BLACK SABBATH

This band is one of the most original bands in Rock music. In fact, I believe that they created a new style of Heavy Rock music which also influenced a lot of new bands since the early seventies, having the same "mysterious", "dark" and "horror and evil" in lyrics and music. Some of these bands influenced by Black Sabbath of course include Iron Maiden and a lot more. Even Ozzy Osbourne as soloist kept the same style of the band in image and in music.

This is a very good debut album from this band. The version that I listened in the mid seventies was one called "Black Sabbath 2", released in Mexico under the Vertigo Records label, and with the inner credits in a black gatefold cover listing Ozzy as "Ossie Osbourne". Why this version was called "Black Sabbath 2" in my country? I don`t know, but it says in the label that it it was released in 1971, not in 1970. It was released in a series called "Rock Power", which also released "Who`s Next" and other albums from that period. I think that it was released as "Black Sabbath 2" maybe because their "Paranoid" album was released first in my country than this album. Anyway, they released the British version , not the Warnerversion from the U.S. (Why the U.S. labels tended to change the songs in albums? They did it with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Uriah Heep, etc.).

The album starts with a "dark" atmosphere very well created by rain sounds and thunder. Then, the great guitars of Tony Iommi (one of the heaviest sounds, with also from the bass guitar, that I have listened in Rock). The lyrics talk about the story included in the inner gatefold cover about a mysterious lady and what happens in a "Black Sabbath". The lyrics of this band were mostly written by Geezer Butler, so he also has an additional credit as an influence for the same kind of lyrics written by other bands. The rest of the songs of the album are obviously heavy, very well played, with a lot of distorted guitars and very good lead guitars and with all the members of the band shinning in their performances. "N.I.B." is one of my favourites in this album. In fact, I played it with a covers band in the early eighties, with my brother on guitar. In the mid seventies, my brother also learned how to play heavy distorted lead electric guitar playing along with this album (and others) a lot of times. This was one of his favourite albums then, I think. This old L.P. is now very used and with a lot of scratch, but it still can be played!

If you want to listen to the real "original Evil Heavy Rock band" I think that this is the best place to hear the influences for Iron Maiden and other bands which later composed music with the same "dark" lyrics and image. Black Sabbath is the "Father" of all these bands, in my opinion. They also had some Prog Rock influences which justify their inclusion in this website.