Black Sabbath and the Birth of Heavy Metal: Masters of Reality
Black Sabbath is a seminal band in the history of rock music. The band played a brand of hard rock that would tragically spawn much of the regrettable heavy metal/death metal music of recent years. However, Black Sabbath’s music in their early years was majestic hard rock rooted in the blues and played with skill and precision.
The band, comprised of singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward, emerged in 1968 from the working-class city of Birmingham, England.
An industrial accident and injury to the fret hand of Tony Iommi almost spelled the end for the aspiring guitarist’s career and likely that of the band as well. However, inspired by the example of the great gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt who survived a similar hand injury, Iommi endured with the aid of homemade prosthetic fingertips. The alterations to his fret hand created a heavier sound from his guitar and the seeds of the heavy metal rock subgenre had been sown.
The new heaviness of Iommi’s guitar combined with the band’s fine overall chops and their desire to make “spooky” music came together to create an original and appealing sound from the outset.
The band’s first four albums were outstanding efforts and all remain classics of the hard rock…
