1228 Black Sabbath After Forever 1971

Master of Reality is the third album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in July 1971. It is sometimes noted as the first stoner rock album. For the recording of this album, guitarist Tony Iommi, who had injured his fingers in a factory accident years earlier, decided to downtune his guitar down three semi-tones (or one and a half steps to C-sharp). This reduced string tension, thus making the guitar easier for him to play. Geezer Butler also downtuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. The result was a noticeably "darker" or "sludgier" sound that almost two decades later would prove hugely influential. “After Forever” starts with an ominous synthesizer, but soon unfolds into an upbeat, major-key guitar riff. This song is downright happier than anything else they had recorded at the time, and Ozzy especially sounds more confident than ever as he shouts out his lyrics. This song is about Christianity, the words must have been shocking to those people at the time who thought the band was all about devil worship.