%%
%% Before uncommenting the commented entries remember two things:
%%
%% a) Weblinks Are NOT Examples. People shouldn't get out of the wiki
%% to know how an example applies to the trope.
%% b) CONTEXT! The wiki requires all examples to have a context.
%%
----
* AudienceAlienatingEra:
** ''Technical Ecstasy'' and ''Never Say Die'' consist mostly of typical [[TheSeventies 1970s]] rock with lots of keyboards and very few metal elements. Indeed, the only song off either album the band still plays today is "Dirty Women" from ''Technical Ecstasy.'' The only on-stage acknowledgement ''Never Say Die'' gets is that the flight mask from the Creator/{{Hipgnosis}} album cover is sometimes on the bass drums. The mask also frequently appears in promotional materials and merch.
** And then there's any Tony Martin-era albums that aren't ''The Eternal Idol'' or ''Cross Purposes''.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The cover of ''[[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Black_Sabbath_SbS.jpg Sabbath Bloody Sabbath]]'', originally designed by Drew Struzan, which is often seen as one of the greatest album covers, ''period''!
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: "Supernaut" starts off as a typical heavy number before going off, without warning, into a Caribbean flavored ''acoustic'' shuffle, then going back to the main riff as if nothing had happened. Despite, or even because of this, it's a favorite among fans. {{Justified|Trope}} when you consider they were on a nonstop cocaine binge when recording ''Vol. 4''.
* BrokenBase:
** Ozzy vs. Dio.
** ''Born Again'' & ''Seventh Star'', the only albums they recorded with [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes]] singing, are either liked or disliked.
** Not so much the quality of the album itself, but some fans can’t seem to agree on whether or not ''The Devil You Know'' should count as part of either the Black Sabbath or the Heaven & Hell moniker. [[note]] Heaven & Hell was the name used for the Dio era reunion from 2006-2010 to distinguish itself from the Ozzy era. [[/note]]
** ''The Devil You Know'' vs. ''13'' over which was the better Sabbath reunion album.
* CoveredUp: Not many fans remember who wrote and performed "Warning" and "Evil Woman" before Sabbath. For the record, they were Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation (he is a drummer who played with Music/FrankZappa, Music/DavidBowie, Music/{{Whitesnake}}, Music/{{Journey|Band}} and many more) and Crow (a late-'60s / early-'70s band from Minnesota), respectively.
* CrazyIsCool: Ozzy Osbourne. Is he crazy? Yes. He has [[ImmuneToDrugs done enough drugs to kill a horse]] and infamously once bit the head off a dove, then a bat. (In his defense of the latter, he thought it was a rubber bat rather than a real one.) But is he awesome? Also, yes.
* CriticalDissonance: During the 1970s, Black Sabbath managed to become very popular among rock fans, but they were generally loathed by critics.
* EpicRiff: So many. "Iron Man", "Music/{{Paranoid|Album}}", "Sweet Leaf", "Into the Void", "Children of the Grave", "Supernaut"...
** Music/RobZombie once said that any metal band ever is ripping off Black Sabbath, because any good metal riff out there, Sabbath wrote it first, either in a slightly different key, or faster, or slower. Most metal guitarists will say this is pretty much true.
* FandomEnragingMisconception: Understandably, people giving Ozzy Osborne credit for the accomplishments of the rest of the band, or treating him as the main creative force of the classic lineup (a claim that Ozzy's management intentionally circulated in the 80s) is quick to rile up fans of the band. In particular, attributing classic Sabbath lyrics to Ozzy rather than Geezer Butler is a common mistake.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Many examples of this:
** There are no albums between ''Sabotage'' and ''Heaven and Hell''.
*** There are no albums after ''Sabotage'', period (''13'' may be an exception).
** There was no Sabbath when Ozzy left the band.
** There are no more albums after Dio left.
*** There were no albums '''before''' ''Heaven and Hell''.
** Basically the only thing that absolutely everybody can agree on is that ''Forbidden'' doesn't exist -- even fans of the Tony Martin era disown that one.
* FirstInstallmentWins: According to a readers' poll published by Kerrang! magazine, Sabbath's debut LP isn't just the best Sabbath album, but the ''best British rock album''. It has also topped multiple "greatest metal albums of all time" lists due in part to its credit in the creation of heavy metal.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** The song "Iron Man" was specifically written in a way to avoid a lawsuit from Creator/MarvelComics, creator of ''ComicBook/IronMan.'' Today, the song's opening riff is happily used by the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse as the de facto theme of the superhero. Tony Stark even wears a Black Sabbath T-shirt throughout ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. Even more funnily enough, the song's lyrics even correctly predict the plot of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', where [[spoiler:Iron Man (as well as the other Avengers) "travelled time, for the future of mankind", and Tony even got to quote the opening lyrics to the song ("I am Iron Man") during his HeroicSacrifice]].
** The band's name in the cover art for ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20170705194959/http://www.black-sabbath.com/images/covers/neversaydie_large.jpg Never Say Die!]]'' has a bunch of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Triforces.]] [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd Is this where they came from?]]
* HypeBacklash:
** The band’s status as the "greatest metal band of all time" has been met with ire by some metalheads who are baffled by how they still get this status, especially after [[Music/JudasPriest other]] [[Music/{{Motorhead}} bands]] [[Music/IronMaiden have]] [[Music/{{Metallica}} come]] and redefined the genre. Not helping matters was that statement was being used when promoting their ''The End'' tour.
** Song wise, two of their most famous tracks, "Paranoid" and "Iron Man", have been unfavorably compared to [[Music/LedZeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"]] by some in terms of what's considered the most overplayed songs from the band's whole discography. Making matters worse is that they're the ''only'' two songs ever played on mainstream radio stations, plus they're off the same album.
* {{Narm}}: The original treatment of "War Pigs" ("Walpurgis") overshoots the mark a bit when it comes to shock value. Any lyrics that include the words "See them eating dead rat's innards" are bound to inspire at least a few giggles.
* NarmCharm:
** For those who like ''Born Again'', Ian Gillan's {{Metal Scream}}s and {{Evil Laugh}}s tend toward this.
** The last few seconds of ''The Writ'' [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOuMQutcTR0 gives us Blow On a Jug]]. It’s a ridiculous moment of the band screwing around that doesn’t fit with the overall tone of the song, but it’s too much fun to hate.
** [[Music/RonnieJamesDio Much like his solo career]], anything from the Dio era is this. The lyrics are as cheesy sounding as can be, but his booming vocals make them sound as epic as ever.
* OnceOriginalNowCommon: Black Sabbath was pretty much the first ''true'' heavy metal band and are often cited as being the pioneers of everything heard in the genre today. At the time there was nothing else on the market quite like them. While they certainly weren't too far removed from most of the heavier British rock acts, their blend of psychedelic and blues-rock sensibilities, jazz-rock and progressive rock dabblings, and grinding were something new and exciting. As if to top it off, there was the often dirge-like tempos with a vocalist who had the style of a blues wailer, but came off as more of a doomsday preacher delivering fire-and-brimstone sermons about dark and frightening topics. While still universally beloved and respected by music critics and metal fans alike, some newer listeners have found it hard to fully understand their impact and what made them so groundbreaking (and controversial) at the time.
* PeripheryDemographic: The band's relative lyrical and musical sophistication compared to most hard rock contemporaries gave them one among fans of ProgressiveRock, to the point where Prog Archives [[https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3253 lists them]] as "prog-related." This is likely helped by Music/RickWakeman's appearance on ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''. Black Sabbath served as an UrExample of ProgressiveMetal.
* QuestionableCasting: Many felt confused when Music/RonnieJamesDio joined the band. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Thankfully it proved to be for the better]].
* ReplacementScrappy:
** Every singer who came after Dio and Ozzy. Even big names like [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Gillan]] weren't able to avoid this - hell, Ian Gillan was probably considered the worst. Not because he was a bad singer, but because he was considered a bad ''match.'' Music/DeepPurple and Black Sabbath are two very different things.
** Subsequently, all bassists and drummers that came after Geezer Butler and Bill Ward left can be seen as this. The only possible exceptions are Vinny Appice and [[Music/RageAgainstTheMachine Brad]] [[Music/{{Audioslave}} Wilk]].
* SacredCow: The Ozzy era, in particular the first 3 albums[[note]]''Black Sabbath'', ''Paranoid'' and ''Master of Reality''[[/note]] are particularly renowned amongst rock and metal enthusiasts as being the earliest forms of metal, and is unwise to say anything negative about them.
* SignatureSong:
** The Ozzy era gives us anthems such as "Black Sabbath", "Paranoid", and "Iron Man". "Children of the Grave", "War Pigs" and "Sweet Leaf" are all honorable mentions.
** From the Dio era, it’s between "Heaven and Hell", "Neon Knights", "Children of the Sea" and "The Mob Rules". "Voodoo", "Computer God", "I", "Bible Black" and "Lonely Is the Word" being honorable mentions.
** Regarding the ''Deep Purple-era Sabbath'', Ian Gillan has "Trashed", with "Disturbing the Priest", "Zero the Hero" and "Born Again" coming close, Whereas Glenn Hughes has "No Stranger to Love" with "In for the Kill" as a runner up.
** Tony Martin has "Headless Cross" with "When Death Calls," "The Shining," "Anno Mundi," "Psychophobia," and "I Witness" not far behind. He even named his solo band "Tony Martin's Headless Cross."
* {{Squick}}: The cover for ''Born Again'' is absolutely hideous, with the demonic baby superimposed over the indigo background having a nauseating contrast. Granted, Tony Iommi personally approved of the cover, but Bill Ward hated it, and Ian Gillan outright ''[[VomitIndiscretionShot vomited]]'' upon first glance. The cover has since gone down as one of the absolute worst in history.
* StoicWoobie: Tony Iommi. His life ''sucked'' when he was a kid. His life still sucked slightly less when he grew up. You will never see him complain about it. Not even in his book, when he talks about his [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive childhood]] with parents that were constantly fighting, watching his beloved Papa (grandfather) die, losing his fingertips, being beaten up by kids in gangs, etc. Then he grows up and gets swindled out of a lot of money, still gets beaten up by adults in gangs, management screws him over repeatedly (see swindling except a little worse), watches his dad die, etc. etc. ''Then'' he gets lymphoma. Poor guy.
* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel:
** ''Seventh Star'' was a definite improvement over ''Born Again'' due to Glenn Hughes being a better fit for the band, and the album is a solid mid '80s hard rock album. The only reason it gets so much flak is due to a few filler tracks and its InNameOnly aspect thanks to ExecutiveMeddling.[[note]]It was originally going to be Tony Iommi's solo debut, but the record label billed it as "Black Sabbath ft. Tony Iommi" in an attempt to sell more albums; and while it did work to an extent, it made this album the black sheep in the Sabbath catalog due to its drastically different sound.[[/note]]
** Similarly, ''13'', both to the previous album with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals (''Never Say Die!'') and to the band's last album in general (''Forbidden'').
** Both ''Dehumanizer'' and ''The Devil You Know'' are this for coming out after two lackluster Tony Martin era albums (''TYR'' for ''Dehumanizer'' and ''Forbidden'' for ''The Devil You Know'') and for bringing back not only Geezer Butler, but also Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice as well.
** ''Cross Purposes'' was an improvement compared to the past Tony Martin era albums, ''Headless Cross'' and ''Tyr'', for having a greater focus on darker lyrical themes and more complex guitar and bass riffs. Having Geezer Butler back helps.
* TearJerker:
** "Headless Cross", which is based on an event that happened during the time of Pestilence in England where a bunch of people suffering went to a headless cross on a hill to pray so they could survive. [[DownerEnding They didn't]].
** "Changes", inspired by Bill Ward's breakup with his first wife. Ozzy himself described the song as "heartbreaking".
* VindicatedByHistory:
** Critics loathed the band back in the 1970s. They fared much better critically in hindsight than upon their initial success, with their downtuned guitar and dour lyrics a major influence on {{Grunge}}. Today, they are recognized as one of the greatest hard rock/heavy metal bands of all time.
** For a long time ''Born Again'' made frequent appearances on "Worst Albums Ever" lists, and it still does, but more recently it's started to show up on "Most Underrated" lists as well.
** When they get past the fact that it is a Tony Iommi solo album in all but name, many fans find ''Seventh Star'' to be a decent mid '80s hard rock album.
** While it's still largely ignored, the Tony Martin era has definitely gained a fair amount of popularity in recent years, although even people who liked him before this surge in popularity still despise ''Forbidden''.
** ''Technical Ecstasy'' was reviled due to its shift away from the thick heavy metal sound the band built on, and Ozzy in particular hated it, but today its more appreciated. "Dirty Women" in particular is acclaimed as a showcase of Tony's chops, and as a result it was the only track post-''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' to make it onto the ''Reunion'' setlist, and was the only track post-''Volume 4'' to be on the set for Sabbath's last two tours.
----