Top 10 Most influential Bands/Artists #7 - Black Sabbath

Number seven in my increasingly lengthy time in between posts top ten list is Black Sabbath.

The original, and perhaps the most influential line-up of Black Sabbath consisted of Toni Iommi in Guitar, Geezer Butler on Bass, Bill Ward on Drums, and Ozzy Osbourne on vocals.  Though never entirely mainstream or popular with critics, Black Sabbath were able to garner a large fan base with songs such as Paranoid, War Pigs, Changes, Sweet Leaf, and Iron Man.  This line-up of the band lasted until 1979, when Ozzy was fired from the band due to his alcohol abuse.  He was subsequently replaced by Ronnie James Dio.

One of the most important aspects of Black Sabbath is their sound; the sound of the down tuned guitar.  This sound came to be because Toni Iommi accidentally chopped off the tips of his fingers.  Since he still wanted to play guitar, he decided to loosen up the strings a little such that they were easier to press down when playing notes.  This became their signature sound.

The other unigue aspect of the band was Ozzy's voice.  Of all of the vocalists in Rock n' Roll, there are literaly non that come close to having the sound like Ozzy's banshee wail.  That distict voice helped the band succeed, as well as allow Ozzy to flourish as a solo artist.

Finally, one of the most important things about the addition of Ronnie James Dio is that he was the inventor of the horns.  You know, the famous horns that are always thrown up during rock concerts.  That is Ronnie James Dio's legacy.

So why to Black Sabbath deserve to be on the list?  Well, under this most famous line-up, they released eight studio albums between 1970-1978.  After the break-up of the original line up, they spawned pretty much two more influential bands - Ozzy branched out on his own and had become one of the best selling solo rock n' roll artists ever, and Ronny James Dio joined the band and gave Black Sabbath a unique sound.  Even Dio, the band, sold millions of reconds.  They became inductees into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.  In the end though, what really makes them kings is their pioneering sound.  They are considered the fathers of heavy metal.  If hard rock artists are asked who started it all, 9 times out of 10, Black Sabbath are accredited as the pioneers.  The down tuned guitar sound that Toni Iommi played is signiture now in rock.  They show their influence in bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Korn, Judas Priest, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Disturbed, Opeth, Machinehead, Slipknot, Godsmack, Foo Fighter, and White/Rob Zombie, just to name a few of the countless many. Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne are pretty much house hold names. If they don't deserve to be on everyone's Top 10 list, I really don't know who does.

I leave off with Paranoid:



-d