Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History

by Martin Popoff

Containing much rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff’s interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose is an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sabs’ 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, as well as ten interviews with Ronnie James Dio, and additional interviews with supporting musicians such as Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, and Neil Murray, make this full-colour retrospective a must for any fan. The drugs, drink, depression, and doom surrounding this band from the start have imbued songs like “The Wizard,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man” “War Pigs,” “Children of the Grave” and “Heaven and Hell” with an almost supernatural importance among lovers of dark music. In the wider realm, full albums such as Master of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, and Heaven and Hell show up with regularity on lists of greatest records of all time. Doom Let Loose explains how such classics came to be. It also deals with their tour history, documenting the places rocked, the bands who supported the Sabs, and most notably the trials and tribulations of the band and they tried to hold it together in the Satan-obsessed, drug-addled America of the Nixon era. Look for all manner of Sabbath photos and artefacts that make this examination of heavy metal’s fearsome foursome as feast for the eyes as well as the enquiring mind.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2006

About the author

At approximately 7900 (with over 7000 appearing in his books), Martin has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. He was Editor-In-Chief of the now retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost metal publication for 14 years, and has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, Record Collector, bravewords.com, lollipop.com and hardradio.com, with many record label band bios and liner notes to his credit as well. Additionally, Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked for two years as researcher on the award-winning documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, on the writing and research team for the 11-episode Metal Evolution and on the ten-episode Rock Icons, both for VH1 Classic. Additionally, Martin is the writer of the original metal genre chart used in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and throughout the Metal Evolution episodes. Martin currently resides in Toronto and can be reached through martinp@inforamp.net or www.martinpopoff.com.

Reviews

[Greg Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I finished reading this for the second time and can see myself reading it many times over in the future. In this book, Popoff dedicates one chapter to each of the Sabbath albums. He mixes in his own recent interviews with band members, along with his personal thoughts/reflections to add flavor to a collection of quotes from past interviews/promo materials, rare pictures of the band, concert posters/tickets, rare releases, memorobilia and the like. You can read this puppy all the way through from cover to cover, or take it a chapter at a time while listening to the album being covered. That's what makes it the type of book you'll go to again and again.

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda funny, I saw the word "unflinching" used in a couple reviews of this -- even the blurb above -- but that's precisely the opposite of what Martin Popoff intends (and pulls off). He's interviewed the Black Sabbath guys countless times throughout the years, and he genuinely likes them all -- no interest in digging up dirt or trashing them. So he largely avoids the usual gossip you get in band biographies -- concentrates entirely on the albums and tours (and yes, some tour drama gets a fair analysis). Obviously, he needs to address some personal issues, for example when Ozzy and Ward and Geezer and Dio and Gillan and Glenn Hughes left the band (sometimes more than once), but it's done in a detached, clinical way. Popoff is primarily a music critic, so he is "unflinching" in his own opinions of the albums (and tours where relevant): in other words, he avoids the gossip, but this is no hagiography. Indeed, a couple chapters read like Rashoman as he gives us the various versions of, for example, the origin of "Paranoid" or the feud with Cactus, or what went down on the infamous tour with Van Halen.

What I miss is any focus on the larger context: sociology, fan-geekery, musical influences, that sort of thing -- he rarely gives us a sense on how Black Sabbath related to the larger musical world, in terms of critics, audiences, bands, sociology, demonology, that lot. How the hell, for example, did the Beatles + "blues rock" turn into that frighteningly heavy riff-fest that was their first four LPs? And I gotta be honest, I was bored stiff reading the travails of "Sabbath Iommiosaurus" in the 1990s and 2000s. Still, lots of great illustrations -- including Popoff's own collection of eight-tracks, t-shirts, and such -- and hell, this is a band that's never had a proper well-researched book devoted to it. So I dug it, but kept hoping for more... which Popoff rectifies thoroughly in his new Black Sabbath FAQ .

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never really thought I would read another band biography, but a friend talked me into it and I am glad. Very well written with lots of detailed information. I loved the chronological by album format. I plan on reading other books by this author. If you like Sabbath and you don't read this, you're radio. Don't know what that means? Read the book and find out.

[Kevin Montavon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic tome by Martin Popoff. It is laid out like a college textbook, and I felt like I was reading the course material for "Advanced Sabbath 666". The photos and scans of album covers, bootlegs, singles, merchandise, etc. were amazing and worth the price of the book alone. Highly recommended for any Sabbath fan, or fan of rock or metal in general.

[Stephen Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare gem of a Sabbath book that covers the band's entire career and doesn't shy away from the revolving door lineup chaos of the 80s and 90s. Author Martin Popoff's introduction makes his preference for the classic Ozzy Osbourne years quite clear, but he doesn't let this stop him telling the whole Black Sabbath story. Very well researched and richly illustrated.

[Garek Druss]

ummmm, totally essential

[YNOT]

not too well-written, but nice collation of rare pic sleeves/promo material, with non-existent attribution... an obvious 'rush job' but worth the remainder price...

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome bio of one of the greatest bands in the world

[Sérgio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muito bom! A análise álbum-a-álbum de Popoff foi complementada com dois eficientes capítulos finais, dando conta do projeto Heaven & Hell e do disco 13. Grande livro para uma grande banda!

[Greg Renoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book ever written on Sabbath.

[Mike Tandrow]

Not a review but a question;

I can't find this book anywhere -- anybody have one to sell? Pretty please?

Thanks!