5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the band’s progressive 70s album, a masterstroke that took advantage of bigger budgets and increased options. Instead of succumbing to sonic excess, Sabbath was able to harness studio trickery to serve their needs. They lost none of their ferocity: listen to the riff on the eponymous title track and the angry lyrics, “The people who have crippled you/ You want to see them burn … Fill your head all full of lies/ You bastards!”

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath started when the band had seemingly run out of ideas after their drug-filled stay in Los Angeles. They returned to the English countryside and holed up in a castle that was reportedly haunted. Then, they started exploring. The biggest changes were the addition of Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who is present on many tracks, and orchestral arrangements. The keyboards don’t dilute the heaviness; if anything, they accentuate it. The cover art by Drew Struzan (who later illustrated Indiana Jones posters) was the stuff of millions of back patches and posters. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath made the band look more “evil” that they really were.

Despite the ominous cover art of nocturnal demons, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is ultimately an album about the vagaries of life that even includes a song about DNA (“Spiral Architect.”) Still strange and riveting after nearly four decades, it’s a landmark in the band’s musical exploration and growth.