Symptom of the Universe (song)

"Symptom of the Universe"
Song by Black Sabbath from the album Sabotage
Released	July 28, 1975
Recorded	early 1975 at Morgan Studios in London, England
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	6:29
Label	Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US)
Writer	Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward

"Symptom of the Universe" is a song by the heavy metal band Black Sabbath from the album Sabotage.

The song is divided into two parts, a heavier beginning and an acoustic portion at the end. The lyrics were written by Geezer Butler about a dream he had, with many citations about the creation of the universe, the creator, and some mythological references.

The song can be heard live on the album Past Lives. It is also present on Ozzy Osbourne's solo live album, Speak of the Devil.

The thrash metal band Sepultura covered "Symptom of the Universe" for the Black Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black. The song has also been covered by Helmet, noticeably in the film Jerky Boys: The Movie, in which they are featured as the club band with Ozzy Osbourne guest-starring as their manager. Finnish thrash metal band Stone released a version as a bonus track on their 2008 compilation Stoneage 2.0. It was also covered by American heavy metal band Freak Seed. American rock band Comes With the Fall have also covered in on their album Live 2002. In the documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett can be seen jamming the main riff to the song in his hotel room. It was also covered in 2010 by Orange Goblin for a Metal Hammer tribute CD to Black Sabbath. And The Melvins covered it in 1989 on their Melvins/Mudhoney split 7" Album.

The song has featured in the games Skate 2 and Brütal Legend.