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[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text module_class=”article-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#111111″ header_font_size=”68px” custom_margin=”40px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
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In tribute to their late frontman Ozzy Osbourne, MOJO ranks and rates every album from heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-main” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Words by Phil Alexander\/James McNair<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/03-scaled.jpg” title_text=”03″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”text-with-dropcap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n No band sounded the death knell of hippy-dom as gloriously as\u00a0Black Sabbath. If the prevalent mood of the mid-\u201960s was one of peace, love and optimism no one told the four-piece of frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. \u201cI tried beads and a kaftan but they looked shit on me,\u201d remarked Osbourne several decades after the band\u2019s inception in Aston, Birmingham, in 1968. Growing from blues roots, Black Sabbath forged a sound around Iommi\u2019s blackened riffs, Osbourne\u2019s post-Lennon wail, and the tightly-locked interplay of Ward and Butler, the bassist penning lyrics that drew on reality as much as on his initial interest in spirituality and the band\u2019s developing fright-night aesthetic. \u201cWe rehearsed across the road from a movie theatre which used to show horror films,\u201d recalled Ozzy. \u201cTony said, \u2018Isn\u2019t it weird \u2013 people pay money to see horror films and get scared. Why don\u2019t we make scary music?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This decision \u2013 and their use of a Boris Karloff 1930s movie title as their moniker \u2013 would help forge Sabbath\u2019s fearsome reputation, while their sound would define the metal genre. Resolutely anti-pop, reviled by the critics, and prone to endless bouts of self-destruction, the original line-up lasted until late 1978 when Ozzy was unceremoniously fired and replaced by Ronnie James Dio. Iommi kept the Sabs flag flying with various line-ups, until a 2011 reformation of the original quartet (at least, \u2018original\u2019 until Ward opted out) and the 2013 release of a gnarly comeback album,\u00a013,\u00a0put a cap on one of the most influential catalogues in heavy music. The original lineup reunited one last time for a final,\u00a0farewell performance at Birmingham’s Villa Park\u00a0earlier this year, a matter of weeks before Ozzy sadly passed away aged 76. In tribute to Ozzy and his bandmates, MOJO runs down evert studio album from the godfathers of heavy metal…<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Born-Again.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Born-Again.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The way Deep Purple\u2019s Ian Gillan tells it, his brief tenure with Sabbath was a lost weekend; something fun but ill-advised. Tellingly, he committed to the job during a night of heavy drinking, so perhaps it was no surprise that the resulting \u2018Deep Sabbath\u2019 summit sucked, with Gillan unable to take Iommi and co.\u2019s dark side seriously. Cue some awful puns (Disturbing The Priest), some back-of-a-fag-packet lyrics (Digital Bitch), and a sense of disparate worlds colliding. That the attendant tour\u2019s \u2018Stonehenge\u2019-style stage-props reportedly inspired the memorable scene in This Is Spinal Tap says it all, but\u00a0Born Again\u00a0still reached Number 4 in the UK.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Tyr.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Tyr.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Tyr\u00a0was named for the Norse god of combat and heroic glory. Sabbath\u2019s status was waning and this was war. With Whitesnake\u2019s Neil Murray joining on bass and Iommi and Cozy Powell producing as they had on 1989\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0Headless Cross, what transpired was a workaday metal record \u2013 and Sabbath\u2019s least Sabbath-like album to date. Geoff Nicholl\u2019s keyboards were surprisingly prominent, power-ballad Feels Good To Me seemed mindful of Whitesnake\u2019s recent US radio successes, and Powell\u2019s drums, mixed rather too loudly, sounded like Thor moonlighting as a panel beater. When Tyr sold poorly, Iommi knew it was time to reinstate the Sabbath big guns.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Forbidden.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Forbidden.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Forbidden\u00a0traditionally had a bad rap \u2013 and not just because Ice-T appeared on it and his fellow Body Count member Ernie C produced. The returning\u00a0Tyr\u00a0line-up of Iommi, Tony Martin, Neil Murray and Cozy Powell sounds capable but uninspired on an album hastily written and recorded to fulfil contractual obligations. Tony Iommi later called it \u201ca total shambles\u201d and clamorous album closer Kiss Of Death seemed prophetic, but Sabbath were actually lancing a boil. The only way was up, and soon the band\u2019s classic original line-up would be back for 1998\u2019s double live-set, Reunion.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Never-Say-Die.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Never-Say-Die.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne was vocal about the band\u2019s lack of direction in the wake of 1976\u2019s Technical Ecstasy\u00a0and left the band, to be briefly replaced by Dave Walker (ex-Savoy Brown\/ Fleetwood Mac), who appeared with the band on BBC Midlands TV\u2019s Hear Say. Ozzy then returned to the fold just as the band entered Toronto\u2019s Interchange Studios. Refusing to sing the songs the others had been working on, Osbourne insisted they write new material but, in the freezing Canadian winter and out of their minds, Sabbath struggled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019d go down the studio and I heard what sounded like a jazz band playing. Is this really Black Sabbath? I\u2019d just fuck off,\u201d recalls Ozzy. With time running out they recorded what they could and released this patchy 13-track LP, its title track a clear misnomer. \u201cWe felt lost and worthless,\u201d Butler noted years later. Their least successful album, it was released in September 1978. Ozzy was fired eight months later.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Technical-Ecstasy.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Technical-Ecstasy.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Beset by ongoing business problems \u2013 \u201cWe hired lawyers to deal with our managers and they ripped us off even more!\u201d spits Butler \u2013 and increasing musical uncertainty, Sabbath headed to Criteria Studios in Miami in summer \u201976 to record. Meanwhile, in the UK, punk was beginning to explode. \u201cWe were 26 years old and everyone seemed to decide we were past it!\u201d recalls Geezer. \u201cTo be honest, the whole thing got to us.\u201d Informed by this sense of confusion,\u00a0Technical Ecstasy\u00a0is the sound of Sabbath trying to make a grown-up, radio-friendly rock record and, in some parts, it works \u2013 notably on It\u2019s Alright (sung by Bill Ward). Mostly, however, it doesn\u2019t with tracks like Back Street Kids, Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll Doctor and Dirty Women resorting to clich\u00e9d, ill-fitting rock moves.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Headless-Cross.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Headless-Cross.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Dropped by Warners in the US and Vertigo in the UK, Sabbath signed to IRS at the invitation of label boss Miles Copeland. Tony Martin stayed for this record and its follow-up, bringing something like stability as rock legend Cozy Powell joined the group on drums (and co-producer). Perhaps understandably, Iommi seemed in a dark place, and he and Martin\u2019s mostly decent songs tapped overtly occult themes with renewed enthusiasm. Adding to the album\u2019s fresh feel, Queen\u2019s Brian May played the first guitar solo on When Death Calls, while eerie soundscape opener The Gates Of Hell set the doomy tone. Sabbath\u2019s best album without Osbourne or Dio? Possibly.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Seventh-Star.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Seventh-Star.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The product of yet another reshuffle \u2013 Geezer Butler had left, and former Trapeze\/Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes took a turn as frontman \u2013\u00a0Seventh Star\u00a0was written and conceived as Tony Iommi\u2019s solo debut. Pressure from Warner Bros and Sabs manager Don Arden forced its billing as \u2018Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi\u2019, the guitarist cutting a forlorn-looking figure on the album\u2019s cover and employing an unlikely choice of drummer in Kiss\u2019s Eric Singer. Hughes, like Gillan, was another brilliant singer mismatched, and his debilitating coke habit during\u00a0Seventh Star\u2019s recording didn\u2019t help. Still, with a less-suspect production, No Stranger To Love could have been a huge smash.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”10.5px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Cross-Purposes.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Cross-Purposes.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The group\u2019s third stint at Rockfield Studios in Wales saw Tony Martin return and Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) play drums, while an uncredited Eddie Van Halen helped write Evil Eye. This time round, there was dark substance to Martin\u2019s unsavoury lyrics, the singer focusing upon Waco Siege cult leader David Koresh (Pyschophobia), and child serial killer Beverley Allitt (The Hand That Rocks The Cradle). Musically, the LP traded in gung-ho but unremarkable metal, though Butler and Iommi\u2019s interplay on I Witness was unmistakably seasoned. The problem? At the height of grunge, Cross Purposes sounded out of step.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”10.5px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/The-Eternal-Idol.jpg.jpg” title_text=”The-Eternal-Idol.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Though actually penned for the third film in the A Nightmare On Elm Street horror franchise, the song Nightmare aptly describes its parent album\u2019s genesis. As Iommi battled to keep Sabbath alive, then unknown singer\/fellow Brummie Tony Martin was drafted in to replace vocals originally sung by Ray Gillen, later of US metal band Badlands. Two models daubed with bronze pigment for the album\u2019s Rodin sculpture-imitating cover art were hospitalised due to the paint\u2019s toxicity, though the general public\u2019s reaction to\u00a0The Eternal Idol\u00a0wasn\u2019t quite so dramatic \u2013 muted respect rather than joy. Crucially, Sabbath sounded like Sabbath again, especially on the weighty, doom-laden title track.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”10.5px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Mob-Rules.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Mob-Rules.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The second set recorded with Ronnie James Dio, this falls just short of its predecessor,\u00a0Heaven And Hell.\u00a0The first Sabs album not to feature Ward (replaced by Vinnie Appice), it is nevertheless a quality affair, tunes like The Sign Of The Southern Cross and Falling Off The Edge Of The World suggesting the Dio-led line-up still had much to offer. Ego clashes soon put paid to that when, during the mixing of the subsequent live album,\u00a0Live Evil, in 1982, band members accused each other of sneaking into the studio after hours to turn up the levels on their own parts.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Dehumanizer.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Dehumanizer.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Geezer Butler was back, and with him came Ronnie James Dio, whose fifth studio album Lock Up The Wolves had just tanked. Factor in the production nous of Reinhold Mack (Queen, ELO), and Sabbath sounded like contenders again, with Dehumanizer\u2019s inspired songs exploring themes including suspect TV evangelists (TV Crimes) and the afterlife (After All The Dead). The latter song\u2019s classic Sabs riffage spoke of a band reborn, but when Ozzy invited Iommi, Butler, Bill Ward and Dio to support his solo band in Costa Mena, California that November, Dio baulked. \u201cI\u2019m not supporting a clown,\u201d he sniffed. Then he quit Sabbath. Again.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/13.jpg.jpg” title_text=”13.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Sabbath\u2019s first album in 18 years \u2013 and their first studio LP with Ozzy in 35 years \u2013 saw three quarters of the original line-up regroup under the watch of production magus Rick Rubin. Though Ozzy\u2019s solo projects stalled progress and Rage Against The Machine\u2019s Brad Wilk was no Bill Ward, the band\u2019s demonic bottom-end was back at full heft on End Of The Beginning and Loner, while Zeitgeist\u2019s devilish Ozzy cackle, hand percussion and brooding acoustic guitar evinced an experimentalism akin to 1970\u2019s Planet Caravan. An apocalyptic sounding chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic, 13 made sure Sabbath exited on a high.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Black-sabbath.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Black-sabbath.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n A snapshot of the band’s live set at the time, this seven-song debut was recorded at Regent Sound Studio in London in one day. Taped on two 4-track machines, the sound is raw and unkempt. The self-titled opener begins with black sheets of rain, a tolling bell and Iommi’s ominous use of the ‘devil’s’ tri-tone. Meanwhile, Butler’s lyrics – sung with convincing horror – are based on a supernatural visitation the bassist claimed to have witnessed. N.I.B. (aka Nativity In Black) is less spooky. “I wrote that one about Bill Ward’s beard,” explained Butler. “It was shaped like a pen nib.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Sabotage.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Sabotage.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Arguably the last great album by the original line-up, 1975\u2019s\u00a0Sabotage\u00a0saw them embroiled in managerial litigation. \u201cWe had nearly 10 months of legal cases where we couldn\u2019t do anything,\u201d explained Geezer Butler. Unsurprisingly, Ozzy penned a song about the situation (The Writ) and Sabbath vented their frustration in Am I Going Insane (Radio). The anthemic thrust of Hole In The Sky and Symptom Of The Universe proved Sabbath\u2019s musical invective remained intact, while a moment of levity came via the album sleeve, thanks mostly to Bill Ward, who wore his wife\u2019s tights over a pair of underpants borrowed from Ozzy.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Sabbath-Bloody-Sabbath.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Sabbath-Bloody-Sabbath.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have a single idea about what to write,\u201d said Tony Iommi of the writers\u2019 block that dogged him on Sabbath\u2019s fifth studio LP. Used to relying on the guitarist\u2019s fresh riffs to kickstart the creative process, the band scrapped their initial LA sessions. \u201cWe thought, This is how bands split up,\u201d admitted Butler. But a writing session in the armoury of Clearwell Castle, Gloucestershire, spawned the riff to the LP\u2019s title track and created the momentum for one of their most adventurous LPs while Killing Yourself To Live stands as perhaps Ozzy\u2019s most autobiographical track.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/heaven-and-hell.jpg.jpg” title_text=”heaven-and-hell.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Fired after 1978’s unfortunately titled\u00a0Never Say Die! ,\u00a0Ozzy was replaced by ex-Rainbow\/Elf singer Ronnie James Dio. With remaining Sabbath trio Iommi, Butler and Ward, he replaced the earth-shovelling sound with a classy, hard-rock approach enhanced by Martin Birch’s production and typified by the fast-driving opener Neon Knights. Mini-epic Children Of The Sea along with Die Young and Lonely Is The Word echoed Dio’s time in Rainbow, but despite uncertainties (Butler vacillated over his future, Ward succumbed to alcoholism),\u00a0Heaven And Hell\u00a0is the sound of a band reborn.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Paranoid.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Paranoid.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the fuck has a bloke dressed as a pig with a sword in his hand got to do with being paranoid?\u201d remarked Ozzy. \u201cThey [the record company] decided to change the album title without changing the artwork.\u201d The reason for this change was Paranoid, the final track written \u201cin five minutes\u201d at the end of the second album session. Added to material like the funereal War Pigs (the original album title), the Ted Hughes-inspired Iron Man and Fairies Wear Boots (about an altercation with some skinheads), Paranoid remains Sabbath\u2019s only hit single, a UK Top 5 in summer \u201870.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Master-Of-Reality.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Master-Of-Reality.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Sabbath\u2019s third saw their sound expanded. \u201cWe were a really tight live band; now we knew what we were doing in the studio,\u201d said Bill Ward. Sabbath\u2019s growing scope is revealed in Iommi\u2019s neo-classical interludes (Orchid, Embryo) and his unlikely flute burst on the melancholic ballad, Solitude. Add phlegm-coughing opener Sweet Leaf (inspired by Sweet Afton rolling tobacco rather than marijuana), nihilistic anti-war anthem Children Of The Grave and the intergalactic fatalism of Into The Void (original working title: Spanish Sid) and what you have is a stone-cold classic.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Vol-4.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Vol-4.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”ss-custom-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” text_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Cabin|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n After 18 months of touring, Sabbath recorded their fourth LP at LA’s record plant in summer ’72. Renting a mansion in Bel Air, and with no label interference, the four-piece gave free rein to increasingly wanton appetites. “The album cost $65,000 to make and we spent $75,000 on coke,” admits Geezer Butler. Olympian excess aside,\u00a0Vol. 4\u00a0is Sabbath’s most satisfying set. An opening brace of Wheels Of Confusion\/The Straightener evoke their frenetic state of mind; Snowblind is an ode to their drug of choice; the ballad Changes is a paean to innocence lost; but walloping Supernaut is the album highlight.\u00a0Vol. 4\u00a0became Sabbath’s fourth US million-seller in a row.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every Black Sabbath Album RankedIn tribute to their late frontman Ozzy Osbourne, MOJO ranks and rates every album from heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath.Words by Phil Alexander\/James McNairNo band sounded the death knell of hippy-dom as gloriously as\u00a0Black Sabbath. If the prevalent mood of the mid-\u201960s was one of peace, love and optimism no one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Alice Whitehead","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2623,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions\/2623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}19:<\/span> Born Again (Vertigo), 1983<\/h2>\n
18:<\/span> Tyr (IRS), 1990<\/h2>\n
17:<\/span> Forbidden (IRS), 1995<\/h2>\n
16:<\/span> Never Say Die! (Vertigo), 1978<\/h2>\n
15:<\/span> Technical Ecstasy (Vertigo), 1976<\/h2>\n
14:<\/span> Headless Cross (IRS), 1989<\/h2>\n
13:<\/span> Seventh Star (Vertigo), 1986<\/h2>\n
12:<\/span> Cross Purposes (IRS), 1994<\/h2>\n
11:<\/span> The Eternal Idol (Vertigo), 1987<\/h2>\n
10:<\/span> Mob Rules (Vertigo), 1981<\/h2>\n
9:<\/span> Dehaumanizer (IRS\/Reprise), 1982<\/h2>\n
8:<\/span> 13 (Vertigo), 2013<\/h2>\n
7:<\/span> Black Sabbath (Vertigo), 1970<\/h2>\n
6:<\/span> Sabotage (Vertigo), 1975<\/h2>\n
5:<\/span> Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Vertigo), 1973<\/h2>\n
4:<\/span> Heaven And Hell (Vertigo), 1980<\/h2>\n
3:<\/span> Paranoid (Vertigo), 1970<\/h2>\n
2:<\/span> Master Of Reality (Vertigo), 1971<\/h2>\n
1:<\/span> Vol. 4 (Vertigo), 1972<\/h2>\n