"My friends and I were unwittingly thrust into the center of a dangerous counter-culture, and listening to the songs on Black Sabbath was like hearing the shot heard ‘round the world. It was a rallying hue and cry for teen rebellion."  I grew up in an environment filled with music. Something was always playing either in the car or the house (at least until we got cable—that’s right, not everyone always had cable their entire lives) and so I grew up accustomed to always having music to fill the otherwise quiet moments in life. My mother’s collection of vinyl and 8-tracks included The Doors, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, 10CC, Buffy Saint Marie, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Kiki Dee, and Fleetwood Mac.
But what she didn’t have was Black Sabbath...  Following on from last year's highly successful Summer of Maiden, curated by Kit Power, Ginger Nuts of Horror returns with "Summer of Sabbath". The brainchild of Andrew Freudenberg, Summer of Sabbath celebrates the magic, the myth and the music of the masters of metal Black Sabbath. Featuring reviews and articles from some of horror's finest writers, this massive retrospective of the career of one of the most influential bands of all time is set to be a must read for your Summer days and Autumn nights. Formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward. Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history. Formed in 1968 as the Polka Tulk Blues Band, a blues rock band, the group went through line up changes, renamed themselves as Earth, broke up and reformed. By 1969, they had named themselves Black Sabbath after the film Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff, and began incorporating occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and tuned-down guitars. The band's first show as Black Sabbath took place on 30 August 1969, in Workington. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, "Evil Woman" in January 1970. Their debut album, Black Sabbath, was released on Friday the 13th, February 1970, on Philips' newly formed progressive rock label, Vertigo Records. Though receiving a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success and reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart, so the band returned to the studios to quickly record the follow up, Paranoid, which was released in 1970. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, critics were starting to respond favourably. The series kicks off this Monday with Bracken Macleod's look at their debut album. SUMMER OF SABBATH'S CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bracken MacLeod Kyle M. Scott Andrew Freudenberg Chad Lutzke Steve Harris Adam Nevill Randy Michaud Amber Fallon Steven L. Shrewsbury Michelle Garza Ted E. Grau John Boden Kevin Bufton Mark Cassell Jason Arnopp Jim Goforth Kit Power If you would like to contribute to this amazing feature, please drop us an email at jimmcleod@gingernutsofhorror.com (please mark your email Summer of Sabbath)
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