70 YEARS OF ELECTRIC

The Riffs – And Records – That Changed The World. Part Two: from the Sabs to the Arctics. By Jono Scott

1970 TONY IOMMI, BLACK SABBATH, Black Sabbath (Vertigo VO 6) (2nd pressing, with gatefold sleeve and Dunbar credit for Warning, swirl label, if laminated) £200

The term “heavy metal” appeared in print for the first time in Mike Saunders’ Humble Pie review for Rolling Stone in November 1970. In the UK the hard rock assault was gathering pace, with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple leading the charge. Deep Purple’s In Rock was specifically named to set it apart from their earlier efforts, with Blackmore’s slab-like riffs echoing the epic scale of the cover artwork. But Sabbath’s eponymous debut, recorded in just two days, with a title song inspired by bassist Geezer Butler’s nightmare of a black figure standing at the end of his bed, gave birth to what would become known as heavy metal.

Tony Iommi suffered a metal sheet-cutting accident in 1968 that took off the tops of two fingers. He improvised prosthetics, with plastic bottle tops melted onto his fingers with leather over the top. De-tuning his guitar made it easier to play and resulted in guitar sounds that were thicker and heavier. Between them, Zeppelin and Sabbath had set the template for metal. Reviewers gave the album an almost unanimous thumbs down, but it quickly climbed to …

by Jono Scott
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