"Symptom of the Universe" | |
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Song by Black Sabbath | |
from the album Sabotage | |
Released | 28 July 1975 |
Recorded | Early 1975 |
Studio | Morgan, London |
Genre | Heavy metal, thrash metal [1] |
Length | 6:29 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
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"Symptom of the Universe" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their 1975 album Sabotage .
"Symptom of the Universe" was composed largely by guitarist Tony Iommi, with lyrics by Geezer Butler. Its closing passage, very unlike the rest of the song, evolved from an in-studio jam, created spontaneously in a single day. [2]
Live versions can be heard on the albums Past Lives , Cross Purposes Live and Live... Gathered in Their Masses , as well as the Never Say Die! concert video. [3] It is also the opening track on Ozzy Osbourne's 1982 live album, Speak of the Devil .
"Symptom of the Universe" was ranked the 19th-best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check. [4]
The main riff to "Symptom of the Universe" is considered to be a structural and sonic predecessor to thrash metal, [5] a heavy metal subgenre which emerged in the early 1980s. Tony Iommi said of the song "It starts with an acoustic bit. Then it goes into the up-tempo stuff to give it that dynamic, and it does have a lot of changes to it, including the jam at the end." [6]