-Black Sabbath-

One of the first acts to truly define heavy metal, Black Sabbath are widely considered to be the grandfathers of the genre. Creating hellish compositions seemingly ripped from the bowels of the inferno, the band lit the fires under critics and parents alike while influencing a generation of musicians with their blues-inflected rock.

The members of Black Sabbath grew up within a mile of each other in the blue-collar city of Aston, Birmingham, England, but their relations during childhood were far from friendly. Young John Osbourne, better known as Ozzy, was often tormented by local bully Tony Iommi while Terrance "Geezer" Butler was a social outcast with an intense love for fantasy and the occult. As they grew older, the three developed a common love of music; playing in rival bands that quickly dissolved, they soon found themselves, along with drummer Bill Ward, as bandmates. In 1967 they formed Polka Tulk with Osbourne on vocals, Iommi on guitar and Butler on bass, Ward on drums, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Acker. Phillips and Acker were soon expelled and the quartet renamed themselves the Earth Blues Company, quickly shortened to Earth. Playing blues heavy rock, the band began to play several local clubs, gaining a small following.

In 1969, Iommi left Earth to play with Jethro Tull, but only a few months later returned to his old band, this time with a new idea. Intrigued by the popularity of horror movies, a phenomenon in which people paid to be scared, Iommi decided to try making scary music. Fueled by Butler's interest in the occult, the band penned several dark, brooding songs, including "Wicked World" and "Black Sabbath," and renamed themselves after the 1930s Boris Karloff film Black Sabbath.

In a strange twist of fate, the event that almost ended the band's budding career contributed heavily to their unique sound. Just before the recording of their self-titled debut album in 1970, Iommi lost the tips of his right-hand fingers in an industrial accident. The lefty guitarist found it too painful to press the strings to the frets with his tender fingertips, but fashioned make-shift thimbles to wear out of melted, fitted plastic. In addition, he tuned his strings to lower notes, reducing the string tension and making it easier to play. The result was a deep, sludgy sound that, combined with his bleak, bluesy riffs, perfectly captured the tone of the lyrics. Mostly penned by Butler, the words focused on such weighty topics as the nature of evil, the Devil, wizardry and war.

Black Sabbath was released in 1970 and ironically entered the U.K. charts at No. 13; Paranoid followed shortly in 1971. The macabre mixture of Osbourne's wailing vocals, Iommi's guitar, Butler's rumbling bass lines and Ward's frenetic drumming made the album a huge commercial success, propelled by the classic title track as well as heavy metal standards like "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," but it was their satanic overtones that got them in hot water with conservative organizations and parent groups. Although many of the members were staunch Catholics, the Church of Satan embraced Sabbath's music and the band themselves were labeled Satanists. Their wild off-stage lives, heavily influenced by drugs and alcohol, didn't exactly help silence the rumors and so the band became the greatest fear of millions of parents around the world. Later that year, they released Master of Reality, another classic work featuring the pro-marijuana anthem "Sweet Leaf" and the massive epics "Into the Void" and "Children of the Grave".

As the band descended into a life of decadence it began to take its toll on their music. Vol. 4 was released in 1972 and was a largely hit-or-miss effort. The lyrics had shifted from extolling the virtues of cannabis to detailing the madness of cocaine addiction in "Snowblind," a madness that was becoming all too clear to the band. Faced with increasing internal tension and management problems, Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward returned with a strong fifth album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, in 1973. It would be their last classic album.

Sabotage (1975) was a half-hearted effort and Technical Ecstasy (1976) was an ill-fated electronic journey into the realm of synthesizers. Internal tensions became unbearable during the writing process for their eighth album, as the personal lives of the members spiraled out of control. In 1977 Ozzy quit the band and was briefly replaced by ex-Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker. Ozzy returned briefly before for Never Say Die! (1978). The following year, however, Osbourne left the band for good, pursuing a highly successful solo career throughout the '80s and '90s.

Black Sabbath's future was not as rosy. Hiring ex-Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio, the band made a promising fresh start with Heaven and Hell in 1980, but following Dio's departure in 1982, the vocalist position became a revolving door, featuring ex-Deep Purple Ian Gillan, Glen Hughes and Tony Martin. By 1986's Seventh Star, both Butler and Ward had left Black Sabbath. Iommi, the sole remaining original member, continued on, releasing albums well into the 1990s.

In 1997, Osbourne, Iommi and Butler reunited on Ozzy's Ozzfest summer tour with Faith No More's Mike Bordin filling in behind the drum kit. On December 4, 1997, Ward joined them for a show in their hometown of Birmingham at the NEC Arena. Except for a one-off appearance at Live Aid in 1985 and a brief reunion at an Ozzy show in 1992, it was the first full show performed by the original Black Sabbath in nearly 20 years. Reunion, a live album culled from the show, was released in 1998 and a worldwide tour followed.