I love box sets. Whether they’re vinyl, CD, blu-ray or whatever, they are fun to collect and look nice on a shelf. Usually, box sets also offer something you can’t get with the individual releases alone. It might be new mastering, exclusive posters or trinkets or just the nice packaging. Hand of Doom 1970-1978 is just one of the several recent Black Sabbath box sets I have picked up, and it’s going to be the first one I take a look at here on the blog. At the time of this writing, it’s still available from Rhino Records at retail price, so depending on specifically what you’re looking for, it could be something you want to consider picking up. It claims to be a limited edition, and each box is numbered out of 4,000 copies worldwide.
Right away, I have to say that a set like this isn’t something I would normally purchase. It’s a pretty solid deal for the albums you get (the first eight Sabbath albums… the ones with Ozzy… the best ones…), and the packaging is great. It’s got my favorite Sabbath illustrations and motifs on the box with the witch and a purple Vertigo swirl, and it does look great on the shelf. So why would I normally avoid it? These are picture discs. If you are in the market for these albums and are thinking about taking the plunge on Hand of Doom, that’s the first thing you should probably consider.
What’s wrong with picture discs, you might ask? The problem is that while they often look amazing (and these ones do, there is no doubt about that), the nature of the manufacturing process usually turns out an inferior product, sonically speaking. When a picture disc is made, the factory sandwiches a thin layer of paper containing the artwork between the grooves and the actual playing surface of the record. This almost always results in unwanted noise and dramatically reduced fidelity. There are people who argue that even colored vinyl can also reduce fidelity, but the jury is still out on that one.
As I mentioned, the packaging here is quite nice. Each record is housed in a die cut jacket, with a clear but well-made inner sleeve which shows the pictures on each disc nicely. My favorite discs are the ones where the disc and the jacket combine to create a whole picture. An example of this can be seen below with Black Sabbath self-titled album. Vol. 4 is shown in contrast to this so you can get an idea of what everything looks like. Some of the albums present better in this format than others, and the discs with busier artwork tend to look better.
Something I wasn’t so happy with is that the sleeves were covered in some kind of shredded paper dust. After cleaning all of that off, I added some tight-fitting outer sleeves for the jackets. Everything is crammed pretty tightly into the box, so if you want to add outer poly sleeves, you’ll need the smallest ones you can get. Putting the albums in those makes it a lot easier to remove them from the box, and prevents damage to the front of the jackets as well.
As far as extras go, there isn’t much of that here to speak of. Aside from the nicely made box, you do get a 24”x24” folded poster that has a picture of the band on the front and a track listing and credits for each of the albums on the back. At least it’s something, but who actually takes these out and hangs them up? These days most of the record market is hyper focused on collecting and selling later to turn a profit. People who are paying this kind of money for collectable records probably aren’t tacking the posters up on their walls.
So far, I’ve listened to half of these records, and I really think that’s enough to make an accurate call about the overall quality and value of this set. The first ones I decided to spin were the first four albums: Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality and Vol. 4. I will eventually check out Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage, but I don’t plan on putting myself through the torture of Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! Those are going to be bad no matter what the record company presses them on. As always, each record was extensively cleaned on my VPI before playing and inspected for visible damage. Visually, everything looked great.
The overall sound quality was surprisingly decent compared to other picture discs I’ve heard in the past. That’s not saying much though. The volume is very low compared to most standard black vinyl LP’s. You really have to crank these things to hear anything. Black Sabbath self-titled wasn’t terrible, but some problems started when I got to Paranoid. Overall, Paranoid was filled with surface noise, and it had some abnormally loud clicks and pops. Also, an unreal amount of sibilance kicked in during Planet Caravan. The same issue popped up again during Solitude on Master of Reality and was ongoing across the set during those type of quiet songs.
Master of Reality was otherwise generally acceptable for casual listening but wouldn’t impress anybody. I have previously done an article on MOR that you can find here, which reviews the latest release of this killer record and what I think is the best (affordable) option for someone who is looking for top quality. Vol. 4 was more of the same. A very cool looking picture disc, but mediocre sound quality as far as the pressing goes.
There is no sense in going into specifics here such as soundstage, mastering and the mix. If you are concerned with those things, this set is not for you. Great versions of these albums are widely available, but the good ones can be quite costly. If you are looking for the best audiophile level listening experience, do your research on each individual album and have fun collecting them. This is easy in the present day of the internet. It might take longer and cost more, but if you love these albums like I do, it’ll be worth it in the end. You’ll have a collection that you’ll be proud of, that will hold its value, and most importantly, will be a great listening experience.
So, given all of my complaints, am I unsatisfied with my purchase? No. I knew exactly what I was and what I wasn’t buying when I decided to purchase these. I bought the set because it’s a nice collector’s item, and it looks cool. As a matter of fact, I was more pleased than I thought I would be because the picture discs look better than I expected. They shouldn’t have been covered with shredded paper, but nothing is perfect I suppose.
Would I recommend this set to anyone? Well, that depends. If you are someone who wants the entire collection of the Ozzy-era Sabbath albums in one swoop, this might appeal to you. If the whole audiophile approach to music doesn’t interest you at all and you aren’t concerned with top quality, which is a totally valid stance, I think there’s a good chance you might like these. The artwork is cool, and the set is no doubt collectable. If you are rocking a suitcase style record player, you probably won’t hear the difference at all. If you have anything more than that, you won’t need any experience or reference points to realize these don’t sound great.
I would not recommend these to someone who’s just getting into vinyl. It seems like it makes sense to dive in with a modestly priced and readymade collection of some of the best rock albums ever made. There’s a really good chance though, that you’ll listen to these and think your old 8 track sounded better. And you wouldn’t be wrong. It would be a shame if someone heard these and decided that they can’t tell what all the hype around vinyl is about, and in turn became uninterested in the hobby. For most collectors, this set will be considered a novelty item.
Who I really think these are for are the collectors who have everything else and just think it looks cool. As of the time of this writing, Rhino still has some sets available on their retail website. If you are interested, this is the time to pick one up.