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HOW BLACK SABBATH ENDURED BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL WITH 'SABOTAGE'

As Black Sabbath prepared to unveil their sixth studio album on July 28, 1975, their career appeared to be at its absolute zenith. And yet, the foundation of their heavy metal empire was rotting under their platform boots due to the dishonest dealings of their longtime management World Wide Artists.

No one seemed more surprised about this sickening turn of events than the four members of Sabbath themselves: Singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.

For the band, the first half of the ‘70s had been a breathless marathon, packed with album after album and touring jaunts in-between. By 1975, this grueling workload (and its resulting physical and emotional toll) had helped them achieve a level of worldwide stardom beyond their wildest dreams, but hardly the same financial security. It was at this point that their worst suspicions finally came home to roost.

With the help of their notorious new manager Don Arden, Black Sabbath began the painful process of putting their business affairs in order in the summer of 1974. But they still had to put food on the table while the lawsuits were flying. It was under this kind of pressure that sessions for Sabotage were initiated – its title chosen to reflect the dire state of the group's finances.

Musically, the band was looking to dispense with the more sophisticated trappings of 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by recording an in-your-face, pulverizing rock album – more in line with predecessors Vol. 4 and Master of Reality – without necessarily sacrificing the variety common to all of their albums. It goes without saying, though, that the urgent need to produce new music and get right back to earning much-needed dollars out on the road undoubtedly fueled the recording process, to some extent.

As such, the band’s signature doom plod was expeditiously unearthed for the opening “Hole in the Sky” and – following a brief acoustic interlude from Iommi named “Don’t Start (Too Late)” – pushed to glorious heights via the galloping staccato strums and mystical lyrics of “Symptom of the Universe.” Black Sabbath would arguably never again conjure their alchemical original formula quite like they did on this classic song, but they sure came close with the driving attack of “Thrill of it All” and the radical dynamic shifts undertaken by twin epics “Megalomania” and “The Writ” — the last obviously inspired by their ongoing litigation.

Somewhat less impressive were the perplexing choirs laden atop the otherwise instrumental “Supertzar” and the album’s synthetic-sore-thumb of a single, “Am I Going Insane? (Radio),” whose title essentially confirmed its purpose – though not competently enough to even get it into the charts. On the other hand, Sabotage in its entirety did rise as high as the American Top 20, but tellingly dropped back down just as quickly, becoming the first Black Sabbath album to not achieve platinum sales.

Then, adding injury to insult, Ozzy injured his back in a motorcycle accident in the fall of '75, forcing Sabbath to cut short their tour with openers Kiss, even as their label, Warner Bros., prepared the release of the group's first greatest hits set, We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll. The latter would in years to come unfairly promote the perception that Black Sabbath’s best days were behind them, and said notion would sadly be exacerbated by the commercial and artistic deficiencies of the following year’s Technical Ecstasy and 1978’s Never Say Die.

By the close of the '70s, Black Sabbath's original incarnation would be no more, as Osbourne quit, rejoined, then quit again. After barnstorming across that decade's first half, Sabbath limped over the second, with their ongoing struggles with substance abuse and never-ending lawsuits against the managers who'd done them wrong being the only constants in a period of inconstancy.

Sabotage was, in many ways, cast into a state of purgatory, neither here nor there, where Sabbath fans were concerned, its worth relative to the band's surrounding discography cast into doubt.

But, as we look back with the benefit of hindsight, this album feels ever more like the final chapter in Black Sabbath’s amazing run of heavy metal cornerstones instead of the first chapter in their hit-and-miss second act. If anything is beyond question, it's that from a musical and even visual standpoint (thanks to its creepy black-hued cover art), Sabotage certainly lived up to the band’s original sonic aesthetic, with all its perfect imperfections, for the last time in their storied career

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Black Sabbath hit the big time with "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath". On the Billboard 200, the album achieved significant numbers, ranking 4th on the UK charts, 11th on the ultra-competitive US charts and 6th in Norway (completely consistent with what would come years later through local black metal). The album went gold in the UK and Canada, and platinum in the US. Such success can be seen in the tour that began in 1974, culminating in a historic performance at the California Jam, which featured big names of the caliber of Earth, Wind & Fire, Deep Purple, Eagles and Emerson, Lake & Palmer

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Ozzy Osbourne

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Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne

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#BlackSabbath - No stranger to love

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Confira

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Confira

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OZZY OSBOURNE announces his retirement from the stage

February 1, 2023

Two years ago, the iconic Ozzy Osbourne told the British newspaper Daily Mirror that he would never retire. "Do you know the time when I will retire? When I can hear them closing the lid on my coffin! Then, fuck it. I'll do an encore!" he emphasized. "I am the Prince of Darkness," he added at the time. However, unfortunately the Madman was forced to change his plans due to the current conditions of his health. In the early hours of this Wednesday (01), through his social networks, Ozzy announced his retirement from the stage:

"This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to share with my loyal fans," Ozzy lamented in the caption of his announcement, which reads:

"As you all may know, four years ago this (same) month, I had a major accident where I damaged my spine.

My only purpose during that time was to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently the innovative Cybernetic Treatment (HAL), my body is still physically weak.

Honestly, I am humbled by the way you have patiently held your tickets for all this time, but in good conscience, I now realize that I am not physically able to make my upcoming European/British tour dates, as I know I could not handle the necessary travel. Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really fucks me up more than you will ever know.

I never would have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently getting ideas of where I can perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.

I want to thank my family, my band, my staff, my longtime friends, Judas Priest, and of course my fans for their endless dedication, loyalty and support, and for giving me the life I never dreamed I would have. I love you all.

Recently, Ozzy spoke in an interview on SiriusXM Ozzy's Boneyard about how terrible it has been living with the pain in his spine: "It's really horrible what's happening. It's a nightmare. Sometimes I forget. I'm lying on the couch, I go to get up and I can't. My sense of balance is all over the place. My sense of balance is all over the place. I have physical therapy and am trying to do things on my own. The progress is... Fucking hell, you have no idea," lamented the Madman, who currently walks by leaning on a cane. "The thing is, my head is fine, my creativity is fine, my singing is fine, but I just can't walk much right now," he said. "But I'm determined to be back on stage, even if I'm nailing it to a board with wheels on it.

In this interview Ozzy still seemed excited and confident about the possibility of getting back on stage: "I still have a full tank. I'm determined to get back on stage again. I'm still recovering and I have a goal. And my goal is to get back on stage. It is the driving force in me. I miss my audience. I miss doing shows. I miss my crew. I miss my band. I miss the whole thing," he added. "My family has been very good. I'm the man of the house, but I've never been so bedridden in my life," he concluded.

As is well known, Ozzy is living with Parkinson's Disease, but in addition he has been dealing with problems with his vertebrae, something that forced him to undergo a series of surgeries in the second half of 2022. According to Sharon Osbourne, his wife and manager, the surgery would determine "what his life will be like from now on. Ozzy Osbourne's health has been in trouble since 2003, when the legendary original Black Sabbath singer crashed his quad while touring his mansion in London.

Unfortunately, by greater forces, we are witnessing the end of an era. The closing of one of the most important and pioneering chapters in the history of heavy metal. One of the fathers of heavy music, Ozzy Osbourne gave us the gift of his work with Black Sabbath and continued with a beautiful solo career. Like the warrior that he is, he still worked hard to release two last studio albums, Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022). Although it is clear that the Madman is no longer able to travel, we hope that he will at least be able, if possible, to continue releasing new music, because it will be hard to live with his absence from the music scene. However, if Patient Number 9 was really the last album of the Prince of Darkness, we can only thank and applaud him for all his contributions to heavy metal. Thanks for everything Ozzy...❤