Lars Ulrich on the album that saw Black Sabbath peak
When it comes to commenting on the greats, you can rely on Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. Despite his appreciation for diverse music genres and an unexpected fondness for Oasis, the drummer has maintained an enduring affection for hard rock and early metal. This is to be expected, as these genres played a pivotal role in inspiring him to deviate from his initial aspirations of following in the footsteps of his tennis-champion father and grandfather during his teenage years. Opting for a different life course, he embarked on a journey that was brimming with creative enlightenment and indulgence, a common prerequisite for musicians of his calibre.
Throughout his career, Ulrich has heaped admiration upon various iconic rock acts, including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and AC/DC. However, there is one band that holds an exceptionally cherished spot in his heart: the heavy metal legends, Black Sabbath.
Ulrich’s profound respect for their contributions to the genre remains unwaning. During a 2017 conversation with Rolling Stone, in which he discussed his favourite hard rock and metal albums, Ulrich revealed his profound affinity for Black Sabbath by designating one of their most underrated records as his personal favourite in their discography.
Ulrich singled out the 1975 album Sabotage as the “peak” of Black Sabbath’s career, challenging the conventional belief that albums like Paranoid or Master of Reality deserved that title. He justified his choice by citing tracks such as ‘Hole in the Sky’ and ‘Symptom of the Universe’ as quintessential examples of the album’s sheer power and influence.
Ulrich explained: “To me, the fucking one-two punch of ‘Hole in the Sky’ and then ‘Symptom of the Universe,’ that’s where it peaked for me, and then the deeper tracks: ‘Megalomania’ is, like, a journey of just fundamental heavy metal. Side A, if you look at vinyl, is probably the strongest 20 minutes of Black Sabbath. And then ‘Symptom of the Universe’ – the simplicity in the riff, the down-picking, the chug – it’s obviously the blueprint for the core of what hard rock and metal ended up sounding like … up through the ’80s and ’90s.”
However, despite his deep appreciation for Sabotage, the first record that he ever got was actually its predecessor: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The titular track had a particular impact on Ulrich, with its lyrics “Where can you run to? /What more have we done?” which he describes as “scary, crazy shit”.
The drummer concluded: “This record had a little bit more of what I would call uptempo energy than some of the other albums, so that’s probably also part of the reason that it’s my favourite. Obviously, their sound got a little more advanced as it went on. There’s a simplicity to some of the earlier records that I’m appreciative of, but sonically, Sabotage is the best-sounding record”.
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