MAKING OF THE ALBUM: Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath were born in Birmingham, England, in 1968 from the ashes of an obscure blues group called Mythology. When they eventually split after just two years, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward decided to form a heavy blues band and enlisted the help of singer Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler, who had played together in local group Rare Breed. Initially calling themselves Polka Tulk, they eventually renamed the group Earth and enjoyed a brief residency at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, where The Beatles had also performed in 1962. Their final moniker came after viewing an Italian horror movie from acclaimed director Mario Bava and cult actor Boris Karloff called I Tre volti della paura, which enjoyed modest success under the English title Black Sabbath.

Inspired by both horror literature (particularly Dennis Wheatley and the occult), the band began to write blues-style songs that were played much heavier than before and conjured up images of both gothic horror and the macabre. Having toured around England in a transit van that was barely roadworthy, Black Sabbath entered Regent Sound Studios in London to commence work on a batch of songs that they had written whilst on the road. Amongst these tunes would be the song Black Sabbath, whose opening guitar chords would help create the band’s new sound, as well as live favourites The Wizard and N.I.B. The session would also include a track entitled Evil Woman, which had been written written a year earlier by Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand and Larry Wiegand and performed by their group Crow.

The band spent two days and £600 in the studio, working on what they hoped would be their debut album alongside producer Rodger Bain. Recorded live in the studio in as few takes as possible, running through their live sets, the group worked quickly so they could go back to performing for money, with the band making their way to Switzerland for £20-per-gig. The track Evil Woman was the first to be released from the album, issued through the label Fontana Records in early 1970. Black Sabbath struggled to land a record deal for their album and despite shopping the record around to various labels, they were unable to attract interest, with many executives finding the material too heavy and controversial.

The band were eventually signed to Vertigo, who had replaced Fontana under Dutch label Philips Records. The Evil Woman single had failed to chart but when their self-titled album was released, ingeniously on a Friday the 13th (February 1970), managed to make its way up to no. 8 in the UK charts. The album would eventually be considered a landmark in music and is often seen as the first heavy metal record, although their second release, Paranoid, would be even more revered. Despite accusations that the band were Satanic and practiced witchcraft, Black Sabbath enjoyed major acclaim with their debut album and would become one of the most important rock acts of the 1970s.