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Sunday Old School: Black Sabbath History Month Part 4 - Never Say Die!

Band Photo: Black Sabbath (?)

As so many of our readers are aware, in the United States, the month of February is Black History Month. It’s also the time when we devote the Sunday Old School column to Black Metal history. What many of our readers might not know however, is that Black History Month is also held in the United Kingdom, albeit on a far less noticed scale. Since it doesn’t make sense to dedicate two months of the year to one genre, Metal Underground and Sunday Old School in particular, will focus on a different history, that of arguably the first, and many would say best, heavy metal band of all time. Welcome to the final installment of Black Sabbath History Month!

The eighties had not been as kind to Black Sabbath as it had to some of their contemporaries and after a string of overlooked albums and cancelled tour dates, it seemed that unless something special happened, the band would soon be over. Fortunately for them, and indeed the fans, something spectacular did indeed happen, as following a guest appearance by Geezer Butler at a Dio concert, the bassist and singer returned to Black Sabbath, eventually also being rejoined by Vinny Appice.

They returned to the studio to create their first album together in ten years and after a year’s slog, released the album, "Dehumanizer." It wasn’t quite the masterpiece fans had hoped for, but it certainly wasn’t bad and offered more great music in songs such as "TV Crimes" and the anthemic, "I." It also sold well and exposure was increased when the song, "Time Machine" was featured in the hit movie, Wayne’s World.

It wasn’t just sales which were kinder to Black Sabbath this time, the road also welcomed them back, thanks in part to the inclusion of popular younger bands such as Testament, Exodus, Prong and Danzig being booked to support them. Somewhat ironically however, it was to be a high profile gig that put an end to the reunion with Dio, who was furious when the band were booked to support Ozzy Osbourne on his final "No More Tours" dates. As a special treat though, Dio’s place was taken by another metal icon, the metal god himself in fact, as Rob Halford of Judas Priest stepped in to save the day and perform vocals for Black Sabbath at these shows which also saw Osbourne and Ward perform with Sabbath once more.

Once again however, the reunion with the original lineup would prove to be a one off and Tony Martin was brought back for a new album, "Cross Purposes," which received mostly negative reviews upon its release, though it did feature an uncredited guest appearance from Eddie Van Halen, who performed on the song, "Evil Eye." They put together a solid touring package with fellow icons Motorhead and death metal favourites, Morbid Angel to promote the album, before heading back to Europe to tour with Sabbath devotees, Cathedral.

"Cross Purposes" was followed a year later by "Forbidden," arguably the worst received album Black Sabbath ever put out. It was produced by Body Count guitarist Ernie C and featured a guest appearance from his bandmate, Ice-T on the opening track, "The Illusion of Power," but was still panned by critics. The phrase "things could only get better" would soon prove to be very true for these champions of comebacks.

Tony Iommi disbanded the "Forbidden" lineup of Black Sabbath and fans were given what they had been wanting for twenty years, a full reunion of the original members. The quartet even released new music for the first time in two decades, as two new songs, "Psycho Man" and "Selling My Soul" appeared on the live album, "Reunion." Talk of a full length album of new material remained and the band even entered the studio to begin work on new material, though these sessions came to a grinding halt when Osbourne was called upon to finish his solo album, "Down to Earth." Though talk of a new album flared up once again when the band briefly reunited in 2005, nothing would come of it, at least not for the time being.

Instead, Black Sabbath fans were given the next best thing; a third reunion with Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice, though this time they used the moniker, Heaven & Hell, so as not to confuse fans who thought Ozzy Osbourne was touring with them once again. They performed in the United States with Megadeth and Machine Head before releasing a live album/DVD, "Live at Radio City Music Hall." Of course, it was new material that fans really craved and their wish was granted when in 2009, the band released their only studio album under the Heaven & Hell name, "The Devil You Know," which was very well received by fans and critics alike. Sadly, things soon turned very sour when Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi went to court over the rights to the Black Sabbath name, whilst even more upsetting, Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer, an illness which would eventually claim his life in 2010.

Despite this tragic turn of events, fans were given something to smile about in November the next year when the band announced their return with the original lineup and yes, they were going to be releasing a new studio album. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out quite as planned as Bill Ward left only a few months later, citing contract issues, his place being taken by Rage Against the Machine drummer, Brad Wilk. They were as good as their word however and in 2013, a brand new album named, "13" was released to a mostly positive reception, topping the British albums chart and setting a record for longest length between an artists number one albums.

Since the release of "13," the band has performed somewhat regularly, particularly at festivals and continues to be adored by generations of head bangers. Where they go from here remains to be seen, with speculation rife that their recent concert at London’s Hyde Park would be their last. Though there has been no word on the future of live performances, the group has confirmed that they intend to record one final album, which they hope will see Bill Ward return to the fold. Whatever the future holds, not one person can disagree about their role in music’s past. That they were, and indeed still are, perhaps the most important band in the history of hard rock, certainly in heavy metal. And the future? Well… Never say die!

Missed the previous parts of the series? You can check them out by clicking the links below.

Black Sabbath History Month Part 1

Black Sabbath History Month Part 2

Black Sabbath History Month Part 3

Black Sabbath - "I"

Black Sabbath - "TV Crimes"

Black Sabbath - "Cross of Thorns"

Black Sabbath - "Can't Get Close Enough"

Heaven & Hell - "Bible Black"

Black Sabbath - "Loner"

Ollie Hynes has been a writer for Metal Underground.com since 2007 and a metal fan since 2001, going as far as to travel to other countries and continents for metal gigs.