Best Black Sabbath ‘Sabotage’ Song – Readers Poll

By the mid '70s, Black Sabbath were getting used to careening across the globe for tour after tour at the mercy of their money-hungry handlers, some of whom would soon make off with untold millions from the band’s coffers, and making records. The band finally reconvened in the studio in early 1975 to make their sixth album, ‘Sabotage.'

A concerted back-to-basics record countering the experimental tone of 1973's ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,’ ‘Sabotage’ features a few curiosities, like the freaky choir of ‘Supertzar’ and another forced synth-driven single, ‘Am I Going Insane (Radio).’ But there are also a few refreshingly straightforward head-bangers like ‘Hole in the Sky,’ ‘Megalomania’ and ‘The Writ’ -- the latter two averaging nine minutes each.

And with ‘Symptom of the Universe,’ Sabbath reward fans with one final blast of their golden era, complete with Tony Iommi’s hurtling guitar staccato, Geezer Butler’s bowel-rattling bass, Bill Ward’s galloping time-keeping and Ozzy Osbourne’s haunting vocals.

But ‘Sabotage’ would tellingly fall short of the platinum-sales plateau the band had become accustomed to, signaling tough times ahead.