50 years ago today (6/1/70), Black Sabbath released their dark and heavy impactful self-titled debut in the United States (Britain was released 10/16/79). Recorded almost entirely live with no overdubs, there were no second takes on the majority of the album, as Ozzy Osborne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward rained a bluesy torch of psychedelia that helped give birth to heavy metal. Listen to Butler kick off a bass solo, followed by Iommi’s heavy riffing and Osborne’s call to chant vocals on “N.I.B.”
