The same year Black Sabbath’s debut album was released, the Japanese group The Flower Travellin’ Band covered the title track on their “Challenge” LP.
It’s not a particularly outstanding version of the song, but it foreshadowed what was to come on FTB’s next album, 1971’s Satori. Here’s a clip featuring rare footage of a Flower Travellin’ Band show and music from Satori.
If you’re into psychedelic/proto-metal/power trio type music (i.e. Cream, Blue Cheer, early Led Zeppelin), it’s worth it to dig up the Satori album. It’s dark and heavy, yet because they play in a lot of Eastern scales, it has an almost meditative groove to it.
If you’re a fan of Asian cinema, Satori was used as the soundtrack for Takashi Miike’s 2002 yakuza flick, Deadly Outlaw Rekka.
The song was okay but I give them major props for hauling that elephant statue on stage. That was awesome!
The song is “Satori Pt. 2″ – Parts I & III are much better. But yeah, the elephant statue is rad, and I dig the front man’s japfro and the whole cult-leader look he sports.