Black Sabbath | Artist
Black Sabbath was an English rock band, formed 1968 in Birmingham, UK by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath are regarded by many as pioneers of heavy metal music. After a few false starts as a blues band, in 1969 they named themselves Black Sabbath after the Boris Karloff film, and began incorporating occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and tuned-down guitars. Their 1970 debut self-titled album was a commercial success but was widely panned by some critics. American Lester Bangs dismissed it in Rolling Stone as "discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitised speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters, yet never quite finding synch". It has since been certified platinum in the US and UK, and is now generally accepted as the first heavy metal album. Later that same year they released the magnificent Paranoid which was hugely successful and, ironically, ranked at No. 131 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Between 1970-75 Sabbath delivered six heavy masterpiece albums in a row: Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971), Vol 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) and Sabotage (1975), making them the world's premier heavy rock band of their time. Outstanding later albums include Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981), and Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007). The 1992 album Dehumanizer by then with Ronnie James Dio up-front, is also well worth a listen. Ozzy left the band for periods and he was replaced by Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow, Ian Gillen from Deep Purple, and Glenn Hughes also from Deep Purple. Osborne pursued a successful solo career but reunited with Sabbath for the 2013 album 13. Tony Iommi has also released solo work and formed the band Heaven & Hell with Butler, Dio and Vinny Appice. As a matter of interest, guitarist Tony Iommi was briefly a member of Jethro Tull before he formed Sabbath. Although his stint with the band was short-lived, Iommi made an appearance with Jethro Tull on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus TV show. Black Sabbath's home city of Birmingham reveres the band so highly that they created The Crossroads of Sabbath walking tour, which gives fans the opportunity "to walk in the footsteps of Ozzy, Geezer, Tony and Bill and learn about the environment that shaped them." An interesting footnote to the Sabbath story involves Ozzy's wife Sharon. Sharon's father Don Arden was a high profile music manager and agent in the '60's, who managed Black Sabbath from the start. Arden fired Ozzy from the group in 1979 and Sharon subsequently began dating Ozzy and took over his management from the Arden organisation. Sharon went on to manage many other rock acts including Gary Moore, Motörhead, Lita Ford and The Smashing Pumpkins, plus she carved out a successful reality TV franchise featuring husband Ozzy.
Artist Website: blacksabbath.com
Featured Albums: Black Sabbath
Related Artists: Ozzy Osbourne, Heaven & Hell, Ronnie James Dio
