Definitive Poll: Black Sabbath - Heavy Metal or Not?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Erik Tracy, Jun 19, 2015.

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  1. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX, USA
    Frankly, the splitting of hairs between hard rock and heavy metal is meaningless. The division that made more sense to me was European vs American.
     
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  2. showtaper

    showtaper Concert Hoarding Bastard

    Without Sabbath (and their brethren) paving the way those others would would not exist.
     
  3. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    There are a bunch of Black Sabbath songs that are very close to Blues Rock as well
     
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  4. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    This is where I count the difference - I don't think that Sabbath are "blues rock" at all. Zeppelin, Cream, Purple, Uriah Heep, Humble Pie and so many others did "blues rock", but Sabbath's songs never really are in blues style. They are of the blues, but they never played blues.
     
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  5. Agent of Fortune

    Agent of Fortune Däncing Barefoot

    It may not be Albert King, but it's some form of Blues, alright (now! Won't you listen? :D).




    In addition to Wicked World, I'll also point out:

    The Wizard
    Evil Woman
    The Warning
    Heart Like a Wheel
    Sick and Tired

    There's also Rat Salad, but that's maybe more of a jazzy number.


    To be specific, I don't think that Sabbath really qualify (overall) as 'Blues Rock', but I do think that they did do several songs that could certainly qualify as Blues (much like Deep Purple).
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2015
  6. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    This is exactly what I mean and your list of examples are prime examples of the "Blues Rock" side of Black Sabbath although they aren't primarily blues rock.
     
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  7. Lightworker

    Lightworker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Deep Texas
    Did Samuel Colt make six-guns? Poll to follow...
     
  8. Huntigula

    Huntigula Idiot Savant

    Location:
    Brighton, MI
    I knew what my answer was before I even finished reading the thread title. The first three are pure metal, and Sabotage is even better, being much more of a "progressive metal" album.
     
  9. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes of course...I can still remember the first time I heard BS back when they hit first the scene... they blew me away heavy duty!
     
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  10. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    "Wicked World" is jazz-inflluenced, not blues. It's the jazziest number in their catalog.

    "The Wizard": Just because there's a harmonica doesn't make it blues.

    "Evil Woman" and "The Warning" are R&B.

    I've never heard "Heart Like A Wheel" or "Sick And Tired." I'm not really all that interested with the albums that only have one or two original members.
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2015
  11. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    I thought Heart Like A Wheel was Linda Ronstadt. What's she doing in Black Sabbath?
     
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  12. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Iommi teamed up with Vince Gill and did an album called, Devils' Country! (just kidding, don't go Googling it!) :laugh:
     
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  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    That or "Behind the Wall of Sleep". I suppose it could loosely be said that something like "Electric Funeral" is a blues song, but it'd be stretching it.
     
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  14. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yeah, it's not blues. Geezer Butler was playing around with tri-tones he heard on Holst, The Planets, and that's part of what inspired Iommi to come up with his chord or note progressions or whatever. It's not blues-based, or at least not all blues-based--it's from classical music."Black Sabbath" is a good example of it--dum-DUM-dum. Can you tell I'm not a musician? I read this stuff in a book about heavy metal.
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2015
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  15. sons of nothing

    sons of nothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    Here is an example of the blues...though they put their own stamp on it. Earth/Sabbath also did sons like Early One Morning, Let Me Love You Baby, Blue Blooded Man. Of course, they made them rockin, but still blues...Earth/Sabbath did tons of blues cover circa 68-69. I will say the first album was more rooted in blues, even jazz. But the combination of these genres gave birth to metal.

     
  16. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Damaged Soul is the bluesiest song they have. I really don't hear it elsewhere.
     
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  17. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Honestly...how idiotic. It isn't a question. When everyone points to a band and says "heavy metal started here" why question it?
     
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  18. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Blue Suede Shoes is a rock'n'roll song. And it's a straight-up cover and never appeared on an album. My "never" applies to recorded output, not a cover played here and there.

    Of course Earth played blues, they were a blues band. To me, that makes their transformation into Black Sabbath all the more remarkable - a band that played straight blues changed into a very different approach with the same members almost overnight. And in an era where it was practically expected that you should throw in an amped-up shredding version of "You Shook Me" if you were a heavy rock band. They pretty much totally ditched the style and form of blues even though that was their background. To me, that's pretty impressive.
     
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  19. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I agree, that's the closest Sabbath has come to a straight blues song. Cream coulda done that one.
     
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  20. sons of nothing

    sons of nothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois

    I do agree with you. But BSS was released about 10 years ago, but it might be a grey market release. I wish the 69 Dumfries tape gets out their so we all can hear the evilution of blues to metal.
     
  21. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    It's on the DVD that's included in the Black Box set. But again, it's a cover from a TV performance, not an album track. And they must have dropped it from the set pretty quick because I've heard many live recordings from 1970 and I can't think of one that has it.
     
  22. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Listen to the verses in WW. That is blues influenced big time. The jazzy intro is just a small part of the song. The interlude is blues based also.

    Lots of blues touches in The Wizard as well.
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2015
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  23. Brudy

    Brudy Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland
    This is like arguing if pizza is food or not. But saying metal as genre isn't diverse means you haven't listened to enough metal.
     
  24. dennis the menace

    dennis the menace Forum Veteran

    Location:
    Montréal
    Definitely. They defined the genre.
     
  25. Agent of Fortune

    Agent of Fortune Däncing Barefoot

    You forgot the Slide Guitar.
     
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