Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath [1970]
Is the woman on the cover of Black Sabbath a witch? A ghost? Is she in danger?
The wintry scene of a pale woman, wrapped in a heavy cloak, standing at the water's edge near an old mill house, exudes a chilling atmosphere. The cover of this debut album caused a genuine shock for buyers.
Black Sabbath has never been able to surpass this effect, no matter how terrifying the metal band's subsequent covers looked.
So, a successful album cover indeed, but remarkably, the meaning of the cover has always remained a mystery to the four members of the British band. They know nothing of the photographer and designer – simply known as Keef.
According to bassist Geezer Butler, their ignorance stems from the group's hectic pace in the early days. They were given two days to create their debut album. Most of the songs were finished in one take, and, according to the bassist, ‘then we hopped on the ferry to play Europe.’ There was no time to think about a cover. This responsibility, as recently deceased bandleader Ozzy Osbourne later recalled, fell to the record company: ‘We didn't know much about it.’
The album was released on Friday, February 13, 1970. As a publicity stunt, Black Sabbath was portrayed as the most terrifying band in rock history. Bassist Butler expressed shock when a huge Celtic cross appeared in the album's gatefold inner sleeve. Unfortunately, ‘It was too late to change it’.
The cross contains dark, almost horror-like lyrics. Such as: ‘Still falls the rain, the veils of darkness shroud the blackened trees, which, contorted by some unseen violence, shed their tired leaves, and bend their boughs toward a grey earth of severed bird wings.’ Or this one: ‘Mute birds, tired of repeating yesterday’s terrors, huddle together in the recesses of dark corners, heads turned from the dead, black swan that floats upturned in a small pool in the hollow. There emerges from this pool a faint, sensual mist, that traces its way upwards to caress the chipped feet of the headless martyr’s statue, whose only achievement was to die too soon, and who couldn’t wait to lose.’
One of the lyrics refers, albeit vaguely, to the woman on the cover: ‘Yet still by the lake a young girl waits. Unseeing she believes herself unseen, she smiles faintly at the distant tolling bell, and the still falling rain.’ The bell was the signal for the album's opening track, the ominous Black Sabbath. The song would change rock music forever, with its low, droning riffs and dark harmonies. And lyrics about social misery and personal demons, where contemporaries sang about love and peace.
Geeezer Butler's shock is a bit hypocritical, though. Anyone who calls their band Black Sabbath is practically obligated to scare the audience. Especially considering the name is taken from a horror film that had people queuing in their hometown of Birmingham.
With the rise of progressive rock, heavy metal passed me by a bit. I especially remember feeling a bit dizzy from the LP's Vertigo label—around the hole—which created a black-and-white vortex effect as soon as you put the record on.
Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translator: Alex Driessen
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