Sat Eye Candy: Black Sabbath

THROW THOSE HORNS, BANG THAT HEAD

Simply put, without Black Sabbath there would be no metal as we know it, and the general tenor of rock ‘n’ roll would probably be decidedly less heavy, too. We like hard ‘n’ heavy music around these parts, so we raise a Saturday salute to Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), Bill Ward (drums) and Ozzy Osbourne (vocals) – along with the various troopers who’ve helped fill their giant boots.

We begin with Sabbath’s theme song with the pretty, semi-classical guitar intro they sometimes include live before the heaviness descends.

Certainly one of their best tunes (and most covered, too), “War Pigs” seems vaguely incongruous performed beneath a rainbow backdrop under sunny Cali skies. Yet, Sabbath still make it menacing as hell.

Jump to 1978 for a thick rendition of a Sabbath staple, where Ozzy is rocking an outfit he made from old Gram Parsons and Elvis stage costumes he sewed together.

Instead of taking off at the usual breakneck speed, Sabbath leans into the groove a bit on this fabulous version of “Fairies” from when it had just joined the repertoire.

From the Dio years, we find metal great elf king in fine form on this fantasy rich ditty.

While seemingly incongruous, it kinda makes sense for Sabbath to cover this one, which serves as a nice bit of shorthand for rebelliousness and self-possession. Plus it’s a blast to shake your tail feather to!

During the 2004 Ozzfest Judas Priest singer Rob Halford filled in for an ailing Ozzy, sounding pretty damn good even on signature Sabbath material like “Paranoid.”

The next year Oz was back in the saddle and tearing up classic Sabbath-ized blues like “The Wizard.”

Anyone who spent some time watching late night TV in the seventies will remember Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, which presented this Sabbath performance from Santa Monica, CA in 1975.

We conclude with two takes on thud-rock masterpiece “Iron Man,” one with a young Ozzy growling the words and a 1980 take with Dio singing.