Objectively, is there any reason to think Sabotage is really any less of a Black Sabbath classic than Paranoid or Master of Reality? Most fans act like it’s just a given that Sabotage isn’t on the same level, and most of those phony internet “Black Sabbath albums ranked” lists reinforce that point. Kerrang puts it at #9 (behind Dehumanizer and Headless Cross??? Heaven and Hell I can understand, but not sure what they were smoking when it comes to the others). Loudwire puts it at a slightly more defensible #8, behind both Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Mojo rates it at #6, while those most prestigious of all internet classic rock rankers, Ultimate Classic Rock, puts it at #7 (with the debut album at #3??? Really???). I’ll never know why I find these ridiculous lists so ridiculously addictive, but I have both never seen one I agree with and never seen one I was able to resist reading.
Anyway, while there may be minor quibbles about exact placement, in ranking Black Sabbath albums there is a universal consensus that Sabotage sits a rung below Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Vol. 4. But I’d maintain it isn’t the quality of the album itself that causes anyone to think that way, but rather its sequential place in their discography. I’d argue that Sabotage is every bit as good as the aforementioned albums, and the only reason nobody thinks so is because by the sixth album of pretty much the exact same thing, fans had gotten pretty familiar with the Black Sabbath formula, and we all know what familiarity breeds. The reasons fans saw it as a step down wasn’t because it was any less than, but because it was the same as a bunch of earlier albums that didn’t have a lot of variety to begin with, and it was easy to get Sabbathed out with all the samey same all the time. Switch Paranoid and Sabotage in the order of release, and it would be the latter seen as the classic, and the former as a step down in quality. Because they are more or less the same album – which can be said of pretty much each of the first six Black Sabbath albums (excepting a few moments on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath where they mixed it up a bit, such as on the marvelous “Spiral Architect” and on a couple of misguided synthesizer mishaps). By the time Sabotage came along, the Black Sabbath sound was no longer as fresh as it was when Paranoid and Master of Reality were released. I’d argue that, and that alone, is the only reason Sabotage isn’t generally regarded as one of the greatest Black Sabbath albums. From: https://brutallyhonestrockalbumreviews.wordpress.com/2024/10/24/album-review-black-sabbath-sabotage-which-id-argue-is-just-as-good-or-maybe-better-than-paranoid/
Anyway, while there may be minor quibbles about exact placement, in ranking Black Sabbath albums there is a universal consensus that Sabotage sits a rung below Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Vol. 4. But I’d maintain it isn’t the quality of the album itself that causes anyone to think that way, but rather its sequential place in their discography. I’d argue that Sabotage is every bit as good as the aforementioned albums, and the only reason nobody thinks so is because by the sixth album of pretty much the exact same thing, fans had gotten pretty familiar with the Black Sabbath formula, and we all know what familiarity breeds. The reasons fans saw it as a step down wasn’t because it was any less than, but because it was the same as a bunch of earlier albums that didn’t have a lot of variety to begin with, and it was easy to get Sabbathed out with all the samey same all the time. Switch Paranoid and Sabotage in the order of release, and it would be the latter seen as the classic, and the former as a step down in quality. Because they are more or less the same album – which can be said of pretty much each of the first six Black Sabbath albums (excepting a few moments on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath where they mixed it up a bit, such as on the marvelous “Spiral Architect” and on a couple of misguided synthesizer mishaps). By the time Sabotage came along, the Black Sabbath sound was no longer as fresh as it was when Paranoid and Master of Reality were released. I’d argue that, and that alone, is the only reason Sabotage isn’t generally regarded as one of the greatest Black Sabbath albums. From: https://brutallyhonestrockalbumreviews.wordpress.com/2024/10/24/album-review-black-sabbath-sabotage-which-id-argue-is-just-as-good-or-maybe-better-than-paranoid/
