Sabotage is my second-favorite Black Sabbath album after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. There’s much less of a focus on the progressive elements, which “Hole in the Sky” makes clear with its verse-chorus-verse format. Nevertheless, “Hole in the Sky” shows Black Sabbath are still at the top of their game by penning one of the catchiest songs in their entire career. The blunt force of the riff and Ozzy Osbourne’s soaring vocals in the chorus are undeniable. Unfortunately, Sabotage would also be the final album from Black Sabbath’s glory days. It was all downhill from here, for the most part.

But no band stays great forever, so let’s focus on the positives. If you ask me, Sabotage shows the band in no sign of decline at all. Like I said earlier, I think this is their second best album. In particular, Ozzy delivers by far the best vocal performance of his entire time with Black Sabbath. It’s incredible how much of an improvement he’s made since the first album.

The guy started out as someone with no music experience or vocal talent who just had rock star dreams as a frontman, but his unique voice and antics on stage garnered the band quite a live reputation in their early days. Osbourne kept at his job and slowly got better until he developed a range that most vocalists would kill for. It’s very encouraging in a way.

Fittingly, his confidence is at a record high on Sabotage as he changes pitch, tone, and volume at the drop of a hat. It seems there’s nothing he can’t do, and he does seemingly everything in the almost 10 minute “Megalomania,” the band’s longest song since “The Warning” on their first album. If Tony Iommi can’t reach the quality of riffing that he could on the band’s previous albums, Ozzy more than makes up for it with his insane vocals. Seriously, it’s no exaggeration to say that Ozzy’s vocal performance on Sabotage is one of the best on any heavy metal album ever.

I have a soft spot for “Supertzar” that makes me love it, because it sounds like an epic JRPG battle theme (that’s “Japanese Role-Playing Game” for all you plebeians). “Am I Going Insane (Radio),” as the name implies, is kind of a parody of a radio pop song. I actually think it’s the strangest, least accessible song on Sabotage, and I like it for that reason. It’s unique.

“The Writ” is another long song at nearly nine minutes. Like “Megalomania,” it is understandably the most progressive on the album, shifting form several times during its length. Oh, and of course I can’t forget to neglect Ozzy’s righteous vocal performance.

Also, the cover art is awesome. Deal with it. I wish I had that dress Ozzy is wearing.