Volume 4

Volume Four, Volume 4, or Volume IV may refer to:

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Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath album)

Vol. 4 is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in September 1972. It was the first album by Black Sabbath not produced by Rodger Bain; guitarist Tony Iommi assumed production duties. Patrick Meehan, the band's then-manager, was listed as co-producer, though his actual involvement in the album's production was minimal at best.

Recording

In June 1972, Black Sabbath reconvened in Los Angeles to begin work on their fourth album at the Record Plant Studios. The recording process was plagued with problems, many due to substance abuse issues. In the studio, the band regularly had large speaker boxes full of cocaine delivered. While struggling to record the song "Cornucopia" after "sitting in the middle of the room, just doing drugs",Bill Ward feared that he was about to be fired from the band. "I hated the song, there were some patterns that were just horrible", Ward said. "I nailed it in the end, but the reaction I got was the cold shoulder from everybody. It was like 'Well, just go home, you're not being of any use right now.' I felt like I'd blown it, I was about to get fired". According to the book How Black Was Our Sabbath, Bill Ward "was always a drinker, but rarely appeared drunk. Retrospectively, that might have been a danger sign. Now, his self-control was clearly slipping." Iommi claims in his autobiography that Ward almost died after a prank-gone-wrong during recording of the album. The Bel Air mansion the band was renting belonged to John DuPont of the DuPont chemical company and the band found several spray cans of gold DuPont paint in a room of the house; finding Ward naked and unconscious after drinking heavily, they proceeded to cover the drummer in gold paint from head to toe.

Lullacry

Lullacry was a melodic band with gothic metal influences that hailed from Helsinki, Finland. The band recorded their first demo (named Weeper's Aeon) in 1998 and in a short time they had enough of a following to safely attempt a full-length album – Sweet Desire – recorded in 1999. This got the attention of Spinefarm Records and led to a professional contract. Their career truly began progressing after the release of the album Be My God – from 2001 – which was issued as they went on a joint tour with the power metal band Edguy.

However, vocalist Tanya Kemppainen quit the band in 2002, leaving Lullacry without its main element. Many female singers applied for the post, but the then unknown contralto vocalist Tanja Lainio was ultimately chosen as the replacement vocalist. Their following release was entitled Crucify My Heart. The single Don't Touch the Flame taken from this album included a cover of the Nine Inch Nails track Head Like a Hole.

Prior to the recording of their fourth album, the EP Fire Within was released including alternative versions of two of the band's classic tracks, a W.A.S.P. cover "L.O.V.E. Machine", and two new tracks.

WWF The Music, Vol. 4

WWF The Music, Vol. 4 is a soundtrack album by WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF). Released on November 2, 1999 by Koch Records, it features entrance theme music of various WWE superstars, all of which were composed and performed by Jim Johnston (with the exception of one song, performed by H-Blockx). The album was a commercial success, charting at number four on the US Billboard 200.

Composition

All songs on WWF The Music, Vol. 4 were written, composed and performed by WWE composer Jim Johnston, with the exception of "Oh Hell Yeah" which was performed by German heavy metal band H-Blockx. Music website AllMusic categorised the album as heavy metal and post-grunge, while a review on Slam! Wrestling identified additional genres including honky-tonk and hip hop on certain tracks.

Reception

Commercial

WWF The Music, Vol. 4 was a commercial success. In the US, the album reached number four on the US Billboard 200 and number 17 on the Top Internet Albums chart; in Canada, it reached number five on the Canadian Albums Chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating sales of over a million units. The album also reached number 44 on the UK Albums Chart.WWF The Music, Vol. 4 was the second WWE album to sell a million copies, and as of April 2002 had sold a total of 1.13 million copies.