Stop for a moment and picture what the world would be like if it weren’t for Black Sabbath. Sucks, doesn’t it?
Without hyperbole, this Birmingham four-piece invented heavy metal as we know it today, their work throughout the 1970s being so tight, sludgy and heathenistic that a whole new genre was needed to characterise it.
The original run with Ozzy Osbourne, before the singer was dismissed due to excessive substance use in 1979, provided some of the most iconic metal songs and albums of all time, but truth be told the band continued to make excellence up to and including their final album 13 – their first with their classic frontman in 35 years.
In the wake of Osbourne’s passing last month at the age of 76, and in tribute to a pioneering force that enriched the lives of so many enamoured with alternative music, we want you to tell us: what’s the best album that Black Sabbath ever made?
The options are pretty diverse. The band’s 1970 album laid the blueprint for metal music with such tracks as Black Sabbath and N.I.B., but its successor Paranoid (which dropped only a matter of months later) is just as revered, containing the standout hits Paranoid, Iron Man and Fairies Wear Boots.
The rest of the Osbourne run is full of now-legendary releases, including 1971’s Master Of Reality, 1972’s Vol. 4, 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and 1975’s Sabotage. The departure of the Prince Of Darkness didn’t signal the end of their top-notch music-making, either, with the albums Heaven And Hell (1980) and Mob Rules (1981) also becoming beloved, recognised for Ronnie James Dio’s towering voice.
Though the mid-80s and 90s are broadly recognised as Sabbath’s ‘wasteland’ years, people will still bat for albums of that era. Headless Cross (1989), featuring the underrated Tony Martin, is a dark-horse favourite, as is Dehumanizer (1992), which marked Dio’s return for one album only. 13 (2013) ended Sabbath’s tenure by reuniting Osbourne, long-serving guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist/lyricist Geezer Butler.
Let us know which of these classics, or maybe another not mentioned here, is the best by writing your arguments in the comments section below.
