Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (song)

Song by Black Sabbath

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"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"

Single by Black Sabbath
from the album  Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
B-side| "Changes"
Released| 26 October 1973
Recorded| 1973
Genre| Heavy metal
Length|

* 5:45 (album version)
* 3:33 (single version)

Label| WWA
Songwriter(s)|

* Ozzy Osbourne
* Tony Iommi
* Geezer Butler
* Bill Ward

Producer(s)| Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath singles chronology
| "Tomorrow's Dream"
(1972)  | "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
(1973)  | "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"
(1975)

|
|

"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" is the opening title track of the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath's 1973 album of the same name.

Its main riff has been cited as "the riff that saved Black Sabbath"[1] because Tony Iommi, who wrote most of the band's music, had been suffering from writer's block.[2][3] They resorted to drastic measures (including renting out the supposedly haunted Clearwell Castle to live in) to inspire him.[2][3]

The song has been singled out for praise by hard rock and heavy metal guitar players, with Slash from Guns N' Roses stating to Guitar World in 2008: "The outro to 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the heaviest shit I have ever heard in my life. To this day, I haven't heard anything as heavy that has as much soul." Brent Hinds, former Mastodon guitarist, told Nick Bowcott in 2008, "The 'dreams turn to nightmares, Heaven turns to Hell' riff at the end of that song is unbeatable."

## Live versions

[edit]

The song was rarely played live in the 1970s. During the Heaven & Hell Tour, it was brought back for a number of shows, then dropped. On the  Cross Purposes tour, it usually closed shows, while on the Forbidden tour, it was played in the middle of the setlist and featured additional guitar by Geoff Nicholls.[4]

During the band's late-1990s Reunion tour, the song was played but shortened, skipping the final verse due to Osbourne's diminishing vocal range. During subsequent tours and live shows, the opening riff was played as an intro to "Paranoid".

## Personnel

[edit]

Personnel taken from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath liner notes.[5]

* Tony Iommi – guitars
* Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
* Bill Ward – drums, percussion
* Geezer Butler – bass, fuzz bass

## Covers

[edit]

American thrash metal band Anthrax covered this song, and it is featured as track 3 of their 1987 EP I'm The Man.

Swedish pop band The Cardigans covered "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" on their debut album Emmerdale.

American noise rock / experimental metal band Today Is the Day covered the song; it was featured on volume three of the In These Black Days tribute series and on the band's fourth studio album, Temple of the Morning Star.

## Reception

[edit]

"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" was ranked the fourth best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.[6] Cash Box said it was a "heavy metal excursion into the hard rocking world of these highly successful British rockers" but that "softer breaks incorporated with the heavy make this track Black Sabbath's strongest single possibility in some time."[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". Headheritage.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
2. ^ a b Gulla, Bob (2009). Guitar gods : the 25 players who made rock history. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0313358067.
3. ^ a b Lammers, Tony Iommi with T.J. (2012). Iron man : my journey through heaven and hell with Black Sabbath (1st Da Capo Press pbk. ed.). Boston, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306821455.
4. ^ Scott, Peter (May 1998). "Tony Iommi Interview". Southern Cross (Sabbath fanzine). No. 21\. p. 43.
5. ^ Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Album liner notes). Black Sabbath. 1973.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. ^ Rehe, Christoph (2013). Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check: alle Alben, alle Songs. Ein eclipsed-Buch (in German). Sysyphus Sysyphus Verlags GmbH. ISBN 978-3868526462.
7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 19 January 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 11 December 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Black Sabbath

* Tony Iommi
* Bill Ward
* Geezer Butler
* Ozzy Osbourne
* Dave Walker
* Ronnie James Dio
* Geoff Nicholls
* Craig Gruber
* Vinny Appice
* Ian Gillan
* Bev Bevan
* Ron Keel
* David Donato
* Eric Singer
* Gordon Copley
* Jeff Fenholt
* Dave Spitz
* Glenn Hughes
* Ray Gillen
* Tony Martin
* Cozy Powell
* Neil Murray
* Bobby Rondinelli

Studio albums|

* Black Sabbath
* Paranoid
* Master of Reality
* Vol. 4
* Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
* Sabotage
* Technical Ecstasy
* Never Say Die!
* Heaven and Hell
* Mob Rules
* Born Again
* Seventh Star
* The Eternal Idol
* Headless Cross
* Tyr
* Dehumanizer
* Cross Purposes
* Forbidden
* 13

Extended plays|

* The End

Live albums|

* Live at Last
* Live Evil
* Cross Purposes Live
* Reunion
* Past Lives
* Live at Hammersmith Odeon
* Live... Gathered in Their Masses
* The End: Live in Birmingham

Compilations|

* We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
* The Collection
* The Sabbath Stones
* Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
* Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
* Greatest Hits 1970–1978
* The Dio Years
* The Rules of Hell
* Greatest Hits
* Iron Man: The Best of Black Sabbath
* The Ultimate Collection
* Anno Domini 1989–1995

Unofficial albums|

* The Sabbath Collection
* The Ozzy Osbourne Years
* Under Wheels of Confusion
* The Best of Black Sabbath
* Club Sonderauflage

Singles|

* "Evil Woman"
* "The Wizard"
* "Paranoid"
* "Iron Man"
* "Children of the Grave"
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
* "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"
* "Neon Knights"
* "Trashed"
* "Psycho Man"
* "God Is Dead?"
* "End of the Beginning"

Other songs|

* "Black Sabbath"
* "N.I.B."
* "War Pigs"
* "Planet Caravan"
* "Hand of Doom"
* "Fairies Wear Boots"
* "Sweet Leaf"
* "Into the Void"
* "Changes"
* "Supernaut"
* "Hole in the Sky"
* "Symptom of the Universe"
* "Children of the Sea"
* "Heaven and Hell"

Videos|

* Never Say Die
* Black and Blue
* The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1
* The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2
* Cross Purposes Live
* The Last Supper
* Inside Black Sabbath - 1970–1992
* Hangin' with Heaven and Hell
* Live... Gathered in Their Masses
* Black Sabbath: The End of the End

Tours|

* Technical Ecstasy Tour
* Never Say Die! Tour
* Heaven & Hell Tour
* Mob Rules Tour
* Born Again Tour
* Ozzfest
* lineups
* Black Sabbath Reunion Tour
* The End Tour
* Back to the Beginning

Managers|

* Don Arden
* Patrick Meehan
* Wilf Pine

Related|

* Discography
* Members
* List of cover versions of Black Sabbath songs
* In These Black Days
* Nativity in Black
* Heaven & Hell
* tour
* The Devil You Know
* Bob Daisley
* Terry Chimes
* Jo Burt
* Laurence Cottle
* Rob Halford
* Mike Bordin
* Adam Wakeman
* Tommy Clufetos
* Brad Wilk
* Mythology
* Velvett Fogg
* GZR
* Rainbow
* Dio
* Deep Purple
* Electric Light Orchestra
* Kiss
* Badlands
* Whitesnake

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work
* MusicBrainz release group

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