smashed in a pressing machine in a factory and kept playing guitar
Black Sabbath is my favorite band of all time and I’m a musician as well but only self taught so I love hearing your in depth analysis! I so hope you do more Sabbath songs in the future!! Some great ones are A National Acrobat, Spiral Architect, Under The Sun, and Symptom of the Universe! Any song off of the first six albums is great all the way through!
Let's wear all black listening to Black Sabbath.
I personally love your analysis of each song. I have been an amateur rock bass player for many years and each of your explanations is an interesting and helpful music lesson for me, giving me a greater understanding of a genre of music that I have always loved.
thank you , I have listened to this since the mid 70s & I learned something new about the origin of the riff today!
Personally I think the drums are far from simple but Bill Ward's genius drumming as usual. Few can get so much atmosphere from a set of drums as him. Definitely one of the best drunners of all time.
That jazz swing feel makes it fly.
I don't know music theory n all that, but i do know that bill ward was the perfect drummer for sabbath
The Bell for me has come from Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, the last movement called "Songe d'une nuit du sabbat". Even the name of the song and band maybe comes from there, and that movement along with Holst's, and the famous string's "sforzatto" of the Stravinsky's "Rite of spring" are probably the main orchestral precedents of heavy metal's sounding.
In an interview they said that they got the name from a movie screening of Black Sabbath (1963) across from the practice place they had. But you are right. Never thought of the potential influence of Berlioz on the bell sound. That would be amazing.
I always assumed the Bell was from old horror movies and radio dramas, but you could be right.
I love these videos with the history and the story-telling. I came to these in-depth videos just expecting a dry analytical review of the sheet music, but you do an excellent job setting everything up and it's much more than that.
Great to see Tony and the band given the justice and appreciation from someone at the opposite end of the music genre. Very nice, thoughtful analysis. This has always been one of my favourite pieces of music, perhaps ever. It still gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. As Amy said, the secret to this music is simplicity, repetition, and DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
I'm so glad you referred to that great short video with Geezer and Tony bits... I just love the look of joy on Geezer's face when he describes hearing Tony play a variation of the riff from Mars the next day. Priceless.
There are arguments that can be made that there were heavy metal songs before Black Sabbath, but there can be no argument that metal didn’t exist after Black Sabbath.
That’s the turning point
I agree but it’s odd that Black Sabbath didn’t consider themselves A metal band and didn’t like that moniker, they called themselves Hard Rock.
@@Hartlor_Tayley that’s because it was first used as a pejorative “Black Sabbath’s music sounds like heavy metal falling from the sky”
@@wintyrqueen that’s true it was a pejorative, the term Heavy Metal Music was first invented by the writer William Burroughs in a futuristic novel. “Heavy Metal Thunder” was used in that Steppenwolf song in reference to a motorcycle. Sabbaths song “Iron Man” kinda clinched it for sabbath being called metal.
I'm glad you had this speech about people not listening to the second part of your listening experience. I was guilty of that. But it's really interesting and I'll make sure I do not miss any in the future!
I grew-up with bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple in the early seventies and we called it Hard Rock at the time. It's only when Judas Priest released their "Sin After Sin" album in 1977 that the term "Heavy Metal" turned-up, although the words were used for the first time in Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" featuring in the 1969 movie "Easy Rider". The term "Heavy Metal got its break-through when french science-fiction magazine "Metal Hurlant (screaming metal)" decided to release an American version of their release but instead of using a literal translation of the French title decided to call the magazine Heavy Metal for the USA. A journalist once said on the radio that some heavy rock music reminded him of the metal robots in stories and drawings by Fench/Belgian artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud in aformentioned magazine and the term stuck.
That's so cool about "Mars!" I hadn't ever heard that. Being great musicians, I figure Tony knew what Holst had written and offered a more "haunting" version of the three-note theme. But of course, I'm just guessing! I remember hearing it the first time as a young one, and I found the opening a bit plodding, but I think that's probably what they were going for. They were setting the table for everything that would come after it, both on this first album, as well as in successive albums. I find your analyses fascinating and from a unique perspective. My ex is a classically trained performer and composer, and when I told her I wanted to record monster music from classic movies, that was a shock to her, as she had always written Coplandesque music, and now she was reconstructing an entirely different type of music -- probably similar to you listening to Black Sabbath. LOL!
If I remember correctly it was geezer that was heavily into holst at the time so that's probably where the idea came from.
When I was in 5th or 6th grade I liberated this album from my parents records. I used to lock myself in my bedroom and play this record with the lights off and just freak myself out. It's a haunting sounding album.
Hi! I love the in-depth analysis! It sets you apart from all the other reaction channels. Your musical knowledge and background is why I began watching your channel. Of course, I do enjoy watching your initial reaction, but the fact that you listen to the song multiple times and do the research is really impressive. I absolutely love the song "Love Reign O'er Me" and knew quite a bit about its background and then you came and hit me with some nuggets I didn't know and things I hadn't noticed. Keep up the great work! I am going to introduce my uncle to your channel as I know he will really appreciate you as well.
While I am here, I would like to suggest Yes, an English band full of virtuosos that provided some of the best progressive rock music. IMHO 😉
"Close to the Edge" and "Awaken" are both amazing compositions produced at the height of their powers. Would love to hear you dissect them!
I think what also makes this album remarkable, is that the whole thing was recorded in a day
ummmmmm, no, it was one 12 hours session, even more impressive! the mixing was done on the second day, but that is not really recording, is it?
@@Frank-dv4zu twelve hours is plenty of time. Play everything three times and pick the best. Maybe overdub vocals and other stuff here and there. Twelve hours would have been a luxury for most America bands at that time. Songs should be well rehearsed and road tested before the studio. I never understood why some bands took months and years to record albums.
@@Frank-dv4zu Yeah, mixing is of course not recording, they recorded the album live vocals and all and did some overdubs like guitar solos. In that way its certainly very possible to record an album in that time if you are well prepared and not to picky about details, the album in itself runs less than 40 minutes so you could do multiple takes during 12 hours and people do regularly play live to pretty high standards. I have never recorded an album live but i have recorded an album in the 90´s to analog tape with very similar technology in a work week (around 40 hours) but every instrument was recorded separately which is common these days and that album also had much longer playtime. These days and since many years i record on a computer.
it keeps the sound consistent they probably didn't touch too many dials
@@Mikebuster yeah they probably didn’t have many dials to turn even if they wanted to.
The Kinks:You Really Got Me -64, The Beatles: Helter Skelter -68
Amy, Holst's work in The Planets can be ominous, but then again, we can't forget Berlioz.. 🙂
I didn't listen to Black Sabbath song and analysis ,but listen to Holst's "Mars..." I liked it very much thanks for the link
My first real vinyl album was Black Sabbath's Paranoid. I was eight years old. There's really too much for me to express when it comes to the subject of Black Sabbath. I own far more recordings of this band than any other. I hear the impact of Tony's prosthetics particularly in his trills. Which are very clear and quick. He even does double-stop trills. That's unusual. His stye is unique. The band influenced us all tremendously.
*Also I really enjoy the production on these videos! It adds a lot. 😃
** I enjoy it when you play some of the key instrumental parts on the analysis sections. I was wondering what Black Sabbath might sound like on the harp!
Here's a couple of examples! -
ruclips.net/video/eRH40mjydcs/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/3UV-2E8kEqg/видео.html
Enjoy!
The Planets is also a HUGE influence on John Williams and his Star Wars score. Some say almost plagaristic.
Mars segment is copied all over the place! It's crazy.
Such a fabulous breakdown! Thank you so much!
Another great set of videos! As always, I love seeing your introduction to everything you've experienced so far and are able to learn from it and start to make connections.
The 2 note intro of Purple Haze (1967) by Jimi Hendrix is probably the most famous tritone interval in rock. To me, its the first metal song.
I agree that it is a wonderful tritone intro and I love the song, but other than braving the tritone I don't hear that tune as metal.
To me that song is utterly, totally, in the genre of hard, psychedelic rock. That is definitely how we thought of it at the time. I’m just curious; if you don’t mind my asking, are you under 50? I have noticed that, over 50 years removed from when these songs dropped, younger people with a different perspective tend to categorize allot of songs as metal from that time that we, having been there, definitely would not.
I’m not trying to challenge you or be aggressive. I’m honestly curious.
@@helenespaulding7562 I first heard the tune in the late 70's and its relatively dry tone and heavy chords struck me as metal. The lyrics may be psychedelic, but the dissonance of the tritone and #9 chord anticipated progressive metal decades later. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is heavy blues with trippy lyrics. Some might argue that Rumble by Link Wray is the first metal track.
I was born in 67 . I wonder if any of you know of The MC5 band. I heard they were an influence on heavy rock and metal. Thanks.
@@lupcokotevski2907 I’m not familiar with Rumble by Link Way
Oh my gosh! I saw the title and got super excited 😊. I'm very impressed with how much you know. You've really taken time to learn and understand things before you listen to them. I very much enjoy that. Black Sabbath was originally a blues/jazz band. And their sound developed into a darker and more sinister sound. They literally started the genera of "metal". I saw them live in 2016. Just an awesome experience to see them live. Are you taking recommendations at the moment?
That blues influence fused with the Holst exposure is exactly how the G minor + tritone happens in that Star Wars-y way. That tritone is the "blues" note, that turns a G minor pentatonic into a G blues.
There is absolutely no question that this was the origin of an entirely new genre. All metal music that followed since has been based on what Black Sabbath (and particularly Tony Iommi (eye-OWE-me) created. A brilliant analysis by you! I love it! You hot on an excellent point that applies to all art, I think, that was explained well by Edgar Allen Poe, who commented that all literature should strive to achieve the strongest effect possible, which also applies to music, I think. Poe famously said that a story "must have a single mood, and every sentence should build towards it."
Thank you - you're reviews are fantastic to watch, listen and learn to.
I was so excited when you brought up Holst and the Planets! It's been a recent obsession of mine, coming from the other direction, discovering classical music!
I watched the video of another youtube channel (from a long hair metal guitarist, Shred) several months ago , with the title something like "the first metal song ever " , where he analyze the song from Holst work.
@@georgiosdoumas2446 These two should meet. Amy and Shred. That would be interesting.
We called it Heavy Rock back then ( Yes I'm that old 🤪)
Yup, we did.
And all of a sudden sometime in the late seventies or early eighties, i started hearing "heavy metal."
Waaaay later, early 2000's maybe, i heard an interview of either Tony or Geezer saying how some critic was talking about their music sounding like heavy metal crashing down, and there we go!
Heavy Metal music is a thing lol.
This is awesome ! a lot of details that make me appreciate the song even more
Thank you for your thorough analysis, very enjoyable indeed!
This song is all about fear and foreboding, it's the first song I heard by Black Sabbath and I liked it a lot, Through the years I learned to like every incarnation of the band, I've seen them multiple times, for a while it seemed they were at every open-air festival, I like your videos very much, they are entertaining and educational, I did feel like my eyes were playing tricks on me but I kept seeing something like snow floating around in the air, it was a little distracting and I found myself just watching the white dots and not listening, rewind is my friend so it's all good, Glad you're healthy again, keep up the good work
Tony also plays the flute on “Solitude” on their 3rd album. A song that isn’t Heavy Metal, and Ozzy’s voice is very beautiful. Not like any other Black Sabbath piece.
It's similar to their song Planet Caravan. Both great songs
@@alrivers2297 It's superior to Planet Caravan.
@@manictree5436 lol, isn't that subjective
@@alrivers2297 Absolutely. It's my opinion.
Such a lovely video. Thank you for your thoughtful analysis which will certainly increase my enjoyment of Black Sabbath, already one of my favorites.
Holst rocks, indeed! haha Beautiful and enriching analysis Amy, as always!
Tony was inspired by Django Reinhardt's story to keep playing
Black Sabbath was the first ones to really bring in the, "Doom and Gloom!"
I absolutely enjoy your point of view and explanation!
Such a informative breakdown on the the tri-tones. I’ll never hear that some the same now. Thank you for such a great video
I've been listening to, and loving, this song for almost 30 years. Thank you for your analysis, it adds so much more depth to my enjoyment of it. I would love you to review some early AC/DC which, to me, is the epitome of hard rock or what I like to call the "garage band" sound.
She’ll get blocked for sure.
Since Amy likes unusual instruments, "It's a long way to the top" is a Must Listen.
I believe Black Sabbath be credited creating metal. Most other bands with a heavy reputation at the time Cream, Zeppelin, Blue Cheer etc. were just very, very loud blues bands. Sabbath didn't play the blues. It really was a new style of music.
Sabbath absolutely was a blues band at their beginning and you can hear blues influence all over the first album.
Heavy Rock developed from blues, I'd call Blue Cheer more of a pop band doing covers.
Back then nobody had heard of heavy metal, with Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin they were nicknamed the unholy trinity and disliked by clueless out of touch music critics.
Keith Moon quipped "that'll probably go down like a lead Zeppelin" when hearing Jimmy Page's plan to go heavier.
Black Sabbath developed a rawer powerful and dramatic style, even in this song there's metal staples.
However without bands like Judas Priest, Motorhead, AC/DC and Rush, that eschewed demanding progressive rock for a simpler heavier guitar based sound, no one would ask "who were first, who invented heavy metal?".
@@GrayFlannelAds I'm a huge fan of Sabbath but I never listen to the first album.
Kinks "You Really Got Me" was pretty heavy for the early 60s.
I love this in depth analysis! I've learned a few things watching this. I do hope you choose more of my favourite music to listen to.
Wonderful breakdown! Very interesting!
Lots of good contextual information, along with your always good music analysis. The video clip showing Tony playing using the prosthetics really helped to put his "disability" into visual context, along with the inspirational message of how we can overcome such unfortunate events. My only disappointment was finding out that this particular song hadn't converted your musical preferences from classical music to rock. Oh well, maybe the next one will (just kidding).
The dude literally melted plastic cigar tubes onto his fingers, man that is so rock and roll.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Wow. I was wondering how he did that, and what made them stay on. That is pretty hard core.
@@LeeKennison he did what he had to do with the material he had available. He really hated that factory job and wasn’t about to go back there.
First of all - thanks for an excellent deep dive into this song! Secondly, I just heard Holsts' "Mars, the Bringer Of War" for the first time. Holy cow, that's some heavy music. It's as "evil" and sinister sounding as any metal I've heard. You can absolutely tell that this piece of music is the inspiration for a number of metal bands, and of course there is a clear path to the song "Black Sabbath" in it. Also, a lot of film scores (the Star Wars theme for instance) are clearly inspired by that piece. Thanks again for this.
There is a direct use of it in Diamond Head - Am I Evil (later covered by Metallica) too. Mars is one of my favourite 'metal' classical pieces. Check out Dance of the Knights by Prokofiev for another great one.
Came here to mention Mars. Glad to see someone beat me to it.
@@kmacgregor6361 Mars is really a heavy piece from that suite, but my favorite has always been Jupiter, for some reason...
@@fonsecorona Jupiter is very moving. It might be my favourite too. They are all great.
Thank you for starting this channel. I'm enjoying it very much. It's like a masterclass about songs and bands that I've liked for most of my life.
Beautifully and sensitively done.