The Hype of Black Sabbath

Written By: Khadeeja Coonrod

"Turn off that Devil music!" That had to be one of the most often used sentences among households whenever junior or princess listened to... BLACK SABBATH. They were the ones who set the tone for many bands to follow in their footsteps of being a metal band. Judas Priest would stick out because, like Black Sabbath, they were also an English metal band. They were from Birmingham where Black Sabbath was formed in 1968, a year before Judas Priest came out.

Black Sabbath was one of the first heavy metal bands. They incorporated blues and rock into their music and twisted it until it became this dark force that reminded many of the midevil times when cetain notes were thought to summon Satan. So, while mom and dad were screaming for the volume to be turned down, the Devil was probably somewhere smiling.

The orginal members are: Ozzy Osbourne- lead vocals, Tony Iommi- guitars, Geezer Butler- bass, and Bill Ward- drums and percussion.

For those who don't know, Tony Iommi was the one band member who remained in Black Sabbath over the bands many changing times and Black Sabbath had twenty-two formal members. He wrote most of the music while Ozzy wrote some melodies and Butler wrote some of the lyrics. Tony is a master when it comes to writing and playing riffs. Ozzy has been the unforgetable frontman for Black Sabbath with his crazy on and off-stage antics. We all know about him biting off the head of the bat and most have seen at least one episode of the infamous show, The Osbournes.

Black Sabbath has released: 18 studio albums, 5 live albums, 6 compilation albums, 44 singles, and 10 video albums. The original members came together in 1997 to tour the world together once again. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

On May 29, 2009 Ozzy Osbourne sued Tony Iommi over the Black Sabbath trademark. Tony sued Live Nation for selling Black Sabbath merchandise just months prior so it could be Ozzy's backlash. Tony made sure to keep the Black Sabbath brand going and was the force behind most of the band's credibility if you ask me.

Black Sabbath remains legendary in the music world, mostly in rock and metal. Their sound has inspired many bands including: Pantera, Metallica, Slipknot, and Godsmack. Black Sabbath is a leader in metal history.