The Real Master of Reality

As Christian rock bands go, Black Sabbath was one of the best. At least they were when Ozzy was the lead singer. Have you ever bothered to really listen to their lyrics? Take, for instance, the song “After Forever” from Master of Reality. Here’s the opening salvo:

Have you ever thought about your soul

can it be saved?

Or perhaps you think that when you’re dead
you just stay in your grave.

Is God just a thought within your head
or is he a part of you?

Is Christ just a name that you read in a book
when you were in school?

Harnessing the power of a really awkward rhyme scheme, they seem oddly intent on making the listener feel guilty about: 1.) not being more reflective about the afterlife, 2.) being glibly philosophical about the Christian godhead, and 3.) not having a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Thanks for the bring down and the superior attitude, Black Sabbath.

But they’re not done:

Could it be you ‘re afraid of what your
friends might say

If they knew you believe in God above

They should realize before they criticize

That God is the only way to love.

Is your mind so small that you have to fall

In with the pack wherever they run

Will you still sneer when death is near

And say they may as well worship the sun.

Are they calling me a peer pressured pussy? Not everyone can be a valiant prayer warrior like Geezer Butler or Ozzy Osbourne. And did they really think that I was going to accept a lecture on peer pressure from a band that wrote the 4th greatest marijuana anthem of all time, “Sweet Leaf,” which incidentally appears right before “After Forever” on Master of Reality? And is Black Sabbath preaching love here? The same band that brought forth from the abyss such juggernaut mega-hits as “Iron Man” and “War Pigs”? They might as well have written a song about a giant, mythological kitten whose thundering purr makes the flowers bloom. Black Sabbath, I feel like I hardly know you. It all ends with:

Perhaps you’ll think before you say that
God is dead and gone

Open your eyes, just realize that he’s the one

The only one who can save you now from
all this sin and hate

Or will you still jeer at all you hear
Yes! I think its too late.

All in all, this is a completely satisfying conclusion to the song, if only for the reason that it deviates so wildly from pretty much all other Christian rock songs. Most Christian rock songs are focused in some way upon praising God. Black Sabbath take the opposite route; they’re here to demonstrate how much of a asshole you are because you’re not praising God. I would suggest that they were subverting the genre here if they weren’t its architects to begin with.

Despite writing a straight ahead Christian rock song, Black Sabbath is still Black Sabbath, and they leave very little room for hope or redemption for the hapless unbeliever. They take a fairly solid, “Oh? You don’t believe in God? Well, fuck you then!” kind of stance. That’s totally metal. Metal is all about aggression and brutality. I guess that there’s nothing more brutal than the idea of an eternity of excruciating torture in the fires of Hell.

In the end, who exactly is the “Master of Reality” from Master of Reality? I always thought that it was a really powerful wizard or a guy with a magical bong. Was it Jesus this entire time? Why is the answer always Jesus?