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'''''Master of Reality''''' is the [[Black Sabbath]]'s third studio album. Released in July 1971, it is widely regarded as the foundation of [[doom metal|doom]], [[stoner metal|stoner]] and [[sludge metal]]<ref name=Taylor>Taylor 2006, pg. 199, "Some say that ''Master of Reality'' was the first stoner rock album."</ref> It was certified double platinum after having sold over 2 million copies. ''Master of Reality'' was Black Sabbath's first and only top 10 album in the US until ''[[13 (Black Sabbath album)|13]]'' forty-two years later. ==Recording==''Master of Reality'' was recorded at Island Studios, in London, during February and April 1971. The album was produced by Rodger Bain, who had also produced Black Sabbath's previous two albums; this was to be his final collaboration with the band. On the tracks "[[Children of the Grave]]", "Lord of This World" and "[[Into the Void (Black Sabbath song)|Into the Void]]", guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] downtuned his guitar three semi-tones to produce what he referred to as a "bigger, heavier sound".<ref name="iommiautobiography">{{cite book |last=Iommi |first=Tony |title=Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath |accessdate=21 July 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-30681-9551}}</ref> This also reduced string tension, thus making the guitar less painful for him to play; Iommi had two of his fingers partially severed in a factory accident years earlier.<ref>VH1: Heavy the Story of Metal, Part One.</ref> [[Geezer Butler]] also downtuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. "It helped with the sound, too," Butler explained to ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician'' in 1994. "Then it got to the point where we tuned even lower to make it easier vocal-wise. But Osbourne would then sing higher so it sort of defeated the object." In the 2013 biography of the band ''Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe'', Mick Wall writes that "the Sabbath sound took a plunge into even greater darkness. Bereft even of reverb, leaving their sound as dry as old bones dug up from some desert burial plot, the finished music's brutish force would so alarm the critics they would punish Sabbath in print for being blatantly thuggish, purposefully mindless, creepy and obnoxious. Twenty years later groups like Smashing Pumpkins, [[Soundgarden]] and, particularly, Nirvana, would excavate the same heaving-lung sound...and be rewarded with critical garlands." In his autobiography ''I Am Ozzy'', vocalist [[Ozzy Osbourne]] states that he cannot remember much about recording ''Master Of Reality'' "apart from the fact that Tony detuned his guitar to make it easier to play, Geezer wrote 'Sweet Leaf' about all the dope we'd been smoking, and 'Children Of The Grave' was the most kick-ass song we'd ever recorded." In the liner notes to the 1998 live album ''Reunion'', drummer [[Bill Ward]] commented that ''Master of Reality'' was "an exploratory album." In 2013, ''Mojo'' magazine called ''Master of Reality'' "...the sound of a band becoming increasingly comfortable in their studio surroundings." Iommi believes the band might have become too comfortable, however, telling ''Guitar World'' in 1992, "During ''Master of Reality'', we started getting more experimental and began taking too much time to record. Ultimately, I think it really confused us. Sometimes I think I’d really like to go back to the way we recorded the first two albums. I’ve always preferred just going into the studio and playing, without spending a lot of time rehearsing or getting sounds." The song "Into The Void" was especially problematic, with Iommi revealing in the same interview, "We tried recording 'Into The Void' in a couple of different studios because Bill just couldn’t get it right. Whenever that happened, he would start believing that he wasn’t capable of playing the song. He’d say, 'To hell with it — I’m not doing this!' There was one track like that on every album, and 'Into the Void' was the most difficult one on ''Master of Reality''." In his autobiography ''Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath'', Iommi describes the difficulty Osbourne also experienced recording the vocal: "It has this slow bit, but then the riff where Osbourne comes in is very fast. Osbourne had to sing really rapidly: 'Rocket engines burning fuel so fast, up into the night sky they blast', quick words like that. Geezer had written all the words out for him...Seeing him try was hilarious." The song "Solitude" showcases guitarist Iommi's multi-instrumental talents, featuring him playing guitar, flute, and piano.<ref name="Black Sabbath">{{cite web|url=http://www.black-sabbath.com/discog/masterofreality.html|title=Black Sabbath online|accessdate=15 March 2009}}</ref> A delay effect was later added to Osbourne's vocals on the song as a means of doubling the vocal track. ==Cover versions== Songs from ''Master of Reality'' have been covered by a variety of bands. "[[After Forever (Black Sabbath song)|After Forever]]" has been covered by Biohazard for ''[[Nativity in Black]]'', a Black Sabbath [[tribute album]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Siegler |first=Joe |url=http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2009/02/after_forever_cover_by_bio_haz.html |title='After Forever' Cover by Bio Hazard |publisher=Black-Sabbath.com |date=12 February 2009 |accessdate=5 November 2011}}</ref> [[Aurora Borealis]] for ''Hell Rules: Tribute to Black Sabbath, Vol. 2'', [[Deliverance (band)|Deliverance]] on their 1992 album ''[[What a Joke]]'', and by the hardcore band Shelter on their 1992 album ''Quest for Certainty''. [[Frost Like Ashes]] on their debut EP [[Pure As the Blood Covered Snow]]. The song "Solitude" was covered by English [[doom metal]] band [[Cathedral]] as a bonus track for the European version of the 1994 Black Sabbath tribute album ''[[Nativity in Black]]'', and later by Norwegian group [[Ulver]] on their 2007 album ''[[Shadows of the Sun]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=164086|title=Ulver|accessdate=15 March 2009}}</ref> [[White Zombie]] covered "Children of the Grave" on ''Nativity in Black'', spawning a single for ''Nativity in Black''. Racer X, Earth Crisis and Neurosis have all covered the song as well. "Into the Void" was covered in 1995 by stoner rock band [[Kyuss]] and released on the 1997 split EP ''[[Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age]]'', and by [[Soundgarden]] on their EP ''[[Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas]]''. Soundgarden's version featured new lyrics derived from the words of Chief Seattle.<ref name="practicing">"Soundgarden". ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician''. December 1992.</ref> "Sweet Leaf" was covered by [[Alice in Chains]] in a live performance in Cincinnati on August 1991 and by [[Godsmack]] as a bonus track for the Japanese special edition of their 2000 album ''[[Awake (Godsmack album)|Awake]]'' and for the second volume of the ''[[Nativity in Black]]'' series. The riff from "Sweet Leaf" was used as the basis for the Butthole Surfers' song "Sweat Loaf", from the album ''Locust Abortion Technician''. [[Thrash metal]] band [[Anthrax]], at the end of their cover of another Black Sabbath song, "[[Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (song)|Sabbath Bloody Sabbath]]" from their 1987 EP [[I'm the Man (EP)|I'm the Man]], launch into an abbreviated version of "Sweet Leaf" which fades to silence after several seconds. That same riff is referenced near the end of "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/sweet-leaf-mt0034989298|title= Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf |first=Bradley|last=Torreano|authorlink=|work=Allmusic|publisher=|accessdate=5 February 2014}}</ref> "Sweet Leaf" has also been covered by American metal band [[Ugly Kid Joe]] on their first release, ''[[As Ugly as They Wanna Be]]'', and by Baltimore hardcore band Next Step Up on their 1995 album, ''Fall From Grace''. Riffs from "Sweet Leaf" and "Into the Void" feature in a live recording of a Black Sabbath medley performed by [[Candlemass]] in 1988. The medley was released as a track on the bonus CD accompanying the 2003 re-release of their debut album, [[Epicus Doomicus Metallicus]]. Estonian band [[Rondellus]], in their tribute album ''Sabbatum'', covered the songs "After Forever" and "Solitude" in Medieval style with lyrics translated into Latin. "After Forever" is retitled "Post Aeternitatem" (literally, "After Eternity"), and is sung by a choir of male voices. "Solitude" is sung by male and female voices, accompanied by positive organ.[[Exhorder]] covered the song "Into The Void" on their album ''[[The Law (Exhorder album)|The Law]]'' released in 1992. Stoner [[doom metal]] band [[Sleep]] covered "Lord of this World" on their EP ''[[Volume Two (EP)|Volume Two]]''. Grindcore band [[Brutal Truth]] made a cover of this song on their EP [[Perpetual Conversion]]. Also, [[Corrosion of Conformity]] recorded a version for ''[[Nativity in Black]]''. ==In popular culture==Several bands are named after songs on ''Master of Reality'', or the album itself. Syracuse, New York hard rock band Masters of Reality, who enjoyed moderate success in the 1990s, took their name from the album title. Metal bands [[After Forever]] and [[Orchid (band)|Orchid]] take their name from the album tracks of the same name.<ref>Garry Sharpe-Young, New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Zonda Books Limited 2005, ISBN 0-9582684-0-1, ISBN 978-0-9582684-0-0</ref>Mountain Goats leader John Darnielle wrote a short novel for the 33⅓ book series with ''Master of Reality'' as a central theme. The book is written in the form of a diary of a young man who has been committed to a [[History of psychiatric institutions|mental health treatment facility]], and how the teen relates to the world through the songs on the album.<ref>[http://33third.blogspot.com/2008/01/master-of-reality.html Information of 33 1/3 book]. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2011.</ref> The song "Solitude" was featured as the leitmotif of main character, Zombie, in the 1991 motion picture ''Zombie ja Kummitusjuna'' (''Zombie and The Ghost Train'') by Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki.<ref name="Soundtracks">{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103337/soundtrack|title=Soundtracks|accessdate=15 March 2009}}</ref> Future Black Sabbath producer Rick Rubin sampled Sweet Leaf's main guitar riff in producing the [[Beastie Boys]]' 1986 song "Rhymin' and Stealin'".<ref>{{cite web|author=Raul Pollicino |url=http://www.beastiemania.com/songspotlight/show.php?s=rhyminstealin&band=b |title=Information on the song Rhymin' and Stealin'. Includes list of samples. |publisher=Beastiemania.com |accessdate=5 November 2011}}</ref> The track "Into the Void" was featured at the beginning of episode 23 (entitled ''Hog Heaven'') of the ninth season of the television series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}
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===Revised US LP Pressing, with Subtitles Removed===
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* <cite id=Taylor2006ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor|first=Steve|title=A to X of Alternative Music|publisher=Continuum|year=2006|isbn=0-8264-8217-1}}
[[Category:1971 albums]]