The Complete History of Black Sabbath: What Evil Lurks is the complete illustrated history of the band, from their inception in 1968 to their final tour in 2016.

"A biography of British heavy metal band Black Sabbath"--Provided by publisher.

Decades before reality television was invented, Ozzy Osbourne was subversive and dark. Ozzy was the singer in the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and they meant business. In an era when rock bands were measured by how 'heavy' they were, no one was weightier than Black Sabbath. All four founding members of the original Black Sabbath grew up within half-a-mile of each other in a tiny Birmingham suburb. Though all shared a deep love of music--The Beatles for Ozzy, the Mothers of Invention for Geezer, the Shadows and Chet Atkins for Iommi, and Gene Kruppa for Ward— they formed their group "as the quickest way out of the slums." This is the story of how they made that dream come true--and how it then turned into a nightmare for all of them. At the height of their fame, Sabbath discovered they'd been so badly ripped off by their managers they didn't even own their own songs. They looked for salvation from Don Arden—an even more notorious gangster figure, who resurrected their career but still left them indebted to him, financially and personally. It finally came to a head when in 1979 they sacked Ozzy: "For being too out of control--even for us," as Bill Ward put it. The next fifteen years were a war between the post-Ozzy Sabbath and Ozzy himself, whose solo career overshadowed Sabbath so much that a reunion was entirely on his terms. Or rather, those of his wife and manager—to add a further bitter twist for Sabbath, daughter of Don Arden —Sharon Osbourne.

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.

Containing rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff's interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band - an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sab's 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill, as well as 10 interviews with Ronnie James Dio and additional interviews with supporting musicians make this full-colour retrospective a must-have for any fan. Rock on!

BLACK SABBATH FAQ: ALL THAT'S LEFT TO KNOW ON THE FIRST NAME IN METAL

A philosophical look at heavy metal's dark masters of reality, Black Sabbath Black Sabbath is one of the world's most influential and enduring rock bands. Dubbed "the Beatles of heavy metal" by Rolling Stone, they helped to define a genre with classic songs like "Paranoid", "Iron Man", and "War Pigs", songs whose lyrics reveal hidden depth and philosophical insight. Their songs confront existential despair, social instability, political corruption, the horrors of war, and the nature of evil. This book explores the wide range of profound ideas in the band's music and lyrics to help you understand Black Sabbath as never before. Discusses and debates essential Black Sabbath topics and themes, such as the problem of evil, "War Pigs" and the nature of just war theory, whether or not Sabbath is still Sabbath without Ozzy, and whether "evil is in the ear of the beholder" Gives you new perspectives on Black Sabbath's music and lyrics Provides a deeper appreciation and understanding of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Ronnie James Dio Brings some of history's heaviest thinkers to bear on the band's music, from Aristotle and Nietzsche to Schopenhauer and Marx So . . . can you help me, occupy my brain? Yes! Start reading Black Sabbath and Philosophy.