The Complete History of Black Sabbath

by Joel McIver

They are the band that created metal music . . . and they have defined it for more than four decades. Black Sabbath's career spans eleven different line-ups and nineteen studio albums in addition to the twenty-eight solo albums of the original four members.

The band began in 1968 as a blues rock band on the cover circuit of Birmingham, England. Clawing their way up from the postwar bombed-out suburbs of Birmingham, the four members - guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward - would define a new genre of music and make themselves world famous.

Joel McIver explores the complete history of Sabbath, from the precursor bands to the release of the holy trinity of heavy metal - "Black Sabbath" (the song) on Black Sabbath (the album) by Black Sabbath (the band) - to the present. With over 150 photos, a gatefold family tree tracing the development of the band, a complete discography, and a foreword by Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, this is the must-have book for any Sabbath fan.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2016

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways.

When I saw the book, I thought it would be just a small biography of how the band started. When I got it I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a large coffee table book. It's great as well as the history of the band it has multiple photos, many that I have never seen before. If you're a fan of Black Sabbath, or the multiple members that have been in and out of the band over the years I highly recommend picking up a copy. If you're a classic rock fan, I suggest at least checking your library for a copy, you'll likely enjoy it as well.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Goodreads win review. This is the history of the metal band Black Sabbath. I have always been a metal head even as I have gotten older I still love metal. They were the first metal band to come along and forge the way for other metal bands. Loved this book.

[Senka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm afraid I already knew too much :D However, it was nice to look at the Photos.

[Ciro Strazzeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho letto la versione in lingua italiana. Molto bello.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

BIG! LOTS OF PICTURES. It's about Black Sabbath, Ozzy's solo career and leads into THE END. The final (??you never know??) tour.
It's very good. It repeats things I've read before and elsewhere. It gave some new facts here and there.
Once Ozzy leaves the band it tells two stories. Tony keeping Black Sabbath going through the 80's and 90's and Ozzy dealing with alcohol, Sharon, Randy's death and TV fame.
So, after a time Ozzy does get more screen time I guess, but there's not much else to say about Black Sabbath from about 1983 to 1996 except that Tony juggles a lot of things to keep the band and his career going. Geezer's in/Geezer's out. Bill Ward is in/Bill Ward is out. Glenn Huges sings. Ian Gillan Sings. Dio sings. Dio leaves. Dio comes back. Tony Martin is always available. You have to give Tony Iommi credit for staying the course all that time even being FORCED to use the Black Sabbath name on records he wanted to be solo works. Up Against the Wall. Recommended for fans.

[Longworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but not great.

Really enjoyed the book, very interesting read. Minus 1 star due to not learning anything new that Ozzy and Tony Iommi didn't already cover in their own autobiographies. Still a great starting point for anyone interested in "the band that invented heavy metal" and the ups and downs of their careers.

[Spencer Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice coffee table book with everything you might want to know about the band in its many iterations, as well as the continuing story of the Ozzman. Lots of info and great photos. Pretty much exactly what you want in this kind of book, though some purists might wish that the book focused 98% on things up to Heaven and Hell.

[wesley e wills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read.

The early years were very interesting. All of the band member changes get a little monotonous. Reading about Ozzy through the years was also interesting. Hope someday he gets to work with Paul McCartney.

[Parsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd rather say "introductory" than "complete", but still, great history of Black Sabbath... for beginners... not much more than you 'd find in Wikipedia. If you really want to know much about the band, check Iommi's autobiography first (or next).

[auddiii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing over the top, unlike the bad. I like the background history to it. But could have been so much more.

[Angela Regina Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book to buy after a breakup

[Lily De Lioncourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Open your eyes and see the lies" 🖤

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not complete but it wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination.

[Chris Goodwin]

Good read just not anything you don't already know if you are a Black Sabbath fan.

[Branislav Breza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veľmi zlý český preklad, absolútne neznalý reálií. (Body Count sa zapojili do "velké rvačky"? nemalo to byť náhodou, že podnecovali k verejným nepokojom? "v dnešní době mají horory k nahnání strachu daleko a celý tento žánr lze nazvat nějak jako "mučivé porno" wtf?!) Čo sa týka informácií o skupine, ako zdroj to nie je zlé, je to tak 50:50 text a fotografie. Čítanie knihy zaberie cca hodinu a pol. Ak by som si mal kúpiť knihu o Black Sabbath, hľadal by som ďalej.