Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979 and Iommi is the only constant member throughout their history.
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Paranoid is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in September 1970 through Vertigo Records in England and Warner Bros. Records in the US. The album contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK charts.
Headless Cross is the fourteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released on 24 April 1989, it was the group's second album to feature singer Tony Martin, the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell, and the only album with bassist Laurence Cottle.
Master of Reality is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 21 July 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and sludge metal. Produced by Rodger Bain, who also produced the band's prior two albums, Master of Reality was recorded at Island Studios in London from February to April 1971. Guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler downtuned their instruments during the production, achieving what Iommi called a "bigger, heavier sound".
Black Sabbath is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 13 February 1970 by Vertigo Records in the United Kingdom and Warner Bros. Records in the United States on 1 June 1970. The album is widely regarded as the first heavy metal album, and the opening track, "Black Sabbath", has been referred to as the first doom metal song.
Anthony Frank Iommi is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. Iommi was ranked number 25 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Sabotage is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in July 1975. The album was recorded in the midst of a legal battle with the band's former manager Patrick Meehan. The stress that resulted from the band's ongoing legal woes infiltrated the recording process, inspiring the album's title. It was co-produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and Mike Butcher.
Vol. 4 is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 25 September 1972. It was the first album by Black Sabbath not produced by Rodger Bain; guitarist Tony Iommi assumed production duties. Patrick Meehan, the band's then-manager, was listed as co-producer, though his actual involvement in the album's production was minimal.
Born Again is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. Released on 12 September 1983, it is the only album the group recorded with lead vocalist Ian Gillan, best known for his work with Deep Purple. It was also the last Black Sabbath album for nine years to feature original bassist Geezer Butler and the last to feature original drummer Bill Ward, though Ward did record a studio track with the band fifteen years later on their 1998 live album Reunion. The album has received mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success upon its 1983 release, reaching No. 4 in the UK charts. The album also hit the top 40 in the United States. In July 2021, guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi confirmed that the long lost original master tapes of the album had been finally located, and that he was considering remixing the album for a future re-release.
Mob Rules is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1981. It followed 1980's Heaven and Hell, and was the second album to feature lead singer Ronnie James Dio and the first with drummer Vinny Appice. Neither musician would appear on a Black Sabbath studio album again until the 1992 album Dehumanizer.
Live Evil is the first official live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. The previously released Live at Last (1980) was not sanctioned by the band. Live Evil peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
William Thomas Ward is an English drummer. He was a co-founder and the original drummer for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Ward helped found Black Sabbath in 1969 alongside bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi (guitarist) and Geezer Butler (bass).
Technical Ecstasy is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and released on 25 September 1976 by Vertigo Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and number 51 on the US Billboard 200 Album chart, later being certified Gold by the RIAA in 1997.
Reunion is a live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 19 October 1998. As implied by the title, the album features a reunion of the original Black Sabbath lineup of vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. The album represents the first new release featuring that version of the group since 1978's Never Say Die! and Osbourne's subsequent firing the following year. Black Sabbath received their first ever Grammy Award in 2000 for the live recording of "Iron Man" taken from Reunion.
Live at Last is a 1980 live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Despite its wide distribution and success, the album was released without the permission or knowledge of the band, and is thus regarded in some quarters as an unofficial bootleg live album. The album was, however, released legally by the band's former manager Patrick Meehan who owned the rights to the recording. It was re-released officially, with the approval of the band, on September 2, 2002 as disc 1 of the two-disc Past Lives set.
Seventh Star is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released in January 1986, it features founding guitarist Tony Iommi alongside musicians Geoff Nicholls, Eric Singer, and Dave Spitz, playing keyboards, drums, and bass, respectively, and Glenn Hughes, ex-Deep Purple and ex-Trapeze vocalist, as lead singer. The album was the group's first release without bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler, who left the band in 1984 after the Born Again tour. It was originally written, recorded, and intended to be the first solo album by Iommi. Because of the pressures from Warner Bros. Records and the prompting of band manager Don Arden, the record was billed as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi. Later releases label the album as simply by Black Sabbath. Despite the issues behind the release's production, it earned moderate commercial success, reaching #27 in the UK and #78 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Necromandus are an English rock band from Egremont, Cumberland, England. They were formed in 1970 and were discovered by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 1972. After recording one album in 1973, they split up. The album was not released until 1999.
Heaven & Hell was a British-American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010, featuring guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice.
The End Tour was the final concert tour for the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, featuring founding members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. They performed on the tour with session drummer Tommy Clufetos filling in for the band's original drummer, Bill Ward, along with keyboardist and guitarist Adam Wakeman. The tour concluded Sabbath's over-four-decade career, and was accompanied by the release of an exclusive EP, The End, which contains leftover tracks from the sessions for the band's final studio album, 13, as well as live tracks from their 2012–2014 reunion tour.
