Review by analogue August 31, 2012 (1 of 5 found this review helpful)
Performance: Sonics:
This is a good solid release of this Sabbath title. Give these guys credit......they always tried to be experimental and to work on new ideas. They were more than a simple metal band. They were also more than a doom and gloom scary band.
As with the original recordings these shm sacd's are all over the place with regards to sonics. This particular title was transferred using the original master tapes and its loud. Compression was used on most of the tracks on this sacd. Not all tracks mind you...but a good portion of them are simply loud. No dynamic range...no subtlety.......and no soft to loud passages. Mostly this a a very hard rock/metal album and it shows.
Putting the loudness aside for the moment...sonics are good and instruments and voices sound real enough. This particular album might be my least favorite Sabbath release but it always comes down to ones own tastes....doesn't it?? Nevertheless its still a solid release with some surprising chord and tempo changes and an attempt by Ozzie to get sentimental during one song.
I have noticed on the net a very divergent opinion regarding which Sabbath shm sacd titles sound good. Thus far Paranoid, Heaven and Hell and the first self titled album are killers on my system. They are breath taking to say the least and I couldnt be happier even at the cost. The other releases such as Masters of reality and this sacd are less so. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was a difficult recording and had problems but featured great music.
If you liked the Masters of Reality shm sacd then I would recommend this sacd to you as you probably prefer this type of recorded sound. If however you like a more delicate and nuanced/sensitive rock sound where things breathe and get soft and loud.....I warn you that this disc is loud and not very crankable...........and Black Sabbath needs to be crankable.
