History Music / BlackSabbath

* 1980 -- ''[[Music/HeavenAndHell1980 Heaven and Hell]]''

* 1980 -- ''Heaven and Hell''

The band saw [[RevolvingDoorBand multiple line-up changes]] (including a reunion of the Dio-era line-up in 1991) until the original four reunited in 1997. As Ozzy again drifted away from the band in the mid-2000's to focus on his solo career and semi-retirement, the other members reunited with Dio and performed under the name ''Heaven and Hell'' until Dio's death in 2010.

* FiveManBand: the final touring lineup
** TheLeader: Tony
** TheLancer: Ozzy
** TheSmartGuy: Adam
** TheBigGuy: Geezer
** [[SixthRanger Fifth Ranger]]: Tommy

Black Sabbath was a band from [[UsefulNotes/TheWestMidlands Birmingham,]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} England]] who are widely considered to be the first HeavyMetal band (Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, and Music/BlueCheer are also cited, but Sabbath is the most common), formed by singer [[Music/OzzyOsbourne John "Ozzy" Osbourne]], guitarist Tony Iommi (who briefly joined Music/JethroTull in 1968), bassist Terrence "Geezer" Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.

Their first two albums, ''Music/{{Black Sabbath|Album}}'' and ''Music/{{Paranoid|Album}}'' (both released in 1970), brought them great popularity with songs like "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs," "Paranoid," and "Iron Man." Due to their darker style, they initially received no radio play, and Creator/VertigoRecords had to bribe radio stations to play "Iron Man," which scraped the [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates US]] charts. Their next albums, ''Music/MasterOfReality'' and ''Volume 4'', spawned a new batch of classics, such as "Sweet Leaf," "Children of the Grave," "Into the Void," "Supernaut," and "Snowblind." It wasn't until their fifth album, ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'', that they finally got positive reviews from the mainstream media (although critics have reversed themselves and [[VindicatedByHistory retroactively praised]] the other four albums).

* Vinny Appice - drums, percussion (1980–82, 1991–93, 1998, 2006-2010)
* [[Music/ElectricLightOrchestra Bev Bevan]] - drums, percussion, cymbals (1983–84, 1987)
* [[Music/FaithNoMore Mike Bordin]] - drums (1997)

* '''Terrence "Geezer" Butler''' - bass, vocals, mellotron, synthesizer, nose flute (1968–85, 1990–94, 1997–2010, 2011–2017)
* [[Music/TheClash Terry Chimes]] - drums (1987)
* [[Music/{{Rainbow}} Bob Daisley]] - bass (1986)
* David Donato - lead vocals (1984–85)
* [[Music/{{Rainbow}} Colin Flooks (Cozy Powell)]] - drums, percussion (1988–91, 1994–95, died 1998)
* [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Gillan]] - lead vocals (1982–84)
* Ray Gillen - lead vocals (1986–87, died 1993)
* Music/GlennHughes - lead vocals (1985–86)
* '''Tony Iommi''' - guitars, vocals, flute, synthesizer, piano, mellotron, harpsichord, organ, bagpipes, harp (1968–2017)
* Tony Martin - lead vocals (1987–91, 1993–97)
* [[Music/{{KISS}} Eric Singer]] - drums (1985–87)
* [[Music/{{Whitesnake}} Neil Murray]] - bass (1989–91, 1994–95)
* Geoff Nicholls - keyboard, bass, guitar (1986–91, 1993–2004, died 2017)
* '''[[Music/OzzyOsbourne John "Ozzy" Osbourne]]''' - lead vocals, harmonica, synthesizer (1968–77, 1978–79, 1997–2006, 2011–2017)
* Music/RonnieJamesDio - lead vocals (1979–82, 1991–92, 2006-2010, died 2010)
* [[Music/BlueOysterCult Bobby Rondinelli]] - drums (1993–94, 1995)
* Dave Spitz - bass (1985–86, 1987)
* [[Music/FleetwoodMac Dave Walker]] - lead vocals (1977–78)
* '''Bill Ward''' - drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals, congas, timpani, piano (1968–80, 1982–83, 1985, 1994, 1997–2006, 2011–12)

!! Studio Discography:

* 1970 - ''Music/{{Black Sabbath|Album}}''
* 1970 - ''Music/{{Paranoid|Album}}''
* 1971 - ''Music/MasterOfReality''
* 1972 - ''Black Sabbath Vol. 4''
* 1973 - ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''
* 1975 - ''Sabotage''
* 1976 - ''Technical Ecstasy''
* 1978 - ''Never Say Die!''
* 1980 - ''Heaven and Hell''
* 1981 - ''Mob Rules''
* 1983 - ''Born Again''
* 1986 - ''Seventh Star''
* 1987 - ''The Eternal Idol''
* 1989 - ''Headless Cross''
* 1990 - ''Tyr''
* 1992 - ''Dehumanizer''
* 1994 - ''Cross Purposes''
* 1995 - ''Forbidden''
* 2009 - ''Music/TheDevilYouKnow''[[note]]Debatable as it’s labeled as a Heaven & Hell album, though there are fans who consider it a part of Sabbath’s discography.[[/note]]
* 2013 - ''13''

!! Live Discography:

* 1980 - ''Live at Last''
* 1982 - ''Live Evil''
* 1995 - ''Cross Purposes Live''
* 1998 - ''Reunion''
* 2002 - ''Past Lives''
* 2007 - ''Live at Hammersmith Odeon'' & ''Live from Radio City Music Hall''
* 2010 - ''Neon Knights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell''
* 2013 - ''Live... Gathered in Their Masses''
* 2017 - ''The End''

!! Sabbath Tropes Sabbath:

* ThoseTwoGuys: Geezer and Bill tend to get overshadowed by Tony's guitar mastery [[HandicappedBadass despite his handicap]] and Ozzy's... [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Every]][[CrazyIsCool thing.]]

* UrExample or TropeMakers: Although bands like Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, and Music/BlueCheer paved the way, many people consider Black Sabbath to be the world's first true HeavyMetal band. They are also considered the UrExample for DoomMetal, which basically takes the characteristics of Sabbath's music (slow, heavy, sludgy riffs) and turns them up.

[[caption-width-right:300: The classic line-up of Black Sabbath. Clockwise from left: Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, and Music/OzzyOsbourne.]]

-> ''"What is this that stands before me?''\\
''Figure in black which points at me''\\
''Turn around quick and start to run''\\
''Find out I'm the chosen one''\\
''Oh, noooooo!"''
-->--'''"Black Sabbath"'''

* DownerEnding: More than one of their songs ends with Satan or another evil entity triumphant. Especially notable in "Black Sabbath," and "Iron Man." Overlaps with TheBadGuyWins and KarmicTwistEnding.

* TheBadGuyWins: More than one of their songs ends with Satan or another evil entity triumphant. Especially notable in "Black Sabbath," and "Iron Man." Overlaps with DownerEnding. "War Pigs" ends with Satan punishing the titular "war pigs" who profited off of death and slaughter, so it could be seen as more of a KarmicTwistEnding.

* TheBadGuyWins: More than one of their songs ends with Satan or another evil entity triumphant. Especially notable in "Black Sabbath," and "Iron Man." Overlaps with DownerEnding. "War Pigs" ends with Satan punishing the titular "war pigs" who profited off of death and slaughter, so it could be seen as more of a KarmicEnding.

* TheBadGuyWins: More than one of their songs ends with Satan or another evil entity triumphant. Especially notable in "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs," and "Iron Man." Overlaps with DownerEnding.

* TheBadGuyWins: More than one of their songs ends with Satan or another evil entity triumphant. Especially notable in "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs," and "Iron Man."

* HeavyMithril: "The Wizard" is the {{Trope Maker|s}} and "Children of the Sea" from ''Heaven and Hell'' is similarly classic. It was always an occasional theme (bolstered by Butler, as the primary lyricist, having a strong interest in the occult and folklore), but it really took over when Dio joined the band. Fans of Dio weren't surprised by this in the slightest. Als the Tony Martin era album ''Tyr'' has a trilogy of songs about the Myth/NorseMythology.

''Oh noooooo!"''

Black Sabbath was a band from [[UsefulNotes/TheWestMidlands Birmingham,]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} England]] who are widely considered to be the first HeavyMetal band (Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, and Music/BlueCheer are also cited, but Sabbath is the most common) formed by singer [[Music/OzzyOsbourne John "Ozzy" Osbourne]], guitarist Tony Iommi (who briefly joined Music/JethroTull in 1968), bassist Terrence "Geezer" Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.

They started out in 1968 as a blues band called Earth until changing their style to a darker tone. Apocryphally, this was the result of one of the band members seeing a queue for a horror film at a cinema and commenting on how people pay to be scared. Their name did actually come from a 1963 horror movie named ''Film/{{Black Sabbath|1963}}'', starring Creator/BorisKarloff. Their sound has naturally changed over the decades. Their two most celebrated eras, the "classic" years (1969-1975) and their early years with Music/RonnieJamesDio (1980-1982), are marked by massive changes to the sound. For the classic era, they dabbled extensively with BluesRock, Jazz Rock, PsychedelicRock, early DoomMetal, and, of course, HeavyMetal. For the Dio era, they took up a more PowerMetal and traditional metal stance with some instances of SpeedMetal and vestiges of blues metal.

** ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' and ''Sabotage'' contain ProgressiveRock elements

* ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' and ''Sabotage'' contain ProgressiveRock elements
* ''Technical Ecstasy'' and ''Never Say Die!'' straddles the line between their usual heavy metal and straight-up HardRock, with even a little JazzRock thrown in for the latter.
* ''Seventh Star'' was, for the most part, more hard rock than heavy metal.
* ''The Eternal Idol'' and ''Headless Cross'' contains elements from GlamMetal.
* ''Dehumanizer'' brings back the DoomMetal elements of their early albums, and is perhaps the most doom-y out of all of them.

** Not so much with Bill and Ozzy anymore. In a [[https://dcheavymetal.com/2014/04/18/Interview-With-Bill-Ward-Of-Black-Sabbath/ recent interview,]] Bill reveals that he [[http://loudwire.com/black-sabbath-bill-ward-lost-a-friend-ozzy-osbourne/ didn't take kindly at all to Ozzy's comments]] that Bill was out of shape and couldn't cut it anymore (in regards to why Bill was offered that "unsignable" contract). He does however still keep in touch with Tony and Geezer, albeit behind the scenes. He's also open to rejoining the band someday, provided the contractual dispute is resolved (and once he fully recovers from the perforated diverticulitis he suffered in September 2013).

They started out in 1968 as a blues band called Earth until changing their style to a darker tone. Apocryphally, this was the result of one of the band members seeing a queue for a horror film at a cinema and commenting on how people pay to be scared. Their name did actually come from a 1963 horror movie named ''Film/{{Black Sabbath|1963}}'', starring Creator/BorisKarloff. Their sound has naturally changed over the decades. Their two most celebrated eras, the "classic" years (1969-1975) and the early Dio years (1980-1982), are marked by massive changes to the sound. For the classic era, they dabbled extensively with BluesRock, Jazz Rock, PsychedelicRock, early DoomMetal, and, of course, HeavyMetal. For the Dio era, they took up a more PowerMetal and traditional metal stance with some instances of SpeedMetal and vestiges of blues metal.

* NotChristianRock:
** "After Forever," according to the band, was actually a song addressed to people who didn't 'get' the fact that their occult content was just a marketing ploy, rather than a StealthParody of Christian music. PoesLaw applies. "Lord of This World" also qualifies.
** In an interview with Blabbermouth, Geezer--who was raised in a strict Catholic household--further stated that he came up with the song in response to the sociopolitical situation in the UK particularly with UsefulNotes/TheTroubles. Geezer felt that "it was just ridiculous" that people were killing each other in God's name, and if the Lord were to witness the carnage from sectarian conflict, He would be disgusted.

They started out in 1968 as a blues band called Earth until changing their style to a darker tone. Apocryphally, this was the result of one of the band members seeing a queue for a horror film at a cinema and commenting on how people pay to be scared. Their name did actually come from a 1963 horror movie named ''Film/BlackSabbath,'' starring Creator/BorisKarloff. Their sound has naturally changed over the decades. Their two most celebrated eras, the "classic" years (1969-1975) and the early Dio years (1980-1982), are marked by massive changes to the sound. For the classic era, they dabbled extensively with BluesRock, Jazz Rock, PsychedelicRock, early DoomMetal, and, of course, HeavyMetal. For the Dio era, they took up a more PowerMetal and traditional metal stance with some instances of SpeedMetal and vestiges of blues metal.

* NotChristianRock: "After Forever," according to the band, was actually a song addressed to people who didn't 'get' the fact that their occult content was just a marketing ploy, rather than a StealthParody of Christian music. PoesLaw applies. "Lord of This World" also qualifies.

On February 4, 2017 the band played their final show ever at Genting Arena in Birmingham, U.K.

* HeavyMithril: "The Wizard" is the {{Trope Maker|s}} and "Children of the Sea" from ''Heaven and Hell'' is similarly classic. It was always an occasional theme (bolstered by Butler, as the primary lyricist, having a strong interest in the occult and folklore), but it really took over when Dio joined the band. Fans of Dio weren't surprised by this in the slightest.

In 1979, Ozzy Osbourne was fired from the band as his increasingly erratic behaviour rendered him generally unreliable. On the advice of the band's manager, Sharon Arden (who would later become Sharon Osbourne), the group recruited Music/RonnieJamesDio, formerly of HeavyMithril bands Music/{{Elf}} and Music/{{Rainbow}}, as their new lead singer. Dio's tenure lasted only three years, but he was generally regarded as a brilliant front-man in his own right, and his 1980 debut with the band, ''Heaven and Hell,'' is an all-time classic.

From 1982-1984, former Music/DeepPurple singer Ian Gillan joined the ''Black Sabbath'' for ''Born Again'' and a tour that most notably included the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water" as part of the encore, an unusual move for ''Black Sabbath.''