When someone asks “where did stoner metal start?” it can be a tough question to answer without the proper knowledge. After this post, everyone will be able to answer the question with no problem.

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality

Released August 1971 via Vertigo Records

My Favorite Tracks – Children Of The Grave, Into The Void, Lord Of This World

Black Sabbath had recorded their first two albums in rapid fashion, not having time to truly get used to being in a studio. For their third go-round they were not on tour and had the proper amount of time to focus on their work.

One aspect of this was Tony Iommi messing with his guitar sound, though out of practical reasons. Iommi tuned down his guitar on a handful of songs (the same three listed as my favorite tracks, no less) in order to play more comfortably. He had suffered an industrial accident years before that took a few of his fingertips and it was painful to play some things, so he downtuned for the ease of play. This would lead to a heavier sound, which would of course inspire many future generations to tune guitars down and create heavy metal of all styles. Geezer Butler would also tune down his bass to match Iommi, while Ozzy Osbourne would – well, continue to sing in his higher register as always.

Master Of Reality is a short album, featuring 8 tracks at a runtime of 34 minutes. Note that old US pressings of the album list more tracks, the songs Haunting and Deathmask are listed tracks. But these are actually just snippets of Children Of The Grave and Solitude broken off and divided into separate songs, there was no actual bonus content on the US pressings. The track listings and actual song sequences are screwed up on old US editions, it was a funny way to pretend there was more content on the lean record. As we’ll see, this album didn’t need any bloat to succeed.

Sweet Leaf

It’s only fitting that the birth of stoner metal album opens with a love letter to marijuana. Even the opening features a coughing fit Tony Iommi was caught in after taking a hit some prime stuff. But the song is no cheap gimmick – this is a fantastic jam. The main riff is simple and catchy and the music hits hard as Ozzy sings praises to the leaf. And the solo/jam section in the middle of the song is off the rails and fantastic, it was stuff like this that really put early Sabbath over the top. These days Sweet Leaf is legal to hear and consume in 38 of the 50 US states.

After Forever

This one has a pretty bright and upbeat riff though still pounds nicely with the Sabbath heaviness. The song is about religion, but not from the point of view many would think Black Sabbath would write from. This is actually pro-God song. While it might seem this was written in direct response to the accusations of Satanism that loomed over Sabbath, Geezer Butler has stated that he wrote it about the issues plaguing Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Religion was the catalyst behind the decades of troubles in this area and this is Butler’s look at that. This is also where the Dutch power metal band After Forever got their name.

Embryo

Here is a 28 second instrumental guitar piece. Not much to really dig into here. It is kind of funny that this song has a bit over 40,000 streams on Spotify while every other song has at least 14 million and one has over 100 million. This poor little guy just sits there.

Children Of The Grave

Speaking of that song with over 100 million streams, here we are. This was the lone single released from this record and while the song did not do anything on the charts it has become an immortal part of the Sabbath legacy.

This features a dark and pummeling riff that twists and turns though still remains pretty simple in a marching-like rhythm. The lyrics take another anti-war stance that the band had explored previously, this time it is an alarming outlook about the prospects of nuclear destruction. Should humanity not get its shit together, then the children now would become the children of the grave. We’re still here so I guess it didn’t happen, but things don’t necessarily look better.

Children Of The Grave is considered one of Black Sabbath’s greatest songs. It has been covered extensively by acts of many genres and was one Ozzy frequently played during his solo tours. This was even darker and more twisted than prior Sabbath outings and showcased just how hard metal could go.

Orchid

This is another instrumental piece, this time with Iommi on an acoustic guitar. This gets a little more room to air out at 1:30 and is a nice interlude to the grim heaviness of the rest of the record.

Lord Of This World

Up next is a wicked track full of heavy metal destruction. Iommi and Butler are slamming it out on their downtuned instruments along with Bill Ward’s pounding drums. This one is actually all about Satan, the great villain that Sabbath were accused of worshiping. Here the lyrics depict a wicked world full of corrupt people who eventually fall under the dominion of Satan, fulfilling some versions of Christian prophecy. It’s easy to hear the influence on countless future metal bands from this one.

Solitude

It’s now on to a slow tune, this one is very quiet and haunting. Tony Iommi not only loads up on guitar tracks but also plays flute and piano here, perhaps inspired by his super brief stint in Jethro Tull, I don’t know. This song is different from the pack but is still a high quality listen, very atmospheric and depressing stuff. It is simply about a break-up, which is what a lot of songs are about after all.

Into The Void

If you really want to know where stoner rock and sludge metal came from, play this last track. This is an outright banger that keeps the pace mostly down but remains as heavy as hell. Both Bill Ward and Ozzy had problems getting their parts down on this one, as recounted by Tony Iommi.

This song is about a guy in dystopian future, say probably 2023, fleeing Earth to find somewhere better to live. Sounds nice. The song was clearly a massive influence on heavy metal, just playing it will make that evident.

Master Of Reality was a success for Black Sabbath in many ways. The album went to number 5 in the UK and 8 in the US, and had several other top 10 showings through Europe, Canada and Australia. In the US the album went gold purely through advanced orders and wound up selling over 2 million copies.

Beyond the numbers, this album was hugely influential to many who would later reshape music. It has been cited as a primary influence to those in the grunge movement. It was also clearly impactful to the burgeoning heavy metal scene and is a big reason why Black Sabbath are considered the fathers of metal. And it would specifically inspire the coming “stoner rock” or “desert rock” movement of the late ’80’s and early ’90’s, which would include bands like Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Orange Goblin and a huge list of others. The legacy of Black Sabbath is etched into the heaviest of metal, and Master Of Reality is a huge part of why.