Black Sabbath: Dark Side

Black Sabbath also known as the 1970s heavy metal kings are now making a comeback after more than thirty years. The band announced that they will be reuniting on 11.11.11. Also the group will begin touring in 2012. The rock legends will headline a number of Europe’s premier festivals in 2012. Black-sabbath.com announces the tour dates from May 2012 until July 24th, 2012. The band will be traveling all over the Europe area; from Sweden to Italy. Black Sabbath’s worldwide appearances are one of the most anticipated music events of 2012 according to Black-sabbath.com. 

The four members of the rock band are Lead Singer Ozzy Osbourne, Guitarist Tony Iommi, Bassist Geezer Butler and Drummer Bill Ward. The Black Sabbath story began in Birmingham, England, where Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward were looking to escape a life of factory work by pursuing music.

The band saw themselves as the “heavy underground band,” with their guitar riff-based songs, extreme volume, and dark, demonic subject matter, Black Sabbath embodied key aspects of the heavy-metal aesthetic, reports rockhall.com. Their name was inspired by Butler when he saw a dark figure at the foot of his bed and Ozzy composed a song about his bandmates experience and named it, “Black Sabbath.” 

“The name sounded mysterious, it gave people something to think about, and it gave us a direction to follow,” said Tony Iommi. The demonic sound of the band basically comes from what the group’s beliefs. “It’s a satanic world,” Butler told Rolling Stone Magazine in 1971. “The devil’s more in control now. People can’t come together, there’s no equality. It’s a sin to put yourself above other people, and yet that’s what people do,” he said on rockhall.com. This quote alone put people in a weird position. They did not want to welcome a demonic band and it just did not feel right at the time for people to welcome the band or their music. The band’s music was overlooked because of the demonic sounds and aggressive lyrics at first, but later on as they participated in more tours and added a twist to their music the more people began to gravitate towards the group.

Despite the negative backlash that Black Sabbath received as they tried to make a come up in the rock ‘n roll game,  the group was inducted to the U.S. Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and they have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide reports abc news. This proves that even though the group had some unwelcoming responses, they still maintained to work hard to receive those awards and the recognition they’ve always wanted. Black Sabbath has been influential in the development of heavy metal rock music. They are a defining force in this genre of music. By slowing the tempo, accentuating the bass, and emphasizing screaming guitar solos and howled vocals full of enticing lyrics that express mental anguish, Black Sabbath presented a musical style that attracted millions of fans to this day. 

Later on, Ozzy Osbourne left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career. His bandmates were not too supportive of his decision, but felt it was best for the group. Therockradio.com gives details on how the other members felt. They complained that Ozzy was a hit and miss sometimes. Whether he was going to show up or if he would even sing. They felt as if his departure was an excuse to run away from the problems within the group. Ozzy has had a great career thus far being a solo artist and a actor. He has appeared in the hit movie “Little Nicky” and according to ozzy.com he has released his own Sirius XM channel. Ozzy, also known as, “The Prince of Darkness,” had a reality show with his family called “The Osbournes.” This show gives a different side of Ozzy that no one could expect, well at least I didn’t. Ozzy became known as the American father giving parental advice to his son and daughter, Jack and Kelly. His advice worked because Kelly was Ozzy’s wild child, but surprisingly she is now as a classy yet sassy young lady. She is now a host on E’s TV show “Fashion Police.”  

When it comes to Black Sabbath, even though the group had a few negative instances, they still remained good friends. “In my opinion, there’s only ever been one Black Sabbath, and that’s Iommi, Osbourne, Butler and Ward. And the beauty of Sabbath is that we’re all still alive.” Abc-cbnnews.com says they are working on new material for a new album and they plan on releasing it in the fall of 2012. There is no title selected yet but it will be produced by the Original Hit Man Rick Rubin.

“It’s now or never. We are getting along great. Everything’s really good,” Iommi told reporters at the club where Black Sabbath played their first show in Los Angeles exactly 41 years ago.

-Deidre Palode