Couldn’t these guys have waited one more year, and called it quits after celebrating their golden jubilee? That was my first reaction to the news that rock legends Black Sabbath gave their last ever concert in Birmingham, the city of its formation, on February 4 this year.
Formed in 1968 after evolving from the Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth, Sabbath is recognised as one of the three pioneers of the popular heavy metal genre, along with fellow Britishers Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. And though they had line-up changes and were largely inactive between 2006 and 2011, the band could have well had their 50-year bash next year, just like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and Bob Dylan.
Sabbath probably never believed in milestones. For them, it was the thrill of creating new songs and playing them live. As a team, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward have had a direct impact on almost all metal bands thereafter.
Yes, the Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Doors, Grateful Dead and others have had a deep influence on numerous individual acts. Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple probably have a larger number of fans than Sabbath. But if one looks at groups that defined an entire genre, one must mention Sabbath for metal, and the Lou Reed-fronted Velvet Underground for alternative rock and grunge.
What made Sabbath special? When it was formed, the term heavy metal didn’t exist. The genre was called hard rock, and in the U.S., Iron Butterfly, Grand Funk Railroad, Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer and Canadian-American outfit Steppenwolf were setting the style in motion. In the U.K., Cream and Jeff Beck blended a harder sound with blues.
Sabbath hit it big with their self-titled debut, Paranoid and Master of Reality. The songs ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘Paranoid’, ‘War Pigs’, ‘Iron Man’, ‘Children of a Grave’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ became concert favourites.
The lyrics, mostly written by Butler, used sinister, occult and gloomy themes. Iommi, after an accident, tuned down his guitars and Osbourne would work on his vocals. The earlier blues influence was slowly weaned off, and the newer sound was easier for younger musicians to identify with.
Other bands entered that sound space, the most notable being Aerosmith, AC/DC, Bloodrock and Kiss. And though the difference between hard rock and heavy metal remained thin and confusing, it was said metal had special characteristics like dark themes, heavy guitar distortion, extended solos, power drumming, fewer blues elements and higher volume and energy. Initially, Sabbath hated being called heavy metal, but eventually got used to it.
Judas Priest and Motorhead continued their straight-ahead sound. Later, though they had their signature styles, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, Guns N’ Roses and Alice In Chains all claimed to have some Sabbath roots. And the ‘power ballad’ attracted women too.
All these bands drew upon Sabbath, Zeppelin and Purple, but that’s where the problems began. A lot of repetitive and formula-driven music was produced, but fans never objected, as long as they got their kicks. Long hair, black tees with band names, headbanging and il cornuto (the devil’s horns hand gesture) became a metal fad.
Even before this, Sabbath had been having problems since 1977. With Osbourne’s drug and alcohol abuse, and aggressive behaviour, the group kept replacing vocalists. Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin did short stints. But the original members reunited in 1997 to a huge welcome, though later albums were plain rehashes of earlier material.
As the mid-1980s rolled by, metal got further sub-classified. There was the thrash metal of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer; groove metal of Pantera, Sepultura and Lamb of God; and the rock-meets-rap nu-metal of Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot and Rage Against the Machine.
In the 2000s, hip-hop and electronic dance music (EDM) became huge among teenagers, and metal listening was restricted to older bands. Yet, newer outfits like Wolfmother and Mastodon tried to carry forward the legacy. All swore on Sabbath.
With all this in mind, Sabbath’s last gig shall remain a landmark event. Interestingly, on Saturday, the band played only one song released after 1972. And since Iommi hasn’t ruled out one-off appearances, a 50th birthday party might just come up, if the others agree.
