Ozzy Osbourne on the only “irreplaceable” Black Sabbath member
Black Sabbath almost owes its entire existence to the prowess of Tony Iommi. While Ozzy Osbourne often grabbed the spotlight, the band’s success hinged on Iommi’s masterful orchestration of every aspect, making him the architectural force behind their triumphs. Without his influence, their iconic journey might never have materialised.
Black Sabbath emerged at the beginning of the 1970s, forging a distinctive path in rock music. In the wake of the colourful and culturally dynamic 1960s, where rock music diversified into various niches, Osbourne’s Birmingham-based quartet stepped beyond conventional heavy rock sound, infusing it with darker, satanic undertones, further pushing the boundaries of the genre’s evolution.
Embarking with their self-titled debut album in 1970, Sabbath established an impressive standard for themselves and their fellow early heavy metal peers like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. While Led Zeppelin is commonly linked to classic or hard rock genre, these three bands are frequently recognised in retrospect as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ of that era.
Although Osbourne often commanded the limelight, the contributions of other members like Iommi weren’t completely overlooked. As someone whose innovative use of guitar riffs and effects significantly crafted the iconic Sabbath sound, Iommi is often regarded as a pivotal figure in the metal genre with talent capable of revolutionising an entire movement.
Osbourne always readily recognised his prowess and importance within the band. When the singer appeared on Rick Rubin’s Broken Record podcast, he explained: “[Iommi] was the band, really,” adding, “We were all part of the band, but he was the most irreplaceable one.”
Continuing, he added: “Geezer’s a great, great lyricist. Nobody can touch him. Bill, in his day, was a great drummer. Tony, he’s always gonna be the greatest; no one can touch him. And actually, to this day, I still don’t understand how he plays guitar, ’cause he’s got no fingertips; he plays with plastic fingers.”
Although the members each had more talent than you could possibly imagine, recording material was only sometimes a smooth process. As Iommi recalled, discussing recording their sixth studio album Sabotage: “We had a court case with our ex-manager, Patrick Meehan [who had recently been replaced by been replaced by Don Arden], while we were in the middle of making the album.”
He added: “We’d get a writ, and we’d end up having to go into bloody court in the morning, all dressed up, then try to get back to the studio afterwards to carry on working. It was hard to come up with things. You had to have two heads.”
