Black Sabbath - LEAST favourite track from every album!

I adore Black Sabbath. Always have done. But that doesn't mean every song of theirs is a favourite of mine! To be fair, most of the tracks in this list I do still like, so picking a least favourite song from some pretty stellar albums was hard. To make things potentially even more difficult, I'm NOT counting instrumentals, interludes, intro-type tracks etc. - so no 'Rat Salad', 'Embryo', 'FX', 'Fluff', 'Breakout',  'E5150', 'The Dark' and whatever else. That'd make things far too easy.


BLACK SABBATH (1970) - 'Warning'
I think the first album is pretty much perfect, so it pains to stick any of these songs on this list! But when it comes down to it, I guess I'll go with the album's finale, 'Warning'. It's a fine, lengthy blues jam - actually an Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation cover) - and certainly doesn't feel out of place among the rest of the classics to be found here. The reason it's my least favourite though, is because of the meandering nature of Iommi's guitar soloing... but the bluesy grooves are great, and the song is still heavy as hell for 1970! I suppose the other predictable choice would be 'Evil Woman' (also a cover, originally by Crow), but the fact is I love this entire record! Just because 'Warning' is a cover doesn't necessarily automatically make it weaker than the rest of the album.

PARANOID (1970) - 'Paranoid'
Putting the band's best-known song of all time here is sacrilege! Or is it? Talk to most die hard fans of any other band, and I don't think many of them would pick songs like 'Enter Sandman', 'Smoke on the Water', 'Symphony of Destruction' or 'Breaking the Law' as their favourite track! 'Paranoid' is a classic, as is the entire album. But let's be honest - 'Paranoid' is overplayed, and I only ever listen to it by choice when I feel like hearing the album in full. It doesn't make playlists for me anymore, and it hasn't done since I was a teenager! But like I said, that's not to say it isn't a great song. It's a stupidly catchy, heavy and straightforward slice of metal that's popular for a reason.

MASTER OF REALITY (1971) - 'Lord of this World'
Depending on the day, Master of Reality is sometimes my all-time favourite album. It's my favourite Sabbath record, and it has been since I was about 14. Even the short instrumentals 'Embryo' and 'Orchid' are vital, and have their place on this masterpiece of ground-breaking sludgy doom metal. I could be wrong, but I think a lot of people would pick 'Solitude' as their least favourite from MoR for the simple fact that it's a ballad - but that song is so dark and haunting that I personally love it. Nah, 'Lord of this World' made the list because, erm, Iommi's riffs to me are maybe 0.000001% weaker than the rest of the heavy songs on this album! No other reason. It's still heavy as fuck and not an outlier in any way.

VOL. 4 (1972) - 'Changes'
I've always been up and down about this one. Some days I like it, other days I skip it immediately. It's obviously a piano-driven ballad, so not typical Sabbath in any way. But Ozzy packs so much emotion into this tune that I can't call it "bad", even if some days I really don't like hearing it! Stacked up next to songs like 'Wheels of Confusion', 'Supernaut', 'Under the Sun', 'Snowblind' and even 'Tomorrow's Dream' and 'St. Vitus Dance', well, 'Changes' will always pale in comparison to the rest of Vol. 4 for me. That said, I definitely like the original more than any of the re-recorded versions Ozzy would do later.

SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH (1973) - 'Looking for Today'
Again, not an easy choice because Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is pretty much another masterpiece. 'Looking for Today' though, is maybe the one song that doesn't always spring to mind whenever I think about this record. It's not especially heavy as it's more of a lighter, floaty rocker compared to some of the other songs on here (not necessarily a bad thing) - and I have to admit, I'm a big fan of the simplistic, catchy chorus. I like it a lot. I just don't find it to be as creative/interesting as the rest of the material, especially considering this is the album that spawned songs like 'Spiral Architect', 'A National Acrobot', 'Sabbra Cadabra' and the title track.

SABOTAGE (1975) - 'Am I Going Insane (Radio)'
I really wanted to pick 'Supertzar' because even though it's an instrumental with a vocalised choir, it's still well over 3 minutes long! I still think it falls under my rule of only "proper" songs however. 'Am I Going Insane (Radio)' it is then! I don't think it's rare to see people slag this track off on the internet, and I can understand why - it's driven by synths after all. But I still like it, even if it's my least favourite from Sabotage! It's kind of bizarre, almost trippy, and that's why I can excuse the synths. The chorus is catchy too! But again, considering everything else on this record, I can't deny that it's the weakest link here. If I wanted to be really sneaky, I'd have picked the hidden joke track, 'Blow on a Jug'!

TECHNICAL ECSTASY (1976) - 'She's Gone'
The first song on this list that I've genuinely never cared much for. It's comparable to 'Changes', in that it's a slow, moving ballad (although this one is acoustic guitar/strings-driven rather than piano-based), but it just depresses me. And I have no issue with depressing music! But 'She's Gone' comes right after the fun boogie number 'Rock 'n' Roll Doctor' and completely kills the vibe for me whenever I listen to Technical Ecstasy. I can appreciate Ozzy's vocal performance on here, sure, but this tune just ain't for me.

NEVER SAY DIE! (1978) - 'Air Dance'
The most inconsistent of the Ozzy-era albums, Never Say Die! still has it's gems. 'Air Dance' is not one of them, which is a shame because the opening riff is FUCKING AWESOME!! Not exactly typical of Iommi, but so cool and melodic!! And then it just kinda nosedives into a weird, pretentious jazzy mess of a track! Don Airey guests here, so obviously the actual piano playing is as absurdly good as you'd expect. But really, 'Air Dance' is the product of an exhausted band struggling from years of addiction, with a lead singer on the brink of calling it quits and going solo - and it shows.

HEAVEN AND HELL (1980) - 'Walk Away'
An incredible comeback for the band, Ronnie James Dio taking over from Ozzy being a major reason why. I'm pretty sure I'm guilty of calling this song "filler" in the past, but in all fairness, I still enjoy 'Walk Away' a lot. It lacks the creativity of most of the other songs on here, nor is it particularly heavy. It's more of a radio-friendly rock number, so it's not as riffy as Iommi usually sounds - but dammit, Ronnie can sing more radio-friendly sounding rock like this just as well as he can sing heavy metal!!

MOB RULES (1981) - 'Over and Over'
I love this record, but 'Slipping Away' and 'Over and Over' are noticeably weaker than the rest of the songs here. Neither are bad of course, and 'Slipping Away' has a cool Led Zeppelin-y groove about it, so I've gone with 'Over and Over'. It's actually a decent and melodic ballad to close out Mob Rules with some nice Iommi soloing, but in comparison to the closing ballad 'Lonely Is the Word' from Heaven and Hell, it's definitely the weaker of the 2. So yeah, a solid ballad, but not one of Sabbath's best.

BORN AGAIN (1983) - 'Digital Bitch'
Born Again is my favourite post-Ozzy Sabbath album, and one of my favourite Sabbath records in general, so I actually love everything it has to offer. But I guess if I have to pick a least favourite track on this one, then I'll go with 'Digital Bitch'! It's a silly rocker, but it's still a lot of fun! The lyrics are totally out of character for the band. Ian Gillan has a very different approach as a lyricist to what is typically Sabbath (he's more of a storyteller, and humorous quips are something he often does) - that's not to say all his lyrics were incompatible with the Sab's, like I said, I love this album. But 'Digital Bitch' in particular feels like something he would've written with the Gillan band, lyrically! But you know what, I can't imagine Born Again without it.

SEVENTH STAR (1986) - 'No Stranger to Love'
Since this was supposed to be released as a Tony Iommi solo album, and not a Sabbath record, I don't think it's fair to really compare a lot of these songs to the rest of the catalogue. It doesn't sound like typical Sabbath, but it wasn't supposed to anyway. The older I get, the better Seventh Star gets. So I kinda feel bad in putting 'No Stranger to Love' as the worst song on the album, because I actually like this song too! It's basically a power ballad in every sense of word - not Sabbath-like in any way, shape or form - but it's still good under it's own merit. In particular, Glenn Hughes' vocal performance here is spectacular - but I have to be in the right mood to listen to obnoxiously big 80s ballads such as this. That's why it's on here.

THE ETERNAL IDOL (1987) - 'Glory Ride'
The Eternal Idol is all killer, no filler. But 'Glory Ride' is still the weakest song for me. It's still a totally solid, enjoyable melodic heavy metal romp with a great main riff and excellent vocals from Tony Martin. It just isn't as awesome as the rest of this album! 

HEADLESS CROSS (1989) - 'Call of the Wild'
In my opinion this is the best of the Martin-fronted albums, but 'Call of the Wild' is the only song on here that still makes me think "How does that one go again?" every time I listen to this record. It certainly fits in fine amongst the rest of the album, so it's no outlier in that regard. But it's definitely not as riffy as the others here, and the only song I don't feel like repeating over and over again... because I can certainly do that with everything else on Headless Cross!

TYR (1990) - 'Feels Good to Me'
I really wanted to stick 'Odin's Court' on here, but that track feels more like an introduction to 'Valhalla' despite the fact it has properly structured vocals on it. So it's gonna have to be 'Feels Good to Me'. It probably looks like I'm prejudiced towards ballads at this point, but I promise I'm not! The reason why a fair chunk of ballads have made this list is because I think they sometimes stick out like a sore thumb. 'Feels Good to Me' is competent for sure, but again, it's a pretty safe ballad and maybe even feels like it's been tacked onto the rest of this fantastic album. A good track with plenty of emotion, yes, but Tyr also boasts incredibly epic songs like 'Anno Mundi', 'Jerusalem' and 'Valhalla', the doom-fest that is 'The Sabbath Stones' and the awesome speed metal of 'The Law Maker'... how could it possibly have come out on top?!

DEHUMANIZER (1992) - 'Master of Insanity'
Dio's brief return was a good'un that's for sure. Dehumanizer is one of the heaviest albums in the catalogue! Pure doomy goodness! And again, it's much harder to pick a least favourite track rather than other way around. 'Master of Insanity' sadly takes that place however, not because it's weak or anything, just because the song isn't as memorable as the rest to me. It's a bit longer than it needs to be, and the stop-start nature of the verse riff just doesn't sound very Iommi to my ears. A decent tune overall, but doesn't hold a candle to others on here like 'I', 'Computer God', 'Time Machine', 'Buried Alive' or and 'After All (The Dead)'.

CROSS PURPOSES (1994) - 'Dying for Love'
Maybe the most well-rounded and polished of the Tony Martin albums, Cross Purposes is also the only Martin record with Geezer Butler on bass... so YET AGAIN I'm struggling to choose a weakest song!! Also yet again, I'm picking the ballad!! Yep, 'Dying for Love' is my choice. It's totally listenable thanks to another superb Martin vocal performance, but compared to the rest of the doomy brilliance of this album (listen to 'Virtual Death' to see what I mean), it's easily the track I'd choose to skip over if I had to. But really, 'Dying for Love' is still a nice and atmospheric ballad that doesn't kill the mood of this album. 

FORBIDDEN (1995) - 'Sick and Tired'
This time I'm NOT picking the ballad ('I Won't Cry for You') because I actually really like that one! Nah, 'Sick and Tired' has made the list because even though it's certainly doomy and heavy enough, the riffs on it aren't as inspired as the others this album has to offer - in my opinion anyway. I feel like a lot of people would pick 'Rusty Angels' because it's kind of an upbeat melodic number and out of place amongst the rest of the songs - but that's why it's a personal highlight for me (kind of hypocritical since I picked 'Walk Away' from Heaven and Hell, but whatever). Forbidden is an underrated album. It took me a long time to appreciate it, and I agree that the original mix is garbage. But even I learned to like this album years before the awesome 2024 remix came out. I don't hate anything from this record.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (2009) - ??
This is a Black Sabbath album. It's the same lineup that recorded Mob Rules and Dehumanizer, they just went under the "Heaven & Hell" moniker to let people know this was Ronnie, not Ozzy. The Devil You Know follows a pretty formulaic pattern - aside from maybe 'Eating the Cannibals', this album is slow and doomy as fuck. So a lot of these songs sound quite similar... similar to the point where I am physically UNABLE to pick a least favourite!! I can tell you the songs I like best, if that helps?! 'Rock and Roll Angel', 'Double the Pain', 'Atom and Evil', 'Eating the Cannibals' and 'Follow the Tears'!! I'm a fan of this album - the highs don't reach the same highs as Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules or Dehumanizer, but it also means there's no obvious lows either!!

13 (2013) - 'Loner'
13 is the worst Sabbath album, and I'll die on that hill. I don't care that Ozzy finally returned for this one. Unlike The Devil You Know which was hard to choose a least favourite due to all the songs being consistently good, it's hard to pick a least favourite track from 13 because there's a fair few mediocre one's lurking here! I've gone with 'Loner', because it feels like a Sabbath on autopilot. Like it could have come from any era, but the shitty compressed Rick Rubin production makes it worse and totally lacking in personality. Nothing is really memorable about it, even if it's listenable. Some of 13's songs feel like blatant rehashes of old '70s Ozzy numbers, but at least that gives them some charm almost by default (not that it makes them "good" either, mind you).