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Black Sabbath, the first heavy metal?
Black Sabbath, originally from Birmingham, United Kingdom, with a characteristic and one-of-a-kind sound, emerged as a proposal towards the end of the 60s, being the pioneering musical ensemble of the most disruptive sound on the planet.
The band formed in 1968, consisting of singer John Ozzy Osbourne , guitarist Frank Anthony Tony Iommi , bassist Terence Geezer Butler , and drummer William Bill Ward.
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They were the pioneers of Metal, making it that kind of genre, somber and heavy, in addition to taking the theme of witchcraft beyond certain limits considered until that time (1968). Its dark aesthetic, never seen before, began in leaps and bounds a trend that would later influence an entire cultural movement called Heavy Metal. With a heavy sound and psychedelic overtones, Black Sabbath’s debut occurred in the early 70s as a threat to the establishment, who were terrified as the change in mentality demonstrated changes.
With classics like ‘Paranoid’, ‘Heaven and Hell’, and many more; Black Sabbath evolved through lineup changes during the 1980s and 1990s, where the only constant member was guitarist Tony Iommi . The initial lineup finally reunited in 1998, and in 2006 they were inducted into the Music Hall of Fame.
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Other members of Black Sabbath are: Tony Martin , Ronnie James Dio , Ray Gillen , Ian Gillan , Glenn Hughes , Vinny Appice , Geoff Nicholls , Cozy Powell and Neil Murray .
The powerful way of playing, and its emancipatory, mystical and above all sincere lyrics with the reality of the world, were taken as a model for numerous future groups. Their 1970 self-titled album continues to be considered one of the most innovative and influential in rock history. The initial quartet was made up of Ozzy Osbourne (vocalist), Tony Iommi (guitarist), Geezer Butler (bassist) and Bill Ward (drummer), initially they were called Polka Tulk and later Earth. At the beginning, they took by storm a circuit of pubs and clubs in their hometown, with a lot of energy, blues and rock.
Their schoolmates and neighbors in Birmingham accompanied them, from then on, the group gained many followers in England, until in 1968 they changed their name to Black Sabbath, a name taken from a film named that way. This was a new name that better described the band’s dark, heavy, and mystical image, and its taste for supernatural and mystical themes.
In 1969 they recorded the album <<Black Sabbath>>, which reached the British Top Ten, where it remained for three months and gained the band a group of fervent fans located on both sides of the Atlantic. A great leap occurred with the recording of <<Paranoid>>, an album of transcendence, which featured cutting guitar riffs, reaching a better position on the English charts and remaining in a very similar position in America for more than a year. , earning a platinum record.
This was quite an event for the nascent English scene. <<Master of Reality>>, Black Sabbath’s third album, was released in August 1971. Among other songs were some that became trademarks of the band, such as “Children of the Grave” or “”Sweet Leaf”. Later, Black Sabbath recorded an album called Vol. 4 in early 1972 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. This album featured powerful songs like Supernaut and Under The Sun, the album would reveal a side completely. unknown of the band, with melodic songs, carefully written and played like “Cornucopia” and “Laguna Sunrise”, an instrumental composition that would take a special place in the band’s repertoire.
Considered one of the classics of hard rock, the album, <<Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath>> (1973), earned critical acclaim for songs like “Killing Yourself to Live”, “Looking For Today”; With broader and more multifaceted lyrics. The album was produced, composed and recorded by the band, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was a high point in the band’s long career. When Sabotage, Black Sabbath’s sixth album, was released in 1975, the quality of the band was more than proven, and the talent for composing within the simple style that marked the band was also obvious (called mediocre by the negative critics of his detractors). We Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll was a devastating production, composed of 14 songs, all classics.
<<Technical Ecstasy>> is one of Black Sabbath’s most inventive and original studio albums, it is structured by three typical compositions of the band: Back Street Kids, Gypsy, Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor and the main one of the LP, Dirty Women. As the eighth studio album of a career spanning nearly three decades, the 1978 release, <<Never Say Die>, features some of the most memorable lyrics and captures the full force of the original lineup, including songs like Johnny Blade, Breakout and Shock Wave; included in the band’s live repertoire. In 1979, Ronnie James Dio, an American who had participated with Richie Blackmore in Rainbow in several recordings and performances during the 1970s.
The arrival of Ronnie James Dio was the first change within the group’s lineup in more than a decade. Heaven and Hell (1980) was the first album with the new singer. All the songs were written by the band with the participation of Dio. The second album, Mob Rules (1981) with Dio on vocals and first album with new drummer Vinnie Appice, featured more moody displays on recordings that shaped the British metal scene alongside Judas Priest, Saxon and Iron Maiden, such is the case of Turn Up The Night, The Sign Of The Southern Cross, Sliping Away and The Mob Rules. In 1982, Black Sabbath released a live album, Live Evil, which included the biggest hits of all the albums released up to that point. After the recording, Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice left the band, amid misunderstandings within the band such as the accusation that Dio was made of “sabotaging” the album mix to highlight his voice within the recording.
The album <<Born Again>>, in 1983, features Ian Gillan, originally a member of Deep Purple, as vocalist. Black Sabbath’s original drummer Bill Ward returns to the band. Some of the standout tracks on this album are “Trashed,” “Digital Bitch,” and “Zero The Hero.” For a time Bev Bevan, from the band ELO, replaced Ward. After Bev Bevan and Ian Gillan left the band, Bill Ward returned and the band experimented with a new vocalist, Dave Donato. This line-up never recorded and Dave Donato was fired from the band after a very controversial interview.
They tried again to keep the band with vocalist Ron Keel. Finally, with the departure of Geezer Butler, many believed that the band was finished. Three years later, in 1986, Tony Iommi released his album Seventh Star, billed as “Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi”. This album was to be treated as an Iommi solo album, but the recording decided to use the name Black Sabbath. Glen Hughes, from Deep Purple, was its vocalist. During the American tour Glen Hughes left, being replaced by Ray Gillen, with whom the band was about to record <<The Eternal Idol>>, but who in the end also decided to leave, leaving the recording underway.
To complete this process, in 1987, Black Sabbath hired Tony Martin , who had to recapitulate everything done by Ray Gillen and print his voice on the band’s fourteenth album. Ray Gillen, then, apparently recorded this album, which would later be released as part of a compilation called The Ray Gillen Years, but the official edition of The Eternal Idol came out with the voice of Tony Martin. The line-up at that time was: Tony Iommi (Guitars), Tony Martin (vocals), Dave Spitz, Bob Daisley (bass), Bev Bevan (percussion) and Eric Singer (drummer, who would later go to the band Kiss). The Eternal Idol had great hits like “The Shining”, “Hard Life to Love”, “Born to Lose” and “Lost Forever”.
In 1989, Black Sabbath released Headless Cross, which has been considered one of the band’s best works; with great hits like Headless Cross, Devil and Daughter, When Death Calls and Black Moon. The line-up was composed of Tony Iommi, Tony Martin, Cozy Powell (drums) and Laurence Cottle (bass). Laurance Cottle was later replaced by Neil Murray.
In 1990, twenty-two years after Black Sabbath formed, they recorded TYR, an album that consolidated the style begun in 1987 with The Eternal Idol. TYR is an album built with strong Viking, runic and Norse mythological resonances. Almost a concept album, due to the exception of Feels Good To Me, a song that falls outside the runic concept of the album, although it could perfectly be fitted on a contemporary symbolic level. Some notable songs from this album were Anno Mundi, Jerusalem, The Sabbath Stones, The Battle of TYR, Odin’s Court and, precisely, the ballad Feels Good to Me.
1992 was a very relevant historical year for Black Sabbath, because there was a meeting between Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, Vinnie Appice and Tony Iommi, which crystallized in the album Dehumanizer, (which had been planned to be recorded with the voice of Tony Martin ), a highly anticipated and acclaimed album by all. Some of his hits were Time Machine, TV Crimes, Master of Insanity, Too Late and Sins Of The Father. Time Machine was part of the soundtrack of the film Wayne’s World (The More Idiot The Better).
Back in 1994, Tony Martin to Black Sabbath, releasing the band’s eighteenth album, Cross Purposes, which included great hits such as I Witness, Cross of Thorns, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Immaculate Deception and Psychophobia. The band’s lineup at that time consisted of: Tony Martin (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass), Tony Iommi (guitars) and Bobb Rondinelli (drums). In 1995, Black Sabbath released Forbidden, which did not enjoy good acceptance by critics, nor by Tony Martin himself, due to the inclusion in The Illusion of Power of a rap fragment performed by rapper Ice T. of the Body Count band. Forbidden has some notable tracks such as: Get a Grip, Shaking Off The Chains, Sick and Tired and Kiss Of Death. The band consisted of Tony Martin (vocals), Neil Murray (bass), Tony Iommi (guitar) and Cozy Powell (drums). Cozzy Powell left the band in the middle of the American tour and was replaced by Bobby Rondinelli.
In that same year; At an Ozzy concert they appeared on stage, after a long breakup due to personal problems, the former members of the band, Tommy, Bill, and Gezeer Butler returned to play together with the first singer of the band. A truly exciting reunion for fans of the first stage of Black Sabbath, and one that gave hope to the metal scene with a possible reunification of one of the most subversive, scandalous, creative and sublime bands of this genre. Things that would become real when in 98 the recording of a new album was announced, with some live versions and some unreleased songs that was titled “Reunión”, made after a few presentations at the inaugural concert of the tour called Ozzfest. .
The next historical milestone would be the return of Ronnie James Dio to a band that no longer had the rights to its own name, due to a lawsuit filed and won by Ozzy Osbourne, but that under this lineup: Ronnie James Dio (Vocals), Tony Iommi (Guitar), Geezer Butler (Bass), Vinny Appice (drums); they would continue working together under a new name Heaven & Hell ; in a variety of concerts and releasing in 2009 a new production called The Devil You Know, which had great acceptance and great effervescence due to the return of a lineup that brought great emotions to the heavy and doom metal scene. Some notable tracks are: Atom & Evil, Bible Black and Follow The Tears. Things went back to normal between Iommi and Dio and the other members of the band, until the unexpected came for everyone, the illness and death of Ronnie James Dio, which occurred on May 16, 2010.
In an interview in January 2010 while promoting his biography I Am Ozzy, Osbourne stated that he did not believe there would ever be a reunion with all the original members of the band. He said: “I’m not going to say I consider it impossible, but right now I don’t think it will happen. But who knows what the future holds for me? If it’s my destiny, then fine.” According to Geezer Butler, a Black Sabbath reunion with Ozzy in 2011 would not be possible, as Osbourne would be touring with his solo band.
Black Sabbath hosted a ceremony at the Whiskey a Go Go, Hollywood, California, on November 11, 2011 to make an official statement.
The ceremony was hosted by former Black Flag member Henry Rollins, along with the four original members of Black Sabbath. At the event, Black Sabbath officially announced their return. They confirmed their performance at the Download Festival 2012 and an album with new material produced with Rick Rubin for the end of 2012. On November 18, they announced a series of concerts in Europe between May and June 2012. On January 9, 2012, it was officially announced that Tony Iommi had been diagnosed with lymphoma.
On February 2, 2012, Bill Ward announced that he would not participate in the Black Sabbath reunion unless they gave him a “contract.” The next day the rest of the members announced that they had no choice but to continue without him, although they said that “the doors were open.” Shortly after they said that the tour had been canceled and that they would only play the Download Festival. Instead of Black Sabbath, the tour would be Ozzy with guest musicians: “Ozzy and Friends.” In April, Perry Farrell confirmed that Sabbath’s only concert in the United States would be at the Lollapalooza festival.
On May 19, 2012, Butler, Iommi and Osbourne performed together for the first time since 2005 at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England. This concert in their hometown served as a warm-up for their later concerts scheduled at Download Festival and Lollapalooza Festival and tickets sold out in a matter of minutes after going on sale a couple of weeks earlier. For the concert Tommy Clufetos completed the band’s lineup, replacing Bill Ward. They played for an hour and fifty minutes, including in their setlist classics rarely performed live for years.
On June 2, 2012, Osbourne commented in an interview with NME that Black Sabbath had written about fifteen songs. On June 10 they closed the Download Festival in Leicestershire, playing many of their classics and closing the night with “Paranoid”.
Finally, in June 2013, the band’s nineteenth studio album was released, called “13”, recorded between August 2012 and January 2013 at Shangri La Studios, Malibu, California, and Tone Hall, Warwickshire, United Kingdom.
The album was published by the Vertigo record label and was produced by Rick Rubin. Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine replaced Bill Ward on drums. The standard version of the album consists of eight songs, while the deluxe version consists of three additional tracks.
The first single from 13 is titled “God Is Dead?” and was released on April 19, 2013. On April 20, 2013, Black Sabbath began their first tour of Australia and New Zealand in over forty years, and will follow with an extensive tour of the United States in July and August. The second single from the album is, “End of the Beginning”, which debuted on the May 15 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which all three members of the band appear.
In June 2013, 13 reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200. 150 In November the band will begin their European tour, which they plan to finish in December.
Black Sabbath discography
BLACK SABBATH – Paranoid (Full Album)
‘Paranoid’ is the second studio album from Black Sabbath. Released in September 1970, it was the band’s only LP to top the UK Albums Chart until the release of the ’13’ album in 2013. Paranoid contains several of the band’s signature songs, including “Iron Man”, “War Pigs” and the title track, which was the band’s only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK charts. It is often cited as the most influential album in the development of the entire heavy metal genre.
Track List:
0:00 War Pigs 7:58 Paranoid 10:47 Planet Caravan 15:25 Iron Man 21:26 Electric Funeral 26:30 Hand of Doom 33:30 Rat Salad 36:04 Fairies Wear Boots