Black Sabbath

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Template:Infobox band

This article is about the British heavy metal band. For the ritual, see Sabbath (witchcraft). For the 1946 British arrests of Jewish paramilitaries, see Operation Agatha. For the 1963 film see Black Sabbath (film)

Black Sabbath (sometimes called Sabbath by fans) is a British heavy metal band, originally comprising Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terrance "Geezer" Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums).

One of the definitive heavy metal bands, Black Sabbath remain a dominant influence in the genre they helped originate.[1] VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock ranked them second, behind Led Zeppelin. [2]

Contents

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History

Black Sabbath formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 under the name Polka Tulk Blues Band (soon shortened to "Polka Tulk"), and later Earth, playing blues rock and hard rock.

Black Sabbath had a unique sound that emerged from diverse influences. Iommi was greatly influenced both by Hank Marvin's playing on Cliff Richard and the Shadows' heavy-guitar based recordings and by jazz guitar, particularly that of Django Reinhardt.[3] Ward has also expressed a fondness for Jazz music, especially drummers like Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.[4] Geezer Butler cites bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce of British blues band Cream as a major influence on his playing: “He was the first player I ever saw who bent the strings and played the bass as a totally independent instrument”.[5] Early incarnations of Black Sabbath merged elements of blues, jazz, and rock and paid their dues playing cover versions of songs by heavy rock acts including Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, and the previously mentioned Cream. Osbourne says he was deeply influenced by the Beatles and his favorite album of all time is Revolver.[6]

Earth moved in a darker direction when their bassist, Geezer Butler, a fan of the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley, wrote an occult-themed song titled "Black Sabbath" (the song name was apparently inspired by a 1963 Mario Bava film). (In their reunion concert film, the band stated that the song is based on an experience Butler had one night when he saw a black object at the end of his bed and noticed the next day that an occult book Osbourne had given him was missing). When the band found themselves being confused with another local band called Earth, they adopted the song title as their new name.

The group found its signature sound almost by accident. When the group was rehearsing in a studio which was situated opposite a cinema showing a horror movie, Osbourne recalls that Tony Iommi said to the rest of the band, "If people pay to see scary movies, why wouldn't they pay to listen to scary music?" The band began to purposely write dark, ominous songs in an attempt to be music's answer to horror films.

Their sound was in many ways unprecedented. Their lyrics dealt with darker issues than most conventional rock as well. During a time, the late 1960s, when other bands were into the peace movement and the hippie culture, Sabbath chose to distinguish themselves by dealing with darker issues, such as the occult, war, apocalypse, and songs sometimes reminiscent of gothic literature. In their music, they also conveyed a sense of anger and a strong anti-establishment feeling, the likes of which had never been heard before. The band also dealt with issues such as drug abuse, which would take its toll on the group.

Beyond their lyrics, Black Sabbath's music was innovative: Iommi tuned his guitar to a lower than usual pitch in part to compensate for a wound he suffered to his fretting fingers, and their tempos were often slower than was common in rock; as a result, Greg Pratto writes, "the music would be repetitive, plodding, and H-E-A-V-Y."[7]

Black Sabbath toured relentlessly; building up a devoted fan base in both Europe and the United States (radio paid rather little attention to the group, however). Their first four albums are undeniably heavy metal classics, containing one memorable song after another including "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and "Iron Man", all carried along by the powerful rhythm section and Iommi's influential riffs, highlighted by Osbourne's enthusiastic singing. Their sophomore effort, Paranoid (1970) sold over four million copies and stayed on the charts for over a year.

As they continued recording and touring, Black Sabbath's music evolved, at times verging on progressive rock: they added more European folk music elements and gothic flourishes to their sound, with much of their material featured acoustic guitar, piano, symphony orchestras, keyboards, and even horns, leaving much of their dark metal roots behind. These changes were largely pushed by Iommi, much to Osbourne's displeasure. Record sales were still relatively strong, but saw drops from their peak in the early 1970s.

Osbourne left Black Sabbath in 1979. He was replaced by singer Ronnie James Dio, who seemed to revitalize the band. His time in Black Sabbath found Dio popularizing the "devil horns" hand gesture which would eventually become a symbol of heavy metal in general. Dio quit after two albums and their supporting tours, and afterwards their were many personnel shifts, with Iommi being the only constant.

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Reunions

In 1985, the original members of Black Sabbath (Iommi/Butler/Osbourne/Ward) reunited for the Live Aid benefit concert. They played only three songs ("Children Of The Grave", "Iron Man" and "Paranoid").

Image:Black Sabbath 1999-12-16 Stuttgart.jpg In 1992, the 1980-1982 version of Black Sabbath (Iommi/Butler/Dio/Appice) reunited and toured for the album Dehumanizer.

In 1992, the original members of Black Sabbath played three songs after one of Ozzy Osbourne's "retirement" concerts in Costa Mesa, California.

In 1995, the 1989-1991 version of the band (Iommi/Powell/Martin/Murray/Nicholls) reunited for the album and tour for Forbidden.

In 1997-98, the original members of Black Sabbath reunited, toured and released Reunion. In 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2005 the original Black Sabbath reunited again and toured on Osbourne's Ozzfest. Since at least 2001, there have been rumors of new album with new songs, but to date, nothing has surfaced, and no formal plans to record have been made. In late December 2005, Ultimate-Guitar.com has reported that Osbourne was afraid that a new album would not match the same standard as the old albums, making it unlikely that new one will ever surface.

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Influence on later musicians

For most of their career, Black Sabbath rarely received any critical praise ("blundering bozos" was one description). But the late 1980s and early 1990s saw a fairly radical reappraisal of the group: not only of their instrumental skills (which were better than they were generally given credit for) but also because they had become widely acknowledged as some of the most influential pioneers in the heavy metal field. Osbourne himself received an NME award for "godlike genius" in 2004.

Heavy metal sub-genres Doom metal and Stoner metal reflect a direct influence from Black Sabbath, especially the slower, heavier style on the band's earlier albums.

Some of the incidents and characters in the spoof rock documentary This Is Spinal Tap are based on Black Sabbath. For example the Stonehenge stage set idea in the film was taken from a real stage used by Black Sabbath for their Born Again Tour. In contrast to the set in the film, in which Stonehenge was made too small to be very imposing on stage, the Black Sabbath version of Stonehenge was in fact too large to fit in many of the arenas the band played in. The eventual fate of the set is not clear, although Iommi has said it was probably abandoned on a loading dock somewhere.Template:Fact

Some grunge and alternative rock groups such as Soundgarden and Silverchair are influenced by the Sabbath sound. Hardcore legends Black Flag have claimed Black Sabbath as one of their major influences. Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins wrote the liner notes for Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978) released in 2004. "Sweet Leaf's" main riff was played by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the end of their own number "Give It Away". Soundgarden, alongside bands like Corrosion of Conformity, Soulfly, Therapy?, White Zombie, Megadeth, Ugly Kid Joe and others appeared on the "Nativity in Black: Tribute to Black Sabbath" series, proving that the legendary band continues to be an inspiration.

Black Sabbath has also inspired bands outside of the heavy metal or hard rock genres. The Cardigans, for instance, cite them as an influenceTemplate:Fact and occasionally cover their songs on their own albums and (more often) B-sides.

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Trivia

After repeatedly being passed over by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since becoming eligible in 1997, Ozzy Osbourne famously demanded that Black Sabbath be removed from consideration for the institution. In 1999, Osbourne said after Black Sabbath was passed over their second year of eligibility, "Just take our name off the list. Save the ink." His basis for this position was that because the fans did not select the members, it was "totally irrelevant". The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ignored this request and Black Sabbath was finally inducted on March 13, 2006.

Elton John is a huge fan of Black Sabbath, and once said it is the only hard rock group he likes.

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Members

Black Sabbath personnel
(1969-1977)
(1978)
(1978-1979)
(1979-1980)
(1980-1982)
(1982-1983)
(1983-1984)
(1984-1985)
(1985-1986)
(1986-1987)
(1987)
(1987-1988)
(1988-1989)
(1989-1991)
(1991-1992)
(1992-1994)
(1994-1995)
(1995-1997)
(1997)
(1998)
(1999-present)
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Official band discography

The albums in this section are official "band sponsored" albums, and are released with the cooperation and authorization of the band that existed at the time of the release.

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Studio albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label Chart positions US sales
Image:Black Sabbath debut album.jpg 1970 Black Sabbath Warner Bros. #8 UK
#23 US
Image:BlackSabbathParanoid.jpg 1970 Paranoid Warner Bros. #1 UK
#12 US
Image:BlackSabbathMasterofReality.jpg 1971 Master of Reality Warner Bros. #5 UK
#8 US
Image:Black Sabbath Vol 4.png 1972 Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 Warner Bros. #8 UK
#13 US
Image:Black Sabbath SbS.jpg 1973 Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Warner Bros. #4 UK
#11 US
Image:BlackSabbathSabotage.jpg 1975 Sabotage Warner Bros. #7 UK
#28 US
Image:BlackSabbathTechnicalEcstasy.jpg 1976 Technical Ecstasy Warner Bros. #13 UK
#51 US
Image:BlackSabbathNeverSayDie!.jpg 1978 Never Say Die! Warner Bros. #12 UK
#69 US
Image:BlackSabbathHeavenAndHell.jpg 1980 Heaven and Hell Warner Bros. #9 UK
#28 US
Image:BlackSabbathMobRules.jpg 1981 Mob Rules Warner Bros. #12 UK
#29 US
Image:BlackSabbathBornAgain.jpg 1983 Born Again Warner Bros. #4 UK
#39 US
Image:BlackSabbathSeventhStar.jpg 1986 Seventh Star Warner Bros. #27 UK
#78 US
Image:Eternalidol.jpg 1987 The Eternal Idol Warner Bros. #168 US
Image:BlackSabbathHeadlessCross.jpg 1989 Headless Cross I.R.S. #31 UK
#115 US
Image:BlackSabbathTYR.jpg 1990 TYR I.R.S. #24 UK
Image:BlackSabbathDehumanizer.jpg 1992 Dehumanizer Warner Bros. #28 UK
#44 US
Image:BlackSabbathCrossPurposes.jpg 1994 Cross Purposes I.R.S. #122 US
Image:Forbidden.jpg 1995 Forbidden EMI Did not chart
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Live albums

  • 1982 - Live Evil (live - Iommi, Dio, Butler, Appice); #13 UK, #37 US
  • 1998 - Reunion (live - Iommi, Osbourne, Butler, Ward); #11 US
  • 2002 - Past Lives (live from the 1970s - Iommi, Osbourne, Butler, Ward); #114 US
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Compilation albums

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Unofficial/other discography

The albums in this section are not official, as they were not released with the cooperation of band management, and are generally released by record companies, not the band itself.

  • 1980 - Live at Last (Live from 1973 - Iommi, Osbourne, Butler, Ward); #5 UK. Eventually remastered and officially released as one of the two Past Lives discs.
  • 1973, 1976, 2000 - The Best of Black Sabbath (several different compilation albums under this title)
  • 1976 - The Original (compilation, Germany)
  • 1978 - Rock Heavies (compilation, Germany)
  • 1983 - The Best (compilation, Australia)
  • 1983 - The Very Best of Black Sabbath (compilation, South Africa)
  • 1984, 1987 - The Kings of Hell (compilation, Brazil)
  • 1985 - The Collection (compilation, UK)
  • 1991 - Backtrackin (compilation, Australia)
  • 1991 - Children of the Grave (essentially the Vol. 4 album with an added live version of "Children of the Grave")
  • 2006 - Paranoid (DVD)
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UK hit singles

  • 1970 - "Paranoid" #4
  • 1978 - "Never Say Die" #21
  • 1978 - "Hard Road" #33
  • 1980 - "Neon Knights" #22
  • 1980 - "Paranoid" (re-issue) #14
  • 1982 - "Turn up the Night" #37
  • 1992 - "TV Crimes" #33
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External links

Black Sabbath
Ozzy Osbourne | Tony Iommi | Geezer Butler | Bill Ward

Dave Walker | Ronnie James Dio | Vinny Appice | Ian Gillan | Bev Bevan | David Donato | Glenn Hughes | Dave Spitz | Eric Singer | Ray Gillen | Tony Martin | Bob Daisley | Jo Burt | Terry Chimes | Laurence Cottle | Cozy Powell | Neil Murray | Bobby Rondinelli | Mike Bordin | Geoff Nicholls

Discography
Studio albums: Black Sabbath | Paranoid | Master Of Reality | Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 | Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | Sabotage | Technical Ecstasy | Never Say Die! | Heaven and Hell | Mob Rules | Born Again | Seventh Star | The Eternal Idol | Headless Cross | Tyr | Dehumanizer | Cross Purposes | Forbidden

Live albums: Live Evil | Cross Purposes Live | Reunion | Past Lives

Compilations: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll | The Sabbath Stones | Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 | Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978) | Greatest Hits 1970-1978


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