Solitude (Black Sabbath song)

"Solitude" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was originally released as the seventh track off their 1971 album Master of Reality, and later as the B-side to the single, "Children of the Grave".

Overview
This song is about being depressed after breaking up with somebody. A delay effect was added to Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals on this song to provide the effect of a second vocal track. This song features the multi-instrumentalist talents of Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi (who also plays flute & piano on the recording).

Legacy
Solitude's album of origin, Master of Reality, was ranked 234th on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, where author Brett Schewitz wrote in regards to the song, "The song that surprised me most was ‘Solitude.’ Another quieter song, Ozzy’s voice is the most beautiful I’ve ever heard it. I actually had to check that it was, in fact, him singing. A quick Google tells me that I wasn’t the only one that thought this."

Loudwire ranks Solitude in the top 30 (29th place) amongst all 79 songs made by Black Sabbath under singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Versions
Solitude was covered by Norwegian experimental electronica band Ulver in 2007, and released on the group's seventh album Shadows of the Sun.

Another cover version would be released by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth on their eleventh album Pale Communion in 2014.

Personnel

 * Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
 * Tony Iommi – guitar, flute, piano
 * Geezer Butler – bass guitar
 * Bill Ward – drums