Black Sabbath - 'Disturbing the Priest' (official audio)

Let's try getting to the sky
Hang on or you're going to die
Sour life can turn sweet
It's laying at your feet
Sweet child with an innocent smile
Watched closely all the while
Don't be fooled when he cries
Keep looking at the eyes

Good life is contradiction
Because of the crucifixion
If you're ready and have the need
I will take your soul and plant my seed

You just gotta listen to the night at the ending of the day
You just gotta listen to the night as safety slips away
Moving out of sight are the things you need to see to feel
And as they slip away becoming so unreal unreal
You just gotta listen to the night as you're going up stairs
You just gotta listen to the night and don't forget to say your prayers
And as you lose control to the eyes in dark disguise
And icy fingers fan electric lies

We're disturbing the priest
Won't you please come to our feast
Do we mind disturbing the priest
Not at all not at all not in the least

The force of the devil is the darkness the priest has to face
The force of the night will destroy him but will not disgrace
To get into his mind and to his soul you gotta set a light
The flames of doubt so deep inside inside
The devil and the priest can't exist if one goes away
It's just like the battle of the sun and the moon and the night and day
The force of the devil that we're all told to fear
Watched out for religion when he gets too near too near

Πίσω στην δεκαετία του ογδόντα ήταν μεγάλο (τί μεγάλο; μέγιστο) θέμα συζήτησης και αντιπαράθεσης οι Black Sabbath στην μετά Ozzy εποχή. Υπήρχαν υποστηρικτές και πολέμιοι. Σωστά επιχειρήματα έβρισκες και στα δύο "στρατόπεδα".

Εγώ πάντως ήμουν (και παραμένω) από τους θετικούς στα νέα βήματα του Iommi. Black Rainbow, Purple Sabbath, πείτε τους όπως θέλετε, όμως οι Sabs έβγαλαν δισκάρες. Ένα από τα πιο υποτιμημένα album (θεωρώ ότι) ήταν (και παραμένει;) το "Born Again" του 1983 (το βινύλιο κοσμεί την δισκοθήκη μου) με τον Ian Gillan στα φωνητικά.

Το τραγούδι "Disturbing the Priest" είναι το τρίτο της πρώτης πλευράς του βινυλίου και το αγαπημένο του Bill Ward από τον δίσκο (μαζί με το "Zero the Hero"). Ο Tony και ο Bill είχαν για το τραγούδι πίσω στην δεκαετία του ενενήντα στο Sabbath fanzine "Southern Cross"...

Tony Iommi [Southern Cross (Sabbath fanzine) #21 - May 1998]: «We wanted this effect on 'Disturbing the Priest'," recalled the guitarist, "and Bill got this big bucket of water and he got this anvil. It was really heavy, and he'd got it hanging on a piece of rope and lower it in to get this effect: hit it and lower it in, and then lift it out again. It was a great effect, but it took hours to do.»

Bill Ward [Southern Cross (Sabbath fanzine) #18 - October 1996]: «I did some of the best drum work on that album... On 'Disturbing the Priest', there were some polyrhythms and some counterpoint things that I was doing, and I was using at least twenty different pieces of percussion towards the end of that song… I was real proud of a lot of the work that I did. Some of it invariably got lost in the mix, but I know that it's printed on those tracks.»