In terms of Black Sabbath tribute albums, there is no scarcity of them out within the wild. From full-length tributes to scattered covers tucked away on singles, compilations, or reside units, the catalog is huge. However one tribute particularly appears to have slipped beneath too many radars: Sacred Bones Data’ 2020 compilation What Is This That Stands Earlier than Me?
Launched to mark the 50th anniversaries of Black Sabbath‘s groundbreaking self-titled debut Black Sabbath and its equally legendary follow-up Paranoid, this assortment takes a refreshingly unconventional method. As a substitute of recruiting the same old roster of steel and doom bands to crank out devoted variations of Black Sabbath‘s iconic riffs, Sacred Bones turned inward to their very own roster of genre-bending artists.
On paper, it may not seem to be an apparent match. The label is understood for post-punk, darkwave, experimental pop, psych rock, and noise — not precisely the same old suspects for masking Tony Iommi‘s riff-heavy legacy. However that is what makes this album so fascinating. It is Black Sabbath reimagined by a very completely different musical lens. The songs are nonetheless there — the melodies, the hooks, the heavy ambiance — however they’re wrapped in totally new textures and moods.
This is not a paint-by-numbers steel tribute. It is a transformation. The doom and blues basis that made Sabbath a drive of nature is reframed by dreamlike people, icy synths, hypnotic psych, shadowy post-punk, and avant-garde experimentation. It is acquainted and alien on the identical time, a reminder of simply how malleable and timeless these songs actually are. The tracklist is:
- The Delicate Moon – “Black Sabbath”
- Molchat Doma – “Небеса и Ад (Heaven and Hell)”
- Thou – “Supernaut”
- Marissa Nadler – “Solitude”
- Hilary Woods – “N.I.B.”
- Zola Jesus – “Adjustments”
- Moon Duo – “Planet Caravan”
- Dean Hurley – “Warning (Bar Band Model)”
- Uniform – “Symptom of the Universe”
It is a lineup that performs to Sacred Bones’ strengths whereas honoring Black Sabbath‘s enduring affect. Molchat Doma‘s chilly, post-Soviet darkwave tackle “Heaven and Hell” seems like a wholly completely different universe from the unique, whereas Marissa Nadler‘s haunting rendition of “Solitude” strips it again to a chilling, spectral magnificence. Moon Duo‘s almost nine-minute model of “Planet Caravan” leans deep into cosmic psych, whereas Thou‘s crushing “Supernaut” delivers the heaviest second on the compilation for these craving a dose of pure sludge. Get it right here.
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