None More Black
Having influenced everyone from rappers, hip hoppers and the current wave of nu-metal heroes through to just about every thrash, grunge, stoner death and classic metal group out there, Black Sabbath have proved their tag as the authentic pioneers of heavy metal is worth more than just a mere fact. The flamboyance of one of rocks defining frontmen, Ozzy Osbourne. Riffmaster general Tony Iommi. The patented inventiveness of rhythm section thunder gods Geezer Butler (Bass) and Bill Ward (Drums). Black Sabbath are the entirety - a musical deity that needs no introduction.
Shaking up hard-edged blues rock of 60's Led Zep with a darker, more powerful 70's slam, the Sabs went on to cut classic after vintage classic. The eponymous debut album Black Sabbath ('70), Paranoid ('70), Masters Of Reality ('71), Volume 4 ('72), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ('73), and Sabotage ('75), all establishing Sabbath as the metal band. In the industrial depths of West Midlands Birmingham, Sabbath started out as a heavy blues band called Polka Tulk Blues Band who then became Earth. Guitarist Tony Iommi had bullied one vocalist Ozzy Osbourne at school; in band tension already brewing, the Sabs seemed like a horror story waiting to happen. In many ways, a double irony, for all the wrong and right reasons. Tony had lost the tips of his middle and index finger in a steelworks accident. Although instead of taking the easy option of quitting, Iommi took the brave step to carry on - a step that would revolutionise guitar playing and the sound of rock forever.
After failed attempts to play right handed, Iommi made 'thimbles' - melted down ends of fairy liquid bottles to act as the end of his fingers - to pick. This is a practice Tony continues today, except with the hands of real scale human dummy models - the leftovers no doubt shocking bin men on a daily basis. Iommi had taken his inspiration from Belgium guitar whiz Django Rheinhardt, who similarly only had two fret worthy fingers. Astonishingly, this tragic disaster story gave birth to aural revelation. As Tony found it too painful using high gauge strings, he de-tuned his guitar to make it easier to play. This resulted in a dark, stony sound that was previously unheard of, and one that coincided with Iommi's theory of 'people make scary movies, why don't we make scary music?' Enter into the music scene the newly named Black Sabbath, and that was the start of, as we know it, heavy metal - a place only accidentally visited previously in Led Zeppelins Communication Breakdown and the lyrics of Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild ('Heavy Metal Thunder'). The aforementioned first six Sabbath albums, plus the less favoured Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy, would see Sabbath regularly breaking through the UK and US Top Forty, including a breakthrough number one for Paranoid in '70 an American top ten with Masters Of Reality in '71. Legends had being established, but at this time no one was given Sabbath the credit they were due. Accusations of Satanism due to the bands dark sound and early dabblings in witchcraft didn't aid things either, despite the invalidity of such claims.
The head of the Satanic church was known to turn up at early Sabbath gigs and the group did have a habit of attracting such a following, so the Sabs took it upon themselves to wear huge crosses as a superstitious response. Sabbath had faced a backlash of unfavourable religious and media response that had being faced by Elvis in the 50's and the Beatles in the 60's, due to people's reluctance to accept change. Although this would work with the band as much as it did against them.
The group had dug themselves a temporary grave after the excesses of alcohol and drugs took its toll on the band. Stoned most of the time during the recording of their albums, the group left most of the spadework to Tony Iommi, despite the fact credits always stated Iommi/ Osbourne/ Butler/ Ward on every track. The Birmingham quintet had no idea of the business side of things, and were being ran around the bush by record company Vertigo like a Tom pursuing Jerry. Things weren't made any better when the groups normally acclaimed live performances resultedly took a turn for the worst.
The support of then unknown American hot-shots Van Halen on the Sabs '78 Never Say Die tour was the final straw. With (in the words of Mick Wall) 'the outrageous showmanship of David Lee Roth' and guitar virtuoso in two handed tapper supreme in Mr. Eddie Van Halen, the wearied Midlander's were unbelievably blown off stage. Threatening his departure for some time, the less favoured Technical Ecstasy ('76) and Never Say Die ('78) would be Ozzy Osbourne's last albums before leaving the band to form a solo career. This would signal the beginnings of Sabbaths line up change overload come the following years.
Ex Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio would oversee vocals on 1980's and 1981's excellent Heaven And Hell / The Mob Rules respectively, and it seemed like the Sabs were back on track, commercially and musically. But things swung again for the worst cue an in band confrontation over Dio supposedly fiddling with vocal levels against Ionmmi's wishes for Sabbaths 1983 double Live release Live Evil. Subsequently, Dio was fired. Drummer Bill Ward's health had forced him to quit just a year earlier, replaced by Vinnie Appice for The Mob Rules. Sabbaths line up problems in the following years were to deepen to the point of ridicule. Former Deep Purple crooner Ian Gillan came in for 1983's ludicrously covered Born Again, before shortly departing soon after. The 'voice of rock' Glen Hudges (another ex. Purple Man) would come in for the bluesy flavoured Seventh Star ('86), before leaving himself due to drink problems.
Doubts as to whether this should even have being a Black Sabbath album after there was only a single member of the original line up present, it was credited as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi. Vocal stability thankfully followed after the recruitment of ex. pub singer Tony 'The Cat' Martin, who sung on 87's The Eternal Idol, The Headless Cross ('89) Tyr ('90), Cross Purposes ('94) and 95's Forbidden.
This period saw such star attractions such as bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and sticksman Cozy Powell (Rainbow) jumping on board the Sabbath ship. Original bassist Geezer Butler however returned to the fray alongside second vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinnie Appice for 1992's Dehumanizer album, a brief reunion of 1982's Mob Rules line up. While nominated for three Grammies, few outside of the States agreed that the record lived up to past glories of Dio era Sabbath previously, let alone the Ozzy years. Butler stayed on board for Cross Purposes and Forbidden before departing for Ozzy's band and his '95 album Ozzmosis.
If truth be told, there was life after Ozzy and Dio era Sabbath. Undoubtedly, Iommi was still coming up with great riffs and a number of consistent albums. Although with so many changes and the lack of classic status attached, the Sabbath name had being dragged through the mud to the point of lost credibility. Grunge may have being giving metal a bad name at the time, but things were picking up for Sabbath in the recognition stakes for Sabbath as the 90's progressed.
A Hollywood soundtrack appearance for Cross Purposes opener Time Machine and a rap collaboration with Ice-T on the Forbidden (1995) album both showed cases of Sabbath receiving the genuine acknowledgement they deserved. But it was 1993 that brought things all into prospective. Ozzy Osbourne's immensely successful solo career was supposedly coming to an end via his farewell tour on the No More Tours tour.
Sabbath were invited with Dio to join the double 'O' at these shows. But Dio's staunch refusal to trade stages with a man who had personally insulted him on too often an occasion (Ozzy labelled him a gnome in reference to his height, Dio responded by calling him a clown) meant one thing. That being, the limited edition reformation of Sabbath. Playing a set of War Pigs, Iron Man, Fairies Wear Boots and Paranoid, the wheels of a Sabbath reunion were set in motion - and the true value of Sabbath to an ignorant generation had never being made as impressively clear. One listen to the storming version of Black Sabbath on Ozzy's Live and Loud ('93) video - arguably the best its ever being played - is a hungry indication of the food and drink the metal World had gone without for so long. Sabbath needed to return. 90's Grunge inventors Nirvana and all the cronies that followed had sited the band as influences. Metallica (who supported Ozzy on his '86 tour and thought he was a 'a god') Slayer, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest had done years before.
Newly emerging thrash and nu-metal bands - Pantera, Sepultura, Rage Against The Machine, through to the latest ones in Korn and Slipknot, have all stated their admiration and inspiration from Sabbath. Stoner bands such as Monster Magnet and death metal bands such as Cradle Of Filth had similarly made known their love for Sabbath - as had just about everyone from those with credibility to the wanna-bes with none. Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity In Black 1, ('94) was the first committed to tape disc that reflected artists respect for Sabbath. But it wasn't until the band gloriously rejoined forces in 1997 - Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward - that the metallic gods returned to their earthly throne.
Highlighting the Worlds most prodigious metal festival Ozzfest in America and the UK in 1998 after the death of Donington's Monsters Of Rock, the Sabs had also recorded the comeback shows in their home town Birmingham at the NEC for a double live album.
The fivesome's first official live release (as founder members of the band), Reunion Live was received to critical applause. Two new studio tracks - Selling My Soul and Psycho Man teased for a new studio album, but Osbourne and Iommi were insistent that would not happen.
A US tour followed, Sabbath finding themselves in hot water after rescheduling the UK Ozzfest to extend their US jaunt. Although Tory MP Barry Phelps had played a huge helping hand in this, after his complaints of potential noise levels were upheld by councillors and the outdoor UK Ozzfest was cancelled.
The resulting UK Tour saw Sabbath play two nights at Birmingham NEC. Dubbed as The Last Supper and supported by System of A Down, Drain and Gobsmack, this double indoor mini Ozzfest was meant to mark the last ever shows of Black Sabbath. The Last Supper video was released in response of this historic event - Sabbath were, theoretically anyway, no more. A self titled solo album from Iommi with an overwhelming number of guests and Ozzy's rumblings of bringing back axe specialist Zakk Wylde for a new solo album would have to suffice.
But when the shock news broke earlier in the year that Sabbath had played at a location in America to an exclusive audience, the inevitable was again on the cards. Sabbath reunion part 2, or in Ozzy's case, part 3. Celebration or daylight robbery? Musical intent or another quick buck? Argue the toss all you like. But the fact is that Sabbath are back, headlining another of the strongest Ozzfest bills in the UK and US ever into 2001, the UK bill including Slipknot, Tool, Papa Roach, Soulfly, Zakk Wylde and the Black Label Society amongst others.
And with the band making fresh in roads of their own (hallelujah, a new studio album to be produced by Rick Rubin and ready for release in the next or following year) there's a lot to get excited about. Forget false claiming coffees, Black Sabbath are the original and still the best.
Andy Law
Having influenced everyone from rappers, hip hoppers and the current wave of nu-metal heroes through to just about every thrash, grunge, stoner death and classic metal group out there, Black Sabbath have proved their tag as the authentic pioneers of heavy metal is worth more than just a mere fact. The flamboyance of one of rocks defining frontmen, Ozzy Osbourne. Riffmaster general Tony Iommi. The patented inventiveness of rhythm section thunder gods Geezer Butler (Bass) and Bill Ward (Drums). Black Sabbath are the entirety - a musical deity that needs no introduction.
Shaking up hard-edged blues rock of 60's Led Zep with a darker, more powerful 70's slam, the Sabs went on to cut classic after vintage classic. The eponymous debut album Black Sabbath ('70), Paranoid ('70), Masters Of Reality ('71), Volume 4 ('72), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ('73), and Sabotage ('75), all establishing Sabbath as the metal band. In the industrial depths of West Midlands Birmingham, Sabbath started out as a heavy blues band called Polka Tulk Blues Band who then became Earth. Guitarist Tony Iommi had bullied one vocalist Ozzy Osbourne at school; in band tension already brewing, the Sabs seemed like a horror story waiting to happen. In many ways, a double irony, for all the wrong and right reasons. Tony had lost the tips of his middle and index finger in a steelworks accident. Although instead of taking the easy option of quitting, Iommi took the brave step to carry on - a step that would revolutionise guitar playing and the sound of rock forever.
After failed attempts to play right handed, Iommi made 'thimbles' - melted down ends of fairy liquid bottles to act as the end of his fingers - to pick. This is a practice Tony continues today, except with the hands of real scale human dummy models - the leftovers no doubt shocking bin men on a daily basis. Iommi had taken his inspiration from Belgium guitar whiz Django Rheinhardt, who similarly only had two fret worthy fingers. Astonishingly, this tragic disaster story gave birth to aural revelation. As Tony found it too painful using high gauge strings, he de-tuned his guitar to make it easier to play. This resulted in a dark, stony sound that was previously unheard of, and one that coincided with Iommi's theory of 'people make scary movies, why don't we make scary music?' Enter into the music scene the newly named Black Sabbath, and that was the start of, as we know it, heavy metal - a place only accidentally visited previously in Led Zeppelins Communication Breakdown and the lyrics of Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild ('Heavy Metal Thunder'). The aforementioned first six Sabbath albums, plus the less favoured Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy, would see Sabbath regularly breaking through the UK and US Top Forty, including a breakthrough number one for Paranoid in '70 an American top ten with Masters Of Reality in '71. Legends had being established, but at this time no one was given Sabbath the credit they were due. Accusations of Satanism due to the bands dark sound and early dabblings in witchcraft didn't aid things either, despite the invalidity of such claims.
The head of the Satanic church was known to turn up at early Sabbath gigs and the group did have a habit of attracting such a following, so the Sabs took it upon themselves to wear huge crosses as a superstitious response. Sabbath had faced a backlash of unfavourable religious and media response that had being faced by Elvis in the 50's and the Beatles in the 60's, due to people's reluctance to accept change. Although this would work with the band as much as it did against them.
The group had dug themselves a temporary grave after the excesses of alcohol and drugs took its toll on the band. Stoned most of the time during the recording of their albums, the group left most of the spadework to Tony Iommi, despite the fact credits always stated Iommi/ Osbourne/ Butler/ Ward on every track. The Birmingham quintet had no idea of the business side of things, and were being ran around the bush by record company Vertigo like a Tom pursuing Jerry. Things weren't made any better when the groups normally acclaimed live performances resultedly took a turn for the worst.
The support of then unknown American hot-shots Van Halen on the Sabs '78 Never Say Die tour was the final straw. With (in the words of Mick Wall) 'the outrageous showmanship of David Lee Roth' and guitar virtuoso in two handed tapper supreme in Mr. Eddie Van Halen, the wearied Midlander's were unbelievably blown off stage. Threatening his departure for some time, the less favoured Technical Ecstasy ('76) and Never Say Die ('78) would be Ozzy Osbourne's last albums before leaving the band to form a solo career. This would signal the beginnings of Sabbaths line up change overload come the following years.
Ex Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio would oversee vocals on 1980's and 1981's excellent Heaven And Hell / The Mob Rules respectively, and it seemed like the Sabs were back on track, commercially and musically. But things swung again for the worst cue an in band confrontation over Dio supposedly fiddling with vocal levels against Ionmmi's wishes for Sabbaths 1983 double Live release Live Evil. Subsequently, Dio was fired. Drummer Bill Ward's health had forced him to quit just a year earlier, replaced by Vinnie Appice for The Mob Rules. Sabbaths line up problems in the following years were to deepen to the point of ridicule. Former Deep Purple crooner Ian Gillan came in for 1983's ludicrously covered Born Again, before shortly departing soon after. The 'voice of rock' Glen Hudges (another ex. Purple Man) would come in for the bluesy flavoured Seventh Star ('86), before leaving himself due to drink problems.
Doubts as to whether this should even have being a Black Sabbath album after there was only a single member of the original line up present, it was credited as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi. Vocal stability thankfully followed after the recruitment of ex. pub singer Tony 'The Cat' Martin, who sung on 87's The Eternal Idol, The Headless Cross ('89) Tyr ('90), Cross Purposes ('94) and 95's Forbidden.
This period saw such star attractions such as bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and sticksman Cozy Powell (Rainbow) jumping on board the Sabbath ship. Original bassist Geezer Butler however returned to the fray alongside second vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinnie Appice for 1992's Dehumanizer album, a brief reunion of 1982's Mob Rules line up. While nominated for three Grammies, few outside of the States agreed that the record lived up to past glories of Dio era Sabbath previously, let alone the Ozzy years. Butler stayed on board for Cross Purposes and Forbidden before departing for Ozzy's band and his '95 album Ozzmosis.
If truth be told, there was life after Ozzy and Dio era Sabbath. Undoubtedly, Iommi was still coming up with great riffs and a number of consistent albums. Although with so many changes and the lack of classic status attached, the Sabbath name had being dragged through the mud to the point of lost credibility. Grunge may have being giving metal a bad name at the time, but things were picking up for Sabbath in the recognition stakes for Sabbath as the 90's progressed.
A Hollywood soundtrack appearance for Cross Purposes opener Time Machine and a rap collaboration with Ice-T on the Forbidden (1995) album both showed cases of Sabbath receiving the genuine acknowledgement they deserved. But it was 1993 that brought things all into prospective. Ozzy Osbourne's immensely successful solo career was supposedly coming to an end via his farewell tour on the No More Tours tour.
Sabbath were invited with Dio to join the double 'O' at these shows. But Dio's staunch refusal to trade stages with a man who had personally insulted him on too often an occasion (Ozzy labelled him a gnome in reference to his height, Dio responded by calling him a clown) meant one thing. That being, the limited edition reformation of Sabbath. Playing a set of War Pigs, Iron Man, Fairies Wear Boots and Paranoid, the wheels of a Sabbath reunion were set in motion - and the true value of Sabbath to an ignorant generation had never being made as impressively clear. One listen to the storming version of Black Sabbath on Ozzy's Live and Loud ('93) video - arguably the best its ever being played - is a hungry indication of the food and drink the metal World had gone without for so long. Sabbath needed to return. 90's Grunge inventors Nirvana and all the cronies that followed had sited the band as influences. Metallica (who supported Ozzy on his '86 tour and thought he was a 'a god') Slayer, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest had done years before.
Newly emerging thrash and nu-metal bands - Pantera, Sepultura, Rage Against The Machine, through to the latest ones in Korn and Slipknot, have all stated their admiration and inspiration from Sabbath. Stoner bands such as Monster Magnet and death metal bands such as Cradle Of Filth had similarly made known their love for Sabbath - as had just about everyone from those with credibility to the wanna-bes with none. Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity In Black 1, ('94) was the first committed to tape disc that reflected artists respect for Sabbath. But it wasn't until the band gloriously rejoined forces in 1997 - Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward - that the metallic gods returned to their earthly throne.
Highlighting the Worlds most prodigious metal festival Ozzfest in America and the UK in 1998 after the death of Donington's Monsters Of Rock, the Sabs had also recorded the comeback shows in their home town Birmingham at the NEC for a double live album.
The fivesome's first official live release (as founder members of the band), Reunion Live was received to critical applause. Two new studio tracks - Selling My Soul and Psycho Man teased for a new studio album, but Osbourne and Iommi were insistent that would not happen.
A US tour followed, Sabbath finding themselves in hot water after rescheduling the UK Ozzfest to extend their US jaunt. Although Tory MP Barry Phelps had played a huge helping hand in this, after his complaints of potential noise levels were upheld by councillors and the outdoor UK Ozzfest was cancelled.
The resulting UK Tour saw Sabbath play two nights at Birmingham NEC. Dubbed as The Last Supper and supported by System of A Down, Drain and Gobsmack, this double indoor mini Ozzfest was meant to mark the last ever shows of Black Sabbath. The Last Supper video was released in response of this historic event - Sabbath were, theoretically anyway, no more. A self titled solo album from Iommi with an overwhelming number of guests and Ozzy's rumblings of bringing back axe specialist Zakk Wylde for a new solo album would have to suffice.
But when the shock news broke earlier in the year that Sabbath had played at a location in America to an exclusive audience, the inevitable was again on the cards. Sabbath reunion part 2, or in Ozzy's case, part 3. Celebration or daylight robbery? Musical intent or another quick buck? Argue the toss all you like. But the fact is that Sabbath are back, headlining another of the strongest Ozzfest bills in the UK and US ever into 2001, the UK bill including Slipknot, Tool, Papa Roach, Soulfly, Zakk Wylde and the Black Label Society amongst others.
And with the band making fresh in roads of their own (hallelujah, a new studio album to be produced by Rick Rubin and ready for release in the next or following year) there's a lot to get excited about. Forget false claiming coffees, Black Sabbath are the original and still the best.
Andy Law
