The history of Black Sabbath (1980-1998)

If you wanna be totally correct when you write about Black Sabbath these days you should just ignore all the albums they released after Ozzy left. Sure, even I think that the first Sabbath albums stand pretty much as milestones in music history. The songs are very dark and they have influenced a lot of my favorite bands. But now I want you to open your eyes to the Sabbath that lived from 1980 and to the present day.

In the end of 1979 Tony Iommi had enough of the blizzard that had been blowing in OzzyÆs nose for a very long time and just fired him. Ozzy was (and still is) a great personality and a lot of fans saw him as an irreplaceable frontman when the little man with the big voice, Ronnie James Dio, got the job as the new Sabbath singer.

Black Sabbath went to Florida and started the recordings of Heaven and Hell, they had to move fast when the name was still hot after OzzyÆs departure. Heaven and Hell became a major success and I hold that album as one of the strongest hard rock albums. The next one, Mob Rules, is also a very good album.

The Mob Rules tour resulted in an live album with the suitable title Live Evil and then the circus went off again.

Ronnie James Dio left the group when accused of putting the vocals too high in the mix on the album. That is what the rumours say, although I find it hard to believe that Ronnie sneaked in the studio to mix with the tapes. His voice is stronger than that. Anyway, Ronnie left and this is the time for the most embarrassing period in SabbathÆs history. The next man for the vocal job was no less than Ian Gillian, formerly of Deep Purple. Gillian once said that he was the worst singer Sabbath ever had and I have to agree. The album Born Again doesnÆt even work as a Frisbee.

By this time Tony Iommi sat and scratched his mustache and was ready to release a solo album and that was fine by the record company. Just before the release, the company changed their mind and wanted to use the Black Sabbath name again. They agreed on Seventh Star, Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi (who by this time is the only original member left). The vocals was done by Glenn Hughes and the album is full of very heavy music and some outstanding guitar work. Too bad that the tour became a total fiasco with a drunk Glen Hughes on stage, they apparently finished that tour very early.

Next man up was Ray Gillen who hadnÆt made a name just yet. He mysteriously disappeared after the recordings and his replacement was Tony "The Cat" Martin. The result became the astonishing Eternal Idol album and the lineup was to remain for a couple of years except for a bass player here and there.

After the albums Headless Cross and TYR it became very important to make some serious money again with the Ronnie James Dio reunion. A damn fine and heavy album was recorded under the name Dehumanizer. They also managed to get the worst cover artwork in history for that album. The friendship didnÆt last one minute and Ronnie left at the end of the tour to make room for Tony Martin again. They recorded Cross Purposes and Forbidden (which became the most pale album since Born Again).

It was now time to make some mega-serious money. The original lineup was called in to show the baby bands who their father was. The Ozzfest tour went great until Bill Ward had a minor heart attack and had to leave the European tour. He was replaced by Vinny Appice who played on the Mob Rules tour.

As a wind-up, you can easily say that the Black Sabbath catalog from 1980 and forward is a collection of many great albums with the guitar work of a master. Not bad by a man who lost two of his fingertips. Tony Iommi is also the only member who has played on all Black Sabbath albums.

The following albums have been released by Black Sabbath after Ozzy was fired. The number indicates a personal rating between 1-10.

Heaven and Hell (10)
The Mob Rules (8)
Live Evil (8)
Born Again (3)
The Seventh Star (8)
The Eternal Idol (8)
Headless Cross (10)
TYR (8)
Dehuminizer (8)
Cross Purposes (8)
Forbidden (6)