Black Sabbath

As a classic rock lover, I have been waiting for a while to listen to bands like Zep and Black Sabbath.  Although I think Led Zepplin has better players/musicians, I really do enjoy what Black Sabbath and Ozzy have to offer; the beginning of metalish, harder rock that was not really seen up until this point.  Black Sabbath formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England as a few poor British guys.  Although Sabbath is one of the most influential hard rock/metal bands of all time, they started off with many aspects of the blues in their songs, sampling themes from bands like Cream, Deep Purple, and Blue Cheer.  But eventually, transitioning into the slowed tempo rock band focusing on the the "screaming" guitar solos and the kickin bass.  

Although their first album was not overly successful or liked for that matter, it did have some hits that included: "Black Sabbath," (also the name of the album) and "The Wizard."  Their second album, Paranoid, in my opinion was the better of the two, containing songs like "War Pigs," Paranoid," and "Iron Man."  In all of these songs the drums are very heavy and dominant, leading the group (although they are a little sloppy at times).  The guitar also plays a huge role in many of the songs especially with featured solos.  The blues feel (mainly with the harmonica) is also very evident in songs like The Wizard, which so happens to come off of their first album.

Although it can probably be said that the members of Black Sabbath weren't the best lyricists, their music was and is still essential to the history of rock music as a whole and especially to the beginning of metal and hard rock. 

-Brooks Gonzales