Release and Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Rolling Stone | favourable |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Sputnikmusic | 1.5/5 |
Vol. 4 was released in September 1972, and while critics of the era were dismissive of the album, it achieved gold status in less than a month, and was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell one million copies in the United States. It reached number 13 on Billboard's pop album chart and number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. The song "Tomorrow's Dream" was released as a single but failed to chart. Following an extensive tour of the US, the band toured Australia for the first time in 1973, and later Europe. Black Sabbath also appeared on the UK's Top of the Pops in 1973, sharing the stage with such diverse acts as Engelbert Humperdinck and Diana Ross.
The album had been reissued twice as a budget release called Children of the Grave with a live version of said song.
Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 48 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".
In June 2000, Q magazine (6/00, p. 69) placed Vol. 4 at number 60 in its list of The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever and described the album as "the sound of drug-taking, beer-guzzling hooligans from Britain's oft-pilloried cultural armpit let loose in LA." In an interview with Q magazine, Beck Hansen named the "Supernaut" riff as his all time favourite, equal with Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl." Frank Zappa had also identified that song as one of his all time favorites. Supernaut was also one of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's favorite songs by Sabbath.
Read more about this topic: Black Sabbath Vol. 4
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