‘Black Sabbath’ is the eponymous debut studio album by Black Sabbath. First released on Friday 13th February 1970, the album reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart and number 23 in the Billboard Charts.
Based around the band’s live set, it was recorded in a 12 hour session in October 1969 and is regarded by many as one of the most significant albums in the development of heavy metal.
Key to the band’s new sound on the album is Iommi’s distinctive playing style that he developed after an accident at a sheet metal factory where he was working at the age of 17 in which the tips of the middle fingers of his fretting hand were severed. Iommi created a pair of false fingertips using plastic from a dish detergent bottle and detuned the strings on his guitar to make it easier for him to bend the strings, creating a massive, heavy sound.
‘Black Sabbath’ has been lauded as perhaps the first true heavy metal album. It has also been credited as the first record in the stoner rock and goth genres.
Track Listing
Side A:
- Black Sabbath
- The Wizard
- Behind The Wall Of Sleep
- N.I.B
Side B:
- Evil Woman, Don’t Play Your Games With Me
- Sleeping Village
- Warning
