Black Sabbath Essentials

Black Sabbath Essentials

With its darkly tortured blues, Black Sabbath's hastily recorded 1970 debut put this unruly U.K. foursome on the map. The monolithic Paranoid arrived months later and sold millions with virtually no airplay. Built on Tony Iommi's shuddering riffs and Ozzy Osbourne's patented wail, the album—the seed from which all heavy metal would grow—horrified parents and church leaders. They were pro-pot, anti-war, and happy to give the impression that they danced with the devil. After eight classic LPs, Ozzy went solo in '79. Ronnie James Dio replaced him before lineup changes saw the band's fortunes wane. The original group reformed (sans drummer Bill Ward) for 2013's herculean 13.

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