Symptom of the Universe (song)
| "Symptom of the Universe" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Black Sabbath | |
| from the album Sabotage | |
| Released | 28 July 1975 |
| Recorded | Early 1975 at Morgan Studios in London, England |
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:29 |
| Label |
Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US) |
| Writer(s) | Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward |
"Symptom of the Universe" is a song by the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, from their 1975 album Sabotage.
Overview
"Symptom of the Universe" was composed largely by guitarist Tony Iommi with lyrics by Geezer Butler. The song's closing passage, very disparate from the rest of the song, evolved from an in-studio jam. It was created very spontaneously in a single day and the decision was made to incorporate it into the song.[2]
Live versions of the track can be heard on the albums Past Lives, Cross Purposes Live and Live... Gathered in Their Masses,[3] as well as the Never Say Die! concert video.[4] It is also the opening track on Ozzy Osbourne's 1982 live album, Speak of the Devil.
The song is also featured in the video games Skate 2 and Brütal Legend.
Musical style
"Symptom of the Universe" is one of the earliest examples of thrash metal,[1] a heavy metal subgenre which emerged in the early 1980s. Tony Iommi said of the song "It starts with an acoustic bit. Then it goes into the up-tempo stuff to give it that dynamic, and it does have a lot of changes to it, including the jam at the end."[5]
Notable covers
- Sepultura: Nativity in Black
- Helmet: The Jerky Boys: The Movie OST
- The Melvins: split 7" Album with Mudhoney
- Stone: Stoneage 2.0
- Comes With the Fall: Live Underground 2002
- Orange Goblin: Black Sabbath tribute CD released as part of a 2010 special edition of Metal Hammer magazine
Personnel
References
- 1 2 Rakhmanin, Vladimir (September 22, 2012). "Thrash Metal – An Introduction". University Times Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ↑ Iommi, Tony (2011). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-30681-9551.
- ↑ "Cross Purposes Live (Album) – Black Sabbath –". Last.fm. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ↑ "Black Sabbath: Never Say Die". Sanctuary Records Group. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006.
- ↑ Iommi, Tony (2012). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Simon & Schuster. p. 146. ISBN 0306822318.
