Black Sabbath (album)
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Black Sabbath is the self-titled debut album of the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath released in the UK on Friday the 13th, February 1970. The record sleeve featured an inverted cross on the inside cover with an apocalyptic poem written inside. This was done without the band's input or permission, and likely helped foster their image as "agents of the Devil" in the eyes of the media (though the band's name certainly did not speak to a particularly Christian ideology in the first place).
Many critics consider this album, especially the title track, to be definitive of the entire genre of heavy metal; it was arguably the first true album to be classified as heavy metal. The influence of Led Zeppelin, especially the use of blues rhythm, on heavy metal is apparent on this album, as are that genre's themes related to the occult.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 241 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Track listing
- "Black Sabbath" (Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne) – 6:21
- "The Wizard" (Iommi, Ward, Butler, Osbourne) – 4:23
- "Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep" (Iommi, Ward, Butler, Osbourne) – 3:37
- "Bassically/N.I.B." (Iommi, Ward, Butler, Osbourne) – 6:16
- "Evil Woman" (Wiegland, Wiegland, Waggoner) – 3:22
- "A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village" (Iommi, Ward, Butler, Osbourne) – 3:48
- "Warning" (Aynsley Dunbar, Moreshed, Dmochowski, Hickling) – 10:34
- "Wicked World" (Iommi, Ward, Butler, Osbourne) – 4:43
The intro to "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is called "Wasp", the intro to "N.I.B." is called "Bassically" and the ending (incorrectly labeled as the intro) of "Sleeping Village" is called "A Bit of Finger".
"Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a reference to the H.P. Lovecraft story Beyond the Wall of Sleep.
Trivia
- "N.I.B." does NOT stand for "Nativity in Black". Drummer Bill Ward had a beard that singer Ozzy Osbourne said looked like the nib of a fountain pen. The band named the song after the nib and added initials so the name would be more mysterious.
- The short intro "A Bit Of Finger" to the song "Sleeping Village" was originaly called ЛЄНИН (Lenin) and was about the world's first socialist state (The Soviet Union). it was also considably longer (fleshing out to a supposed 3 minutes). The original lyrics that speak of Lenin's revolution were removed from the final draft (at the Warner executives request), leaving only three verses that don't really amount anything without their other parts.
Credits
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica, flute, bassoon, violin
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass guitar
- Bill Ward – drums, vocals
- Tom Allom – engineer
- Barry Sheffield – engineer
| Black Sabbath |
| Ozzy Osbourne | Tony Iommi | Geezer Butler | Bill Ward |
| Dave Walker | Ronnie James Dio | Vinny Appice | Ian Gillan | Bev Bevan | David Donato | Glenn Hughes | Dave Spitz | Eric Singer | Ray Gillen | Tony Martin | Bob Daisley | Jo Burt | Terry Chimes | Laurence Cottle | Cozy Powell | Neil Murray | Bobby Rondinelli | Mike Bordin | Geoff Nicholls |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Black Sabbath | Paranoid | Master of Reality | Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 | Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | Sabotage | Technical Ecstasy | Never Say Die! | Heaven and Hell | Mob Rules | Born Again | Seventh Star | The Eternal Idol | Headless Cross | Tyr | Dehumanizer | Cross Purposes | Forbidden |
| Live albums: Live Evil | Cross Purposes Live | Reunion | Past Lives |
| Compilations: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll | Under Wheels of Confusion | The Sabbath Stones | ' | ' | Greatest Hits 1970-1978 |
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