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Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (6:18)

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About This Track

“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.

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 to sleep. 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.

The main riff is constructed with a harmonic progression including a diminished fifth. This particular interval is often known as ‘diabolus in musica’, for it has musical qualities which are often used to suggest satanic connotations in Western music. The song “Black Sabbath” was one of the earliest examples in heavy metal to make use of this interval, and since then, the genre has made extensive use of diabolus in musica.
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Albums featuring this track

  • Black Sabbath
    Black Sabbath Play
    Buy
  • We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
    Black Sabbath Play
    Buy
  • Past Lives
    Black Sabbath Play
    Buy
  • Greatest Hits
    Black Sabbath Play
    Buy
See all 44 albums

Shouts

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  • mattnobhead

    Remember listening to this for the first time when I was thirteen, in bed, at about quarter to midnight, and being scared the shit out of. The lyrics themselves kept me awake for another two hours. However, I've loved heavy metal music since. The riffs and dark nature of the song really hit me, don't know what it was about it that made me sit up in bed and take notice of this music from then on.

    4 hours ago

  • FuzzJazz

    The beginning

    yesterday afternoon

  • zero000000000

    good live version played !!!

    Tuesday afternoon

  • Colony666

    first ever metal riff was also the heaviest

    Monday afternoon

  • KomodKing

    Had my own experience with this song before bed. Never again...

    last week

  • PETEWAY

    Scared the shit out of me when I was a kid.

    13 days ago

  • wouwek

    Beginning of Heavy Metal

    16 days ago

  • xSeveras713x

    The beginning of the music we all know and love to this day

    25 days ago

  • paisleybabee

    Oh GoddddddddddD!

    last month

  • michouz

    αω

    last month

  • Germanic

    Nothing will surpass the tri-tone!

    last month

  • colinROE

    Goddamn that riff is so heavy.

    last month

  • paranoidchileno

    puta que es bacán la versión con Ian Gillan en la voz, con lo bueno que era pa gritar el viejo, les sale filete.

    last month

  • cubesinajar

    Can't wait to hear this played at Download Festival!

    last month

  • ms3mx5

    Love this song. I like to think that when people first heard it it scared the hell out of them.

    March 2012

  • subjective

    god this song never gets old. rain shine. sleet snow. hurricane. other natural disaster. just play this. always. SO GODDAMN GOOD

    March 2012

  • Wytchfynder413

    Yo dawg, we heard you like Black Sabbath, so we, Black Sabbath, have made a song called Black Sabbath and put it on an album called Black Sabbath, so you can Satan while you Satan while you Satan. [5]

    March 2012

  • mooseweed46420

    1 of the best groups ever

    March 2012

  • the_betterman

    still as evil today as was when it first came out

    March 2012

  • korotkova001

    ++++++++++++++++++

    March 2012
See all 870 shouts

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