Black Sabbath- Master of Reality-Rock/Metal Album Rating(#18)

I'm back after quite a while to rating rock/metal albums with the 3rd creation  from Black Sabbath's classical Ozzy era, but with a new approach. I'm going to rate each track in chronologocal order, see which tracks are in my top 3 and give the album my final rating, so here we are:

1. Sweet Leaf- 9.5(fantastic)- an outstanding opener; Tony Iommi coughing at the beginning of the song perfectly illustrates the source of inspiration for this remarkable track.

2. After Forever- 9(great)- a fast-paced song dealing with religion, it makes you think about some serious topics.

3. Embryo- not rated- Just a short instrumental which could be seen as an intro to the next tune.

4. Children of the Grave- 10(stellar)- one of the greatest anti-war heavy metal songs and a strong contender for my favourite Black Sabbath songs thanks to its powerful riff and chilling lyrics dealing with the ever present threat of a nuclear disaster. Simly brilliant!

5. Orchid- 8(solid)- the second instrumental of the album positioned between two great tracks gives the listener a short break before returning to heaviness.

6. Lord of This World- 9.5 - more fabulous riffs and exceptional lyrics expressed by Ozzy's unique voice. An amazing tune as well.

7. Solitude- 8(solid)- time for some melancholy with a beautiful ballad dealing with the unpleasant feelings of being alone after breaking up. 

8. Into the Void- 10- what a banger to close the album with! An outstanding doomy track with menacing riffs and once again excellent lyrics full of dread when referring to the end of the world, but also of hope, represented by the "freedom fighters" who manage to leave the Earth and head "into the void", where they will find a new planet to land on and start a new civilization. It's a scenario that is very likely to become reality one day!

Album Rating: 9.14

My Top 3 Tracks:

1. Children of the Grave

2. Into the Void

3. Sweet Leaf

Master of Reality, the 3rd album from the pioneers of heavy metal, could only get a high rating from me as it shows a young band at the peak of its creativity, a trend that would last for a few more years and bring us more great albums in the 70s! 

15. Ozzy Osbourne- Diary of a Madman(1981)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking

Ozzy Osbourne makes his second appearance in my series as a solo artist, and his fourth overall considering the two Black Sabbath albums I have ranked so far, with Diary of a Madman,  so here comes my usual ranking/rating, followed by more comments and thoughts:

8. Little Dolls- 8(Solid)

7.Believer- 8.5(Very Good)

6. Flying High Again- 9(Great)

5. S.A.T.O.- 9

4. Tonight- 9.5(Fantastic)

3. You Can't Kill Rock'n'Roll- 9.5

2. Over the Mountain- 10(Stellar)

1. Diary of a Madman- 10

ALBUM RATING: 9.18

Ozzy's sophomore solo album includes a series of outstabding tunes, and at the top of everything lies the title track, an ambițios, epic masterpiece with progressive elements, and a highly emotional middle section which sends shivers down my spine every time I hear the song, it's a beautiful piece of music which illustrates the inner turmoil of the protagonist, "the madman", no other than Ozzy himself.

The second perfect song for me on this amazing record, Over the Mountain, opns the album in full strength with a great drum intro and an awesome guitar riff. It's brilliant, catchy, dynamic and it includes an exceptional guitar solo from Rhandy Rhoades- it really makes you feel like flying high over a big mountain!

For the 3rd and 4th place I picked two slower, but also memorable tunes- You Can't Kill Rock'n'Roll and Tonight- which convey a lot of emotion and have remarkable choruses, which stick to my mind for quite a while after hearing them. 

Unlike Ozzy's debut solo album, which contains a track I'm not particularly fond of(read my ranking of Blizzard of Ozz and you will find out which one), here I enjoy every single track, so its high rating of 9.18 isn't surprising at all, placing it clearly above Ozzy's debut, which got a rating of 8.87, and allowing it ți make its way into my top 5 of the 15 records ranked so far. The high raking of Diary of a Madman is an obvious testimony of the brilliance of Ozzy's early solo work as it certified his return to the big league of hard rock/heavy metal giants, and he îs destined to remain there forever!