It’s been a minute since I put a video up, but I’m back—and I wanted to keep this one short and sweet with a proper pressing shootout. In this episode I compare two versions of Black Sabbath’s debut (the birth of heavy metal): the new Rhino High Fidelity cut by Kevin Gray from the original Warner Bros. master tapes at Cohearent Audio and pressed at Optimal, versus my newly acquired 1971 U.K. Vertigo swirl (a 4th pressing). I also touch on the U.K. vs U.S. track listing difference on side two—“Evil Woman” on the U.K. and “Wicked World” on the U.S. Right away, the Rhino Hi-Fi impressed me with how clean, crisp, and detailed it is—great instrument separation, and Ozzy’s voice is really upfront. My only knock is the bass felt a little lacking, and for a rock record like this, I want force, bite, and drive coming from the bottom end. The 1971 U.K. Vertigo brought that thunderous bass the Rhino was missing, without being overblown, but it also pushed Ozzy and Tony Iommi back a touch. My personal preference is the U.K. Vertigo because it has that darker, doomier, raw Sabbath vibe. That said, if you just want a killer copy without the hunt, the Rhino High Fidelity is an easy recommendation at around 40 bucks—still excellent, just a bit more polished than I want for Sabbath.