Album
Vol 4
Vol 4 is Black Sabbath's fourth studio album, released on Vertigo in September 1972. It was the first of their records not produced by Rodger Bain. Guitarist Tony Iommi took over production, with manager Patrick Meehan credited as co-producer despite having little hand in the work. It followed Master of Reality and kept the same crushingly heavy approach.
What sets it apart is the willingness to wander. "Changes" and "FX" show a band trying out more experimental ideas without losing the weight of the riffs. The music press was again unmoved, but listeners were not: it reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 13 in the US, and later went platinum there. It now sits on several lists of the greatest heavy metal albums, and is widely counted among Sabbath's best.
Vol 4: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 43:11Tracklist
- 1Wheels of ConfusionButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward8:02
- 2Tomorrow’s DreamButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward3:13
- 3ChangesButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward4:46
- 4FXButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward1:43
- 5SupernautButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward4:40
- 6SnowblindButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:34
- 7CornucopiaButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward3:55
- 8Laguna SunriseButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward2:56
- 9St. Vitus DanceButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward2:30
- 10Under the SunButler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward5:51
- Produced by
- Black Sabbath, Patrick Meehan
- Recorded at
- Record Plant (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- May–June 1972
- Engineered by
- Colin Caldwell, Vic Coppersmith‐Heaven
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 43:11
Line-up
- Geezer Butler · bass guitar, electric bass guitar
- Tony Iommi · guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Bill Ward · drums (drum set), percussion
- Ozzy Osbourne · lead vocals
Singles
- “Tomorrow's Dream” · 22 September 1972
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1972 | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1972 | 13 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1972 | 1 |
| Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 2021 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1972 | 2 |
| Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 2021 | 2 |
| Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 2021 | 3 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2021 | 4 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1972 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1972 | 7 |
All 18 charts
| German Albums · 1972 | 8 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2021 | 12 |
| Swiss Albums · 2021 | 17 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1972 | 18 |
| Scottish Albums · 2021 | 32 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1972 | 46 |
| Austrian Albums · 2021 | 58 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2021 | 142 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2021 | Gold |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
70.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
6.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
186k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 22 September
Every year →
More from Black Sabbath
Full discography →
Black Sabbath
1970
Paranoid
1970
Master of Reality
1971
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1973
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 1972
All of 1972 →
More on Vertigo
The label →
Metallica
Metallica · 1991
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
Death Magnetic
Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Load
Metallica · 1996
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Sabotage
Black Sabbath · 1975
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
Never Say Die!
Black Sabbath · 1978
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1972-09-22; musicbrainz + wikidata 1972-09-25 (3 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 September 1972 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 22 September 1972 | |
| Wikidata | 25 September 1972 | |
| US release | 25 September 1972 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 25 September 1972 | earliest UK or European date |
37 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | AU | Castle Communications | 5017615619928 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939680878 | remaster |
| 25 September 1972 | GB | Vertigo | original | |
| 25 September 1972 | US | Warner Bros. Records | original | |
| 1976 | GB | NEMS | other | |
| February 1976 | GB | NEMS | other | |
| 1981 | ES | NEMS | other | |
| 1982 | GB | NEMS | other | |
| 1986 | GB | Castle Communications | 5017615619928 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Castle Communications | 5013428706053 | other |
| 1988 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992725927 | other |
| 26 April 1988 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992725927 | other |
| 1989 | DE | Vertigo | 042283270329 | other |
| 25 March 1989 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011314636 | other |
| 1990 | SU | SNC Records | other | |
| 1991 | US | Creative Sounds Ltd. | 016726601148 | other |
| 21 July 1991 | JP | Metal Mania | 4988004032905 | other |
| 1996 | GB | Power Sound 2001 | 016726601124 | other |
| 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615830422 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Castle Music | 5050159100620 | other |
| 7 March 2001 | JP | Victor | 4988002413300 | remaster |
| 30 January 2002 | JP | Victor | 4988002425501 | remaster |
| 24 May 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749203427 | other |
| 18 July 2005 | IT | Earmark | 8013252540110 | other |
| 2007 | AR | Icarus Music | 5050749203427 | other |
| 21 February 2007 | JP | Strange Days Records | 4988005459138 | other |
| 26 August 2009 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005569783 | other |
| 21 September 2009 | GB | Sanctuary Records | 602527168579 | other |
| 11 May 2010 | XE | Sanctuary Records | 602527168579 | other |
| 25 July 2012 | JP | Sanctuary Records | 4988005718334 | other |
| 9 August 2014 | US | Rhino | 603497905195 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227946609 | other |
| 5 August 2016 | US | Rhino | 081227946616 | other |
| 12 February 2021 | US | Warner Records | 603497845477 | deluxe |
| 12 February 2021 | US | Warner Records | 603497845484 | deluxe |
| 12 February 2021 | CA | Rhino | 603497844678 | remaster |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |