Without Black Sabbath, Metallica wouldn’t have had the blueprint to write “Enter Sandman.” Judas Priest might never have broken the law, Iron Maiden wouldn’t have run to the hills, and Slayer would have never reigned in blood. Now, with 50 years’ worth of hindsight, you can hear that the album represented the start of a new epoch. The album sleeve depicted a witchy-looking woman holding a black cat in a supernatural world, and the music inside delivered on the cover’s mysteriousness. record stores in February 1970 - on a Friday the 13th to capitalize on the album’s unsettling look and sound - it showed the world what “heavy” really meant. When their debut album, Black Sabbath, hit U.K. The six-minute horror vignette was spooky yet thrilling, and the song, “Black Sabbath,” would serve as the prototype for a genre poised to captivate the world.Īrtists like Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Led Zeppelin had spent the late Sixties edging into darker, denser terrain, but it was Black Sabbath who made heavy a way of life. “Is this the end, my friend?” he wonders aloud. The guitar chords lurch seismically, each one like a gut punch before quieting down just enough for Ozzy Osbourne to paint his own vivid portrait of fear - “What is this that stands before me/Figure in black which points at me?” It’s a scene so unnerving that he eventually pleads to the heavens, “Oh, no, NO, please God help me,” before the guitar riff and church bells come around again to strike him down. The song opens with the sound of a powerful thunderstorm and ominous church chimes before crashing into its lumbering, iconic riff. Teachers should be sympathetic to the religious beliefs of students, which may preclude them from listening to this song.Half a century has passed since Black Sabbath first scared the bejesus out of rock fans with their eponymous anthem. Although connection to objectionable material has been a hallmark of rock’n’roll since its inception and the historical use of the tritone as the diabolus in musica is a valid music history concept, teachers should be aware of this particular lyrical content. This interval occurs throughout the song.Ĭonsiderations for Teaching: Particularly in this first single from the band, themes of the occult and imagery of Satan are prevalent. Additionally, the tritone has been historically known as a musical representation of the devil, also known as Diabolus in Musica, which matches the lyrical content of the song. First of all, Black Sabbath guitarist Tommy Iommi here uses the tritone interval, which occurs in the blues scale, showing Iommi’s connections in playing blues music. Black Sabbath has sold 70 million records, won two Grammys and been inducted into both the UK Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Īnalysis: The primary riff used in “Black Sabbath” is based on (and begins with) the tritone interval, which is significant for several reasons. The band continues to tour today, including three out of four of their original members. The song “Black Sabbath” appears on the 1969 album of the same name. Before they began their recording career, they embraced themes of the occult in their lyrics and alternate guitar tunings, creating their signature sound. Intro: Considered one of the pioneering heavy metal bands, Black Sabbath formed initially as a blues band in Birmingham, England.
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