When people hear the opening riff of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” they often picture a giant metal superhero. But despite the title, the song has absolutely nothing to do with the Marvel character. Instead, bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler created one of heavy metal’s most unforgettable science-fiction stories. Released in 1970 on Black Sabbath’s landmark […]
Before Black Sabbath, hard rock was mostly blues riffs, flashy guitars, and party music. Then four working-class guys from Birmingham, England came along and made music that sounded like the end of the world. The band formed in the late 1960s in a grim industrial city filled with factories, smoke, and endless gray skies. Guitarist […]
A silver jewelry piece created to honor Black Sabbath’s farewell concert in Birmingham this past July, just weeks before frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s death at 76, is heading to auction. The ring was designed by Jagga, a street artist known for music-inspired works, and features the Aston Villa crest alongside the year 1968, when the heavy […]