Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. Although there have been many personnel shifts over the years, the band was formed in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terence “Geezer” Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums).
Originally formed as a heavy blues band named Polka Tulk, the band began incorporating occult and horror-inspired lyrics with doomy, detuned guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and releasing a string of gold and platinum records in the 1970s.
As one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as 1971’s quadruple-platinum Paranoid.[1] Black Sabbath has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide,[2] and were named second only to Led Zeppelin in VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.[3]
Ozzy Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979, and while initially replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath would see a revolving lineup in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, David Donato, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. The original lineup reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion, which spawned the Grammy Award winning single “Iron Man“, 30 years after the songs initial release on Paranoid.
Currently, the early 1980s line-up featuring Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Vinny Appice are touring under the moniker Heaven and Hell, a title taken from the 1980 Black Sabbath album of the same name.
History
Formation and early days (1968-1969)
Following the breakup of their previous band Mythology in 1968, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward sought to form a heavy blues band in Aston, Birmingham, England. The group enlisted bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, who had played together in a band called Rare Breed. The new group was initially named The Polka Tulk Blues Company, and also featured slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan “Aker” Clarke. After shortening the name to Polka Tulk, the band changed their name to Earth, and continued as a four-piece without Phillips and Clarke.[4][5]
As Earth, the group played club shows in England, Denmark, and Germany, with sets consisting of cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, and Cream; as well as lengthy improvised blues jams. In December 1968, Tony Iommi abruptly left Earth to join Jethro Tull.[6] Although his stint with the band would be short-lived, Iommi made an appearance with Jethro Tull on the The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus TV show. Unsatisfied with the direction of Jethro Tull, Iommi returned to Earth in January 1969. “It just wasn’t right, so I left”, Iommi said. “At first I thought Tull were great, but I didn’t much go for having a leader in the band, which was Ian Anderson’s way. When I came back from Tull, I came back with a new attitude altogether. They taught me that to get on you got to work for it”.[7]
While gigging in England in 1969, the band discovered that they were being mistaken for another English group named Earth, and decided to again change their name. A movie theater across the street from the band’s rehearsal room was showing the 1969 Boris Karloff horror film Black Sabbath. While watching people line up to see the film, Osbourne noted that it was “strange that people spend so much money to see scary movies”.[8] Butler wrote a song he titled “Black Sabbath” after reading a book by occult writer Dennis Wheatley, and dreaming of a black-hooded figure standing at the foot of his bed.[9] Making use of the musical tritone, also known as “The Devil’s Interval”, the songs ominous sound and dark lyrics pushed the band in a darker direction, a stark contrast to the popular music of the late 1960s, which was dominated by flower power, folk music, and hippie culture. Inspired by the new sound, the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969, and made the decision to focus writing similar material, in an attempt to create the musical equivalent of horror films.
Black Sabbath and Paranoid (1970-1971)
Attracting attention for their live performance, Black Sabbath were signed to the Phonogram subsidiary of Phillips Records in December 1969, and released their first single, “Evil Woman” in January 1970. Although the single failed to chart, the band were afforded two days of studio time in late January to record their debut album with producer Rodger Bain. Iommi recalls recording live: “We thought ‘We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.’ So we played live. Ozzy was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff.”[10]
The eponymous Black Sabbath was released on Friday the 13th, February, 1970. The album reached number 8 in the UK, and following its US release in May 1970 by Warner Bros. Records, the album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for over a year, selling a million copies.[11][12] While the album was a commercial success, it was widely panned by critics, with Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissing the album as “discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitized speedfreaks all over each other’s musical perimeters, yet never quite finding synch”.[13]
To capitalise on their chart success in the US, the band quickly returned to the studio in June 1970, again with producer Rodger Bain to record their follow up album, just four months after Black Sabbath was released. The resulting album was initially set to be named “War Pigs” after the track of the same name, which was critical of the Vietnam War. However Warner changed the title of the album to Paranoid, fearing backlash by supporters of the Vietnam War. The album’s lead-off single “Paranoid“, was written in the studio at the last minute. As Bill Was explains: “We didn’t have enough songs for the album, and Tony just played the (Paranoid) guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty, twenty-five minutes from top to bottom.”[14] The single was released prior to the album in September 1970, and reached number four on the UK charts, remaining Black Sabbath’s only top ten hit.[12]
Black Sabbath released their second full-length album, Paranoid in the UK in October 1970. Pushed by the success of the “Paranoid” single, the album hit number one in the UK. The US release was held until January 1971, as the Black Sabbath album was still on the charts at the time of Paranoid’s UK release. The album broke into the top ten in the US in March 1971, and would go on to sell four million copies in the US alone, with virtually no radio airplay.[12] The album was again panned by rock critics of the era, but modern-day reviewers such as All Music’s Steve Huey cite Paranoid as “one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time”, which “defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history”.[1] Paranoid’s chart success in America allowed the band to tour the US for the first time in December 1970, which spawned the release of the album’s second single “Iron Man“. Although the single failed to crack the top 100, “Iron Man” remaines one of Black Sabbath’s most popular songs, as well as the bands highest charting US single until 1998’s “Psycho Man“.[11]
Master of Reality and Volume 4 (1971-1973)
In February 1971, Black Sabbath returned to the studio to begin work on their third album. Following the chart success of Paranoid, the band were afforded more studio time, along with a “briefcase full of cash” to purchase drugs. “We were getting into coke, bigtime”,[15] Ward explained. “Uppers, downers, Quaaludes, whatever you like. It got to the stage where you come up with ideas and forget them, because you were just so out of it.”[16]
Production completed in April 1971, and in July the band released Master of Reality, just six months after the release of Paranoid. The album broke the top ten in both the US and UK, was certified gold in less than two months, eventually selling a million copies in the US. Master of Reality also contained Black Sabbath’s first acoustic songs, alongside metal staples such as “Children of the Grave” and “Sweet Leaf“.[17] Critical response of the era was again unfavorable, with Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissing Master of Reality as “naive, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel”, although the very same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003.[18]
Following the Master of Reality world tour in 1972, Black Sabbath took its first break in three years. As Bill Ward explained: “The band started to become very fatigued and very tired. We’d been on the road non-stop, year in and year out, constantly touring and recording. I think Master of Reality was kind of like the end of an era, the first three albums, and we decided to take our time with the next album.”
In June 1972, the band reconvened in Los Angeles to begin work on their next album at the Record Plant. The recording process was plagued with problems, many due to substance abuse issues. While strugling to record the song “Cornucopia” after “sitting in the middle of the room, just doing drugs”,[19] Bill Ward was asked to leave the studio. “I hated the song, there were some patterns that were just… horrible. I nailed it in the end, but the reaction I got was the cold shoulder from everybody. It was like ‘Well, just go home, you’re not being of any use right now”.[20] The album was originally titled “Snowblind” after the song of the same name, which deals with cocaine abuse. The record company changed the title at the last minute to Black Sabbath, Vol 4, with Ward stating “There was no Volume 1, 2 or 3, so it’s a pretty stupid title really”.
Black Sabbath’s Volume 4 was released in September 1972, and while critics of the era were again dismissive of the album, it achieved gold status in less than a month, and was the band’s forth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US. With more time in the studio, Volume 4 saw the band starting to experiment with new textures, such as strings, piano, orchestration and multi-part songs. The song “Tomorrow’s Dream” was released as a single – the band’s first since Paranoid – but failed to chart. Following an extensive tour of the US, the band traveled to Australia for the first time in 1973, and later Europe. Black Sabbath also appeared on England’s Top of the Pops in 1973, sharing the stage with such diverse acts as Englebert Humperdink and Diana Ross.
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath and Sabatoge (1973-1976)
Following the Volume 4 world tour, Black Sabbath again returned to Los Angeles to begin work on their next release. Pleased with the Volume 4 album, the band sought to recreate the recording atmosphere, and returned to the Record Plant studio in Los Angeles, with producer and engineer Tom Allom. Although the album credits the band’s manager Patrick Meehan as producer, Iommi says “Meehan’s ego got involved, and he stuck his name down as producer”.[21] With new musical innovations of the era, the band were suprised to find that the room they had used previously at the Record Plant was replaced by a “giant synthesiser”. The band rented a house in Bel Air and began writing in the summer of 1973, but due in part to substance issues and fatigue, were unable to complete any songs. “Ideas weren’t coming out the way they were on Volume 4 and we really got discontent” Iommi said. “Everybody was sitting there waiting for me to come up with somthing. I just couldn’t think of anything. And if I didn’t come up with anything, nobody would do anything.”[22]
After a month in Los Angeles with no results, the band opted to return to England, where they rented Clearwell Castle in Wales. “We rehearsed in the dungeons and it was really creepy but it had some atmosphere, it conjured up things, and stuff started coming out again”.[23] While working in the dungeon, Iommi stumbled onto the main riff of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath“, which set the tone for the new material. Building off the stylistic changes intriduced on Volume 4, new songs incorporated synthesisers, strings, and complex arrangements. Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman was brought in as a session player, appearing on “Sabbra Cadabra” and “Who Are You“.
In November 1974, Black Sabbath released the crittically-acclaimed Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath. For the first time in their career, the band began to recieve favorable reviews in the mainstream press, with Rolling Stone calling the album “an extraordinarily gripping affair”, and “nothing less than a complete success.”[24] Later reviewers such as All Music’s Ed Rivadavia cite the album as a “masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection”, while also displaying “a newfound sense of finesse and maturity”.[25] The album marked the band’s fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US, reaching number four on the UK charts, and number eleven in the US. The band began a world tour in January 1974, which culminated at the California Jam festival in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. Attracting over 200,000 fans, Black Sabbath appeared alongside such 70’s pop giants as Emerson Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, Seals & Crofts, and The Eagles. Portions of the show were telecast on ABC Television in the US, exposing the band to a wider American audience.
Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne on stage at the California Jam festival on April 6th, 1974. Portions of the show were telecast on ABC in the US, exposing the band to a new audience.
Also in 1974 the band shifted management, signing with notorious English manager Don Arden. The move caused a contractual dispute with Black Sabbath’s former management, and while on stage in the US, Ozzy was handed a subpoena that led to two years of litigation.[26] The band completed their world tour in November with five sold out shows at Australia’s Hordern Pavilion.
Black Sabbath began work on their sixth album in February 1975, again in England at Morgan Studios in Willesden, this time with a decisive vision to differ the sound from Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath. “We could’ve continued and gone on and on, getting more technical, using orchestras and everything else which we didn’t particularly want to. We took a look at ourselves, and we wanted to do a rock album – Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath wasn’t a rock album, really.”[27]
Produced by Tony Iommi, the resulting Sabotage was released in July 1975. Again the album initially saw favorable reviews, with Rolling Stone stating “Sabotage is not only Black Sabbath’s best record since Paranoid, it might be their best ever”,[28] although later reviewers such as All Music Guide noted that “the the magical chemistry that made such albums as Paranoid and Volume 4 so special was beginning to disintegrate”.
Sabotage cracked the top 20 in both the US and the UK, but was the band’s first release not to achieve platinum status in the US. Although the album’s only single “Am I Going Insane (Radio)” failed to chart, Sabotage features fan favorites such as “Hole in the Sky“, and “Symptom of the Universe“, one of the band’s most popular songs. Black Sabbath toured in support of Sabotage with openers Kiss, but were forced to cut the tour short in November 1975, following a motorcycle accident in which Ozzy ruptured a muscle in his back. In December 1975, Warner Records released a greatest hits record without input from the band, entitled We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll. The album charted throughout 1976, eventually selling two million copies in the US alone.
Technical Ecstasy and beyond
Technical Ecstasy (1976) turned out to be a commercial failure. The album was laden with symphony orchestras, synthesisers, and vocals from drummer Bill Ward following a brief departure by Osbourne during the recording sessions. After the 1977 tour, Osbourne stopped turning up at band rehearsals and the remaining band members recorded some music with singer Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown.
Walker took part in the recording sessions for the bands upcoming longplayer by contributing lyrics to several songs. This version of the band even performed an alternate version of the track “Junior’s Eyes” on the BBC Midlands ‘Look Here!’ programme in January of 1978. However, this would prove to be a short-lived incarnation of Say Die!, was re-worked lyrically and eventually released in late September of 1978. By far the band’s most experimental release to date, the album contained elements of many genres such as jazz, synth-pop and blues but like the previous album, its sales were poor.
Due to internal conflicts and an evident lack of commitment due to drugs, Osbourne was asked to officially leave the band in 1979. Osbourne stated in a later interview (found as a bonus disk in the album The Ozzman Cometh) that eventually he was glad to leave the band because of the band’s daily drug and alcohol problems. Osbourne later married Sharon Arden, daughter of Black Sabbath manager, Don Arden.
Second era – ‘The Dio Years’ (1979–1982)
Osbourne was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Black Sabbath’s next album (and first with Dio), Heaven and Hell, proved to be a revitalising success for the band with the band’s highest charting since 1975’s Sabotage. It was on this tour that Dio popularised the mano cornuta hand gesture, which has since become a symbol of heavy metal music in general[citation needed]. The album also marked the inclusion of Quartz’s guitarist-turned-keyboardist Geoff Nicholls as a session musician (Nicholls has not been consistently credited as an official member, and has often been forced to play live shows from backstage for supposed aesthetic purposes, but he has co-written many songs and has stayed with Black Sabbath through all subsequent incarnations until 2001 when he was no longer retained). Also during the tour, drummer Bill Ward quit the band for personal reasons (both his parents died within a rather short period, and Ward was struggling with alcoholism and other addictions).
Drummer Vinny Appice joined to complete the tour and then record the next album Mob Rules, the title track appearing in the movie Heavy Metal. However, the recording featured in the film and subsequent soundtrack album is an alternate version from that which appears on the Mob Rules album.
The release in 1980 of the live bootleg Live at Last (recorded in the Osbourne era during the 1973 Black Sabbath Vol. 4 tour) prompted the band to record a live album properly on the Mob Rules tour, titled Live Evil. However, during the mixing of Live Evil, Iommi and Butler accused Dio of sneaking into the studio at night to increase the volume on his vocals, leading them to fire him from the band. Appice decided to quit the band when Dio left, and joined him in his self-named band.[29]
Third era: Born Again – Ian Gillan Period (1983–1984)
Bill Ward returned to the drum throne and Ian Gillan of Deep Purple fame became the new singer. To quote the singer; “I had no plans to join Black Sabbath. I went out with Geezer and Tony and we got drunk, and I found out the next day that I agreed to join the band. And they’re such nice guys. It was great fun and it paid the bills, I had a lovely year with them and that was it.”
This line-up recorded the album Born Again, but Bill Ward again dropped out of the band before the tour, being replaced by Bev Bevan of Electric Light Orchestra. On tour, Sabbath played the Deep Purple staple Smoke On The Water as the first encore. Although the album surprisingly ended up being one of their most successful ones to date (hitting No.4 in the UK charts), things did not last, as Ian Gillan left to reunite with Deep Purple. Drummer Bill Ward once again returned to the fold, and the hiring of new singer David Donato was officially announced in 1984. However, after six months worth of rehearsals, American Donato was discharged by management when Iommi and Butler squabbled over financial issues.
Lineup instability (1984–1987)
At this point, the band’s credibility-destroying line-up changes, Osbourne’s increasing success in his solo career and partisanship from music critics combined to put the band under Osbourne’s shadow. Founding member Geezer Butler quit and formed the GZR. The original line-up of Black Sabbath temporarily reunited for one three-song show at Live Aid (Children Of The Grave, Iron Man & Paranoid) in 1985. After this, Tony Iommi decided to record a solo album and enlisted the help of long-time Sabbath keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (who was finally made an official member) and vocalist Glenn Hughes, formerly of Deep Purple and Trapeze. Tony Iommi also got engaged to famous female heavy metal star Lita Ford, and enlisted the help of her band’s bassist (Dave “The Beast” Spitz) and drummer Eric Singer, (later of Kiss and Alice Cooper) to round off the line-up. However, management and record company pressure caused the album Seventh Star to be released as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi.
There is a certain amount of controversy around the Seventh Star album involving Jeff Fenholt, who claims to have been Sabbath’s lead singer for about seven months.[30] He claims that he left the band due to its incompatibility with his faith. Sabbath members maintain that he was never actually part of the band, only that he recorded some demos for Iommi’s solo album. Supposedly some of the material on Seventh Star was written by an uncredited Fenholt.
Before the tour for Seventh Star in 1986, Glenn Hughes got into a fist fight, and suffered severe blood clotting in his throat which made him lose his voice during several shows. An unknown young American singer by the name of Ray Gillen (no relation to Ian Gillan) was recruited for the job and finished the tour. The morale in the band was very high when they started recording The Eternal Idol (former drummer Bev Bevan had returned as a percussionist, and a second bassist, Bob Daisley, was also involved), but the new Black Sabbath hit a devastating series of catastrophes involving mismanagement and financial debt, mainly from poorly planned use of expensive recording studios. As a result Ray Gillen left the band during the recording sessions. He later hooked up with ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee to form the band Badlands (which also included Eric Singer).
Tony Martin era (1987–1991)
Birmingham-born singer Tony Martin (ex The Alliance) was brought in to re-record all of Gillen’s original vocals on the Eternal Idol tapes, and the album was finally released. Though Tony “The Cat” Martin somewhat resembled Dio, Martin clearly had his own style.
After the recording of The Eternal Idol, most of the band quit Sabbath, leaving Iommi, Martin, and Nicholls to recruit bassist Jo Burt and former Clash drummer Terry Chimes for the short-lived 1987 Eternal Idol tour.
In 1988, Kerrang! magazine ran a story that then Vegas-lounge singer Tom Jones had joined Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in Black Sabbath. This was revealed to be a hoax, possibly due to the fact that it was the April issue of the magazine (see April Fool) and during the shifting lineups of the 1980s, the Kerrang! staff seemed to enjoy poking fun at Black Sabbath as it then existed.[citation needed]
A degree of stability had returned to the Black Sabbath line-up by 1988 with the retention of Tony Martin and Geoff Nicholls and the addition of loyal drummer Cozy Powell, who replaced Terry Chimes. Powell, a legendary drummer, had success with his own band, as well as with Rainbow, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell and many others. With respected session-player Laurence Cottle replacing Jo Burt, Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Headless Cross album in 1989, their most overtly ‘Satanic’ and occult-based album so far. An MTV video for the title track received considerable airplay, and was released to mostly positive reviews. After the Headless Cross sessions, Laurence Cottle was replaced by veteran bassist Neil Murray (a former bandmate of Cozy Powell’s in Whitesnake). Sabbath released what many fans maintain is their finest album of the Martin era, Tyr in 1990. The group toured extensively throughout 1990 and 1991 to support the Tyr album.
Dehumanizer – Dio reunion (1991–1992)
On August 28, 1990, Ronnie James Dio invited Geezer Butler to a Dio show in Minneapolis as a surprise special guest, performing “Neon Knights” as the encore. After the show the pair reflected on the good times they had enjoyed together in Sabbath and from this meeting the seeds of a reunion were sown. The line-up of Dio, Butler, Iommi, Powell and Nicholls was short-lived, Cozy Powell leaving the fold shortly after to be replaced by Vinny Appice (rumors for Powell’s departure include that Dio and Powell weren’t getting along, or that Powell had suffered a horse-riding accident at the time). This marked the reunion of the same line-up from 1981’s Mob Rules and 1982’s Live Evil. Together they recorded 1992’s Dehumanizer. The song “Time Machine” from this album was featured in the film, Wayne’s World. The version used for the film differs than the version made for the album: the US CD of Dehumanizer features both the album version and, as a final, bonus track, the “Wayne’s World version”.
Playing to larger audiences than they had in nearly a decade, the rejuvenated Sabbath enjoyed renewed success with the Dehumanizer album and tour. It was around this time that Osbourne announced his retirement from touring and proposed that Black Sabbath open his final two shows at Costa Mesa. Dio refused to participate because he felt Black Sabbath shouldn’t be reduced to an opening act, let alone to Osbourne who had insulted them in past interviews. Dio also didn’t appreciate the shows being booked and sprung on him without his consultation. However Iommi, Butler and Appice agreed to appear. Dio angrily walked out upon hearing the news of this, and returned to his solo band. Rob Halford, singer for Judas Priest, was brought in as a last-minute replacement, specifically for this event only. The original Black Sabbath lineup, including Bill Ward, reunited to close the second night of performances, on November 15, 1992, performing four songs. Contracts were prepared for a new album and tour from the original Black Sabbath line-up, only for Osbourne to decline the offer at the last minute. In the end, Osbourne decided not to retire (following his No More Tours tour with the aptly titled “Retirement Sucks” tour).
Tony Martin reunion (1992–1997)
After the Dio debacle, Vinny Appice was replaced by former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Vocalist Tony Martin and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls returned to the band and Black Sabbath recorded Cross Purposes, and Cross Purposes Live, a CD and video combination, which was released in late 1994, after which Bobby Rondinelli left the group mid-tour. His replacement for the rest of the tour was, surprisingly, original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. After the tour, both Ward and Butler parted ways with Iommi, Martin, and Nicholls.
Another reunion was on tap in 1995. This time the Tyr-era group would again join forces, as drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Neil Murray rejoined Iommi, Martin, and Nicholls for Forbidden. The album was produced by Ernie C of the pioneering rapcore group Body Count. To date, Forbidden remains Black Sabbath’s last full-length studio album recorded by any line-up. After the recording of the album, Cozy Powell left again and was replaced for the tour by a returning Bobby Rondinelli.
In 1996, Castle Records outside the U.S. and Canada remastered and re-released Black Sabbath’s catalogue on CD up through The Eternal Idol (1987), and a 1988–1995 compilation titled The Sabbath Stones was released to finish Tony Iommi’s contract with I.R.S. Records.
Original line up reunion (1997–present)
In 1996, Osbourne launched his successful Ozzfest metal festival tour, which he headlined on a nightly basis. On the 1997 tour, for the last part of his set each night, he was joined by Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi for a rundown on several Sabbath classics (Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin was on drums). However, in December 1997, original drummer Bill Ward joined forces with Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler officially to reform the original Black Sabbath on a permanent basis for the first time since 1979.
The reunion prompted the release of Black Sabbath’s album Reunion a live double album of their shows at the end of 1997. The album also included the songs “Selling My Soul” and “Psycho Man”. These were Black Sabbath’s first new studio recordings since 1995, and their first with Osbourne since he left the band in 1979.
Since then, the band has released various compilations, including an epic eight CD box set called Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978). In 1998, Vinny Appice stood-in for Bill Ward after Ward suffered a heart attack shortly before the band’s European tour. By the time Sabbath toured the United States as part of the 1999 Ozzfest tour, Ward was back in the band for good. This lineup has remained stable ever since, touring sporadically.
The band had writing sessions together in 2001, with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The band ultimately decided that all work done in that time was not good enough for the “legacy” of Black Sabbath – a decision which Osbourne has stated more firmly than the other members. They did play one new song (“Scary Dreams”) throughout the 2001 Ozzfest tour despite this decision. Osbourne’s solo contract further delayed progress on the album (Sabbath had planned an attempt at an album in late 2001 but Osbourne worked on his album then and toured in early 2002). Sabbath remained inactive in 2002, because Osbourne had to work on his The Osbournes TV show and headline Ozzfest 2002. His career, as has been the case since the reunion, ran in parallel with Black Sabbath’s own.
After no activity at all in most of 2002 and all of 2003, the band returned in 2004. The session keyboardist was Rick Wakeman’s son Adam. He had been working with Osbourne and, disappointingly to longtime fans, replaced Geoff Nicholls. Nicholls had been working with the band since 1980’s Heaven and Hell album. Black Sabbath headlined Ozzfest 2004 – and again at Ozzfest 2005. In November 2005, Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and the band played at the awards ceremony. That same month it was also announced that they would be inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. This time Sabbath did not play any songs, instead having Metallica play two Black Sabbath songs, “Hole in the Sky” and “Iron Man“.
Bill Ward decided not to participate in the Heaven and Hell (see below), but has stated that he would participate in a tour and new album of the original Black Sabbath lineup in late 2007.[31] This has not happened because Heaven and Hell decided to make the tour last a whole year, but confirms the idea that a future with Osbourne is being planned.
In 2007, Osbourne stated on his website that the original lineup of Black Sabbath would join forces in the studio record a new album, the first in over 30 years.[32] Whether this will occur has yet to be confirmed by Tony Iommi or Geezer Butler who have remained vague, though they and Bill Ward have confirmed plans of some sort by Black Sabbath in 2008. Sharon Osbourne is also working on having the original Black Sabbath headline Ozzfest 2008.[33] Whether this will coincide with future releases by the original line-up remains to be seen.
bio information taken from Wikipedia.
