Album
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is Black Sabbath's fifth studio album, released in November 1973 on WWA Records. It followed the band's world tour for Vol. 4, and the writing began badly: substance abuse and exhaustion left them short of ideas in Los Angeles. A move to Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean changed that, and it was there that Tony Iommi came up with the main riff of the title track, which became the lead single.
The record was made by the band themselves at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. It pushes their heavy sound further by adding synthesizers, strings and keyboards, and sits comfortably within heavy metal, hard rock and progressive rock. It was also the first Sabbath album to win positive commercial and critical reception, and it went platinum in the United States, their fifth in a row to do so. It is still praised by critics and fellow musicians.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 42:31Tracklist
- 1Sabbath Bloody SabbathButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:45
- 2A National AcrobatButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward6:13
- 3FluffButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward4:09
- 4Sabbra CadabraButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:58
- 5Killing Yourself to LiveButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:42
- 6Who Are You?Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward4:10
- 7Looking for TodayButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:02
- 8Spiral ArchitectButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:31
- Produced by
- Black Sabbath
- Recorded at
- Morgan (London)
- Recorded
- September 1973
- Engineered by
- Mike Butcher
- Label
- WWA Records
- Length
- 42:31
Line-up
- Geezer Butler · electric bass guitar, synthesizer, mellotron, handclaps, nose flute
- Tony Iommi · electric guitar, piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, organ, flute, handclaps, bagpipe
- Bill Ward · percussion, drums (drum set), bongos, timpani, handclaps
- Black Sabbath · guest
- Ozzy Osbourne · lead vocals, synthesizer, handclaps
- Rick Wakeman · piano, Minimoog · guest
Singles
- “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” · 26 October 1973
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1973–1974 | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1973–1974 | 11 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2020–2021 | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1973–1974 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1973–1974 | 6 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2020–2021 | 12 |
| German Albums · 2020–2021 | 13 |
| Canadian Albums · 1973–1974 | 17 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2025 | 20 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1973–1974 | 25 |
All 14 charts
| Scottish Albums · 2020–2021 | 25 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1973–1974 | 57 |
| Austrian Albums · 2020–2021 | 62 |
| Swiss Albums · 2020–2021 | 71 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1977 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1975 | Silver |
| United Kingdom · 2015 | Gold |
| United States · 1986 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
69.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
6.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
179k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.1k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 30 November
Every year →
More from Black Sabbath
Full discography →
Black Sabbath
1970
Paranoid
1970
Master of Reality
1971
Vol 4
1972
We Sold Our Soul for Rock ’n’ Roll
1975
Sabotage
1975
Technical Ecstasy
1976
Never Say Die!
1978
Heaven and Hell
1980
Live at Last
1980
Mob Rules
1981
Live Evil
1982
Born Again
1983
The Sabbath Collection
1985
Seventh Star
1986
The Eternal Idol
1987
Headless Cross
1989
TYR
1990
The Ozzy Osbourne Years
1991
Dehumanizer
1992
Cross Purposes
1994
Cross Purposes – Live
1995
Forbidden
1995
The Sabbath Stones
1996
Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970–1987
1996
Reunion
1998
The Collection
1999
Black Mass
1999
The Best of Black Sabbath
2000
Past Lives
2002
Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2002
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
2004
Greatest Hits 1970–1978
2006
The Dio Years
2007
Live at Hammersmith Odeon
2007
The Rules of Hell
2008
Greatest Hits
2009
13
2013
Live… Gathered in Their Masses
2013
The End
2016
The Ultimate Collection
2016
The End
2017
Anno Domini: 1989–1995
2024
The best of 1973
All of 1973 →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1973-11-30; musicbrainz + wikidata 1973-12-01 (1 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 December 1973 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 30 November 1973 | |
| Wikidata | 1 December 1973 | |
| UK / Europe release | 1 December 1973 | earliest UK or European date |
44 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615830521 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1973 | NO | WWA Records | other | |
| 1973 | ES | NEMS | other | |
| November 1973 | DE | Vertigo | original | |
| 1 December 1973 | GB | WWA Records | other | |
| 1 December 1973 | GB | WWA Records | other | |
| 1974 | JP | Vertigo | other | |
| January 1974 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1980 | DE | Spiegelei | other | |
| 1980 | SE | NEMS | other | |
| 1985 | DE | NEMS | 5013428080030 | other |
| 1986 | GB | Castle Communications | 5017615620122 | other |
| 1986 | FR | Castle Communications | 5013428706176 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Intercord | 4006758301129 | other |
| 2 February 1988 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992727228 | other |
| 5 March 1989 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011314513 | other |
| 1990 | SU | SNC Records | other | |
| 1990 | SU | SNC Records | other | |
| 1991 | DE | Castle Legends | 4010946503929 | other |
| May 1991 | AU | Castle Communications | 5017615620122 | other |
| 21 August 1991 | JP | Metal Mania | 4988004033322 | other |
| 1994 | AU | Castle Communications | 9315589603025 | other |
| 1996 | IT | Earmark | other | |
| 1996 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992727228 | other |
| 1996 | JP | Castle Communications | other | |
| 28 February 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615830521 | other |
| 2000 | GB | Castle Music | 5050159102822 | other |
| 22 November 2000 | JP | Teichiku Records | 4988004081361 | other |
| 7 March 2001 | JP | Victor | 4988002413317 | remaster |
| 30 January 2002 | JP | Victor | 4988002425518 | remaster |
| 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749203526 | other |
| 2007 | AR | Icarus Music | 5050749203526 | other |
| 21 February 2007 | JP | Strange Days Records | 4988005459145 | other |
| 2009 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939678974 | remaster |
| 26 August 2009 | JP | Sanctuary Records | 4988005569790 | other |
| 16 September 2009 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 602527168463 | other |
| 21 September 2009 | XE | BMG | 602527168463 | other |
| 28 March 2012 | JP | Sanctuary Records | 4988005701541 | other |
| 9 August 2014 | US | Rhino | 603497905157 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Rhino | 081227946654 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227946630 | other |
| 2025 | XE | BMG | 4099964137729 | remaster |
| — | — | Creative Sounds Ltd. | 016726600523 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| itunes | 1425×1425 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |