Master of Reality

by John Darnielle

Most volumes in the 33 1/3 series are non-fiction, but John Darnielle writes about Black Sabbath’s album Master of Reality in the form of journal entries by a teenager in a mental hospital. About ten years later, the same character finds his old journal and writes the second half.

The mental hospital took away his Walkman and tapes, which is a major source of anger, even ten years later. Teenagers think adults don’t understand their music – this is perennial – but the narrator really tries to explain what’s great about this album. In the end, he sees the darker themes of Black Sabbath as pretending to be dark, and there is always a brighter side there, too. “The hidden message is that we are the ones who are making better days.” (100) Only those who know they are broken will look for healing.

Things I learned about the band/album: Way more Christian themes than I expected (especially the song After Forever). Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass) tuned down 1.5 steps for this album, both to give it a heavier sound and because Iommi had pain in his fingers (from having their tips severed in an accident years earlier). The album came out in 1971 – very early, a proto-metal record. Ozzy worked in a slaughterhouse killing animals as a teenager.

Music doesn’t mean as much to me now as it did when I was a teenager. I don’t listen to it in the same way. I don’t think it helps that I can listen to anything I want to at any time – that paradoxically leads me to listen to less music, since it’s always there if I want it. It was good to read from the perspective of someone who was still passionate about it.

“Maybe [the younger version of myself] died when he became the older person, and now when I think I’m feeling his emotions and sharing his rage, I’m really just mourning his death.” (79)