| "Black Sabbath" | |||||
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| Song by Black Sabbath
from the album Black Sabbath |
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| Released | February 13, 1970 (UK) June 1, 1970 (U.S.) |
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| Genre | Heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 6:16 | ||||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US) |
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| Writer | Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward | ||||
| Producer | Rodger Bain | ||||
| Black Sabbath track listing | |||||
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"Black Sabbath" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, written in 1969 and released on the band's debut album, Black Sabbath.
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History
According to the band, the song was inspired by an experience that Geezer Butler had related to Ozzy Osbourne. In the days of Earth, Butler painted his apartment matte black and placed several inverted crucifixes on the walls. Osbourne gave Butler a book about witchcraft. He read the book and placed the book on a shelf before going asleep. When he woke up, he claims he saw a large black figure standing at the end of his bed. The figure disappeared and Butler went to get the book, only to find that the book was gone. He then told Osbourne, who wrote the lyrics to the song.
A version of this song from Black Sabbath's first demo exists on the Ozzy Osbourne compilation album The Ozzman Cometh. The song has an extra verse with additional vocals from Osbourne, right before the bridge into the fast part of the song.
Harmony
The main riff is constructed with a harmonic progression including a diminished fifth. This particular interval is often known as diabolus in musica,[1] for it has musical qualities which are often used to suggest satanic connotations in Western music.[1][2][3] The song "Black Sabbath" was one of the earliest examples in heavy metal to make use of this interval,[1] and since then, the genre has made extensive use of diabolus in musica[1][4].
Cover versions
"Black Sabbath" has been covered by the following bands:
- Type O Negative in 1994, for the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black.
- Vader in 1996, on their Future of the Past album.
- Iced Earth in 2002, on their Tribute to the Gods album.
- Flower Travellin' Band covered the song in 1970 on their album, Anywhere.[5]
- Van Helsing's Curse covered the song in 2004 on their album Oculus Infernum.
Sampled
Ice T has sampled "Black Sabbath" twice: on 1989s "Shut Up, Be Happy" from the album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say and 1991s "Midnight" from the album OG: Original Gangster.[6]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Marshall, Wolf. "Power Lord—Climbing Chords, Evil Tritones, Giant Callouses," Guitar Legends, April 1997, p. 2
- ^ Cooke Deryck, The Language of Music,(chapter 2 "The Elements of Musical Expression- the Augmented Fourth") Oxford University Press, Oxford New-York, 1959, Reimpression 2001,p.84)
- ^ Sadie, Stanley (1980). "Tritone" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1st ed.). MacMillan, pp.154-155 ISBN 0-333-23111-2
- ^ Dunn, Sam (2005). "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey." Warner Home Video (2006)
- ^ "Overview Anywhere". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfoxqy5ldde. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ "The-Breaks.com Rap Sample FAQ: Ice-T". http://www.the-breaks.com/search.php?term=Ice-T&type=6. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
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