Vinyl Me, Please January Unboxing – Black Sabbath ‘Master of Reality’
Good things comes in 12 inch packages. Delivering limited edition vinyl pressings of new and classic albums directly to your doorstep, VMP operates under a simple philosophy: The Album Lives! With a carefully curated catalog of new and hard to find releases, the subscription service is more than just a record club, it’s a lifestyle choice for folks who wish Record Store Day could happen every month… in their living room.
Here’s how it works. You send Vinyl Me, Please some of your hard-earned money (a 3-month membership will set you back about $119) and they send you one carefully selected album they feel is Essential to any record collection. Yes, it truly is as easy as it sounds. You even get FREE SHIPPING. Each custom pressing (often on colored vinyl!) also comes with killer extras like original artwork and informative listening companion booklet.
You’ll have membership privileges in the VMP store too, which means you can grab a copy of previous VMP selections from the archives – including their rollicking reissue of Hound Dog Taylor’s bluesy classic Natural Boogie – or choose from a slate of super-limited releases pressed exclusively for Vinyl Me, Please. The store is open, and Team VMP are dropping fresh new selections to their stock every single week. Do not miss out.
Word to the wise, while the store is open to the public, most of the more covet-worthy stock is only available to subscribers. Members are privy to reduced “Members Pricing” as well, so joining the club definitely has its rewards. If you’re peckish about relinquishing control of your record collection to complete strangers, know that VMP’s Swaps Program is in full effect. That means you can flip any VMP pick you’re not interested in for a past featured album from any track (including Essentials, Country, Classics, and Rap/Hip Hop). My advice? Don’t overthink it. Do your turntable a favor and sign up today.
It’s a new year, music lovers, and I opted to kick 2024 off with a metal masterpiece from the legendary Black Sabbath. Here’s a look.
For The Love Of Vinyl, Please DO NOT BEND
By no stretch of my imagination do I think any of you need a history lesson about Black Sabbath, so I’ll simply note that no single band in the annals of rock & roll did more to influence heavy metal music. Some might even argue Black Sabbath invented metal as we know it. And those who make that argument might also argue that Master of Reality is the proof.
Released in 1971, Master of Reality is the third album released by the band in the space of an absurdly fruitful two year stretch, following 1970’s self-titled release and the same year’s Paranoid, which earned VMP Essentials honors way back in 2015. To be fair, Master of Reality is just as worthy of the Essentials honor, but given Vinyl Me, Please’s policy of not repeating bands on the Essentials track, it has been respectfully relegated to the VMP Rock track.
Thankfully, the folks at VMP went about reissuing Master of Reality with as much care and consideration as they die Paranoid, and I don’t hesitate to claim that even diehard fans of the album have never heard it sound so good – even if a case could be made that Ryan Smith may have cleaned things up just a touch too much in his remaster. That mastering concern is most evident on the album’s stoner metal anthem “Sweet Leaf,” which may lack that sludgy punch that fuels its iconic opening riff.
You can rest assured knowing the album still hits suitably hard as it unfolds, with Ozzy Osbourne and the crew bludgeoning listeners over the head with their signature blend of bluesy, psychedelic doom. Those vibes continue through a trove of Sabbath standards, including “Children of the Grave,” “Lord of the World,” and “Into the Void.”
Metal fans young and old will hear the birth of the form contained in the heavy riffs, shredding solos, and screaming vocals therein. Combined with VMP’s first-rate packaging and pressing, this version of Master of Reality may be the most essential Black Sabbath reissue on the market.
Cover Matters
Let’s not overthink this one as the cover of Master of Reality is dark, heavy and just a little bit trippy, and matches the vibes of the album to the letter. Bravo to whomever designed it.
It doesn’t get any less heavy on the back cover, by the way. There’s also a full lyrics breakdown back there, as well as a suitably purple bit of foil-stamping.
Lest you doubt the pressing’s worthiness of that stamp, the hype sticker more than confirms this beast is the real vinyl deal. Yes, Vinyl Me, Please got their hands on the original master tapes for this one. And yes, you’ll hear the difference the moment you drop the needle.
Check the ole OBI-strip for a few more vital stats, and flip it over to read an excerpt from the listening companion.
As for that booklet, rock scribe Andy O’Connor packed it full of fascinating insights about Black Sabbath, and the recording of Master of Reality. Check it out.
VMP Rock releases don’t come with original artwork like the Essentials releases do. But this one does include a killer foldout poster of Ozzy and the boys.
As for the wax, well, it’s an explosion of purple and black splatter, and I cannot imagine anything more befitting Master of Reality.
In case there’s any doubt, that wax is fit to bring some heavy metal thunder to any turntable on the planet.
Give Vinyl Me, Please a Spin
How’s it sound? Like the darkest, sludgiest parts of your soul were liquified and consumed by Ozzy, “Geezer” and the gang, who then stepped into the studio to rip through a full album’s worth heavy metal magic. Unfortunately, it might be a while before you can find that out for yourself as this first run of Vinyl Me, Please’s Master of Reality is already sold out on the site. The good news is VMP is expecting to re-press this one sometime in the near future, so keep an eye out if you’re interested. Happy collecting, vinyl lovers!
A big THANK YOU to our friends at Vinyl Me, Please for sponsoring this subscription. Don’t forget to check out the Vinyl Me, Please website and sign up to get some choice wax delivered right to your door each and every month! Be sure to check back next month to see what vinyl treasure Team VMP sends our way!