The two hundred and fourty-fourth album: #244 Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4
Did I mention yet that we've reached the era of heavy metal? Sure, this album features a ballad in Changes, more sensitive songs scored with piano and mellotron, and a weird experiment in the form of FX (I can only assume drugs were involved in that one). The majority are what you expect - loud guitars, heavy drums, and Ozzy Ozbourne's almost shouted, strained vocals that almost seem to struggle to get on top.
Heavy metal is a music style I need to be in the mood for, and I certainly prefer lighter rock than this, but it feels like this album walks the line quite well. It gets a bit much for me sometimes, but there's enough of a flow to it that the sound doesn't grow tiresome. I know it's a genre that's still early, and I'm more looking forward to how it evolves, but it needs the more deliberate choices and darkness of Under the Sun more than the comparatively generic St. Vitus Dance.