IN REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS BLACK

FIFTY YEARS AGO, FOUR UNKNOWN MUSICIANS FROM BIRMINGHAM, UK, CHANNELLED MARIO BAVA, HAMMER HORROR AND THE DEVIL TO CREATE A SONG THAT KICKED OFF A BAND, AN ALBUM, AND AN ENTIRE MUSICAL GENRE

BY AARON VON LUPTON

THE SKY BURSTS WITH A HEAVY DOWNPOUR PUNCTUATED BY A MENACING RUMBLE OF THUNDER. In the distance, a missionary bell rings with fearful urgency, a warning in the wind… The unsettling overture soon makes good on its promise when the first seismic chords break open a six-minute opus of gothic horror, in which a terrified man is confronted by the Devil. The song, the first track on an album of the same title, also happened to give the performing band its name: Black Sabbath. And with its release in 1970, heavy metal was born… and its father was the Devil himself. From whence did those unholy sounds originate? Did guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne all sign a pact with Satan at the…

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RUE MORGUE (Digital) - 1 Issue, RM#194

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