Black Sabbath (original) (raw)

Black Sabbath never intended to appeal to, never mind be understood by, rock critics.

Nor were they designed for screaming teens, swooning debs, your mom, industry suits, or anyone else who eventually embraced prior demonstrations of peculiarly British loutdom as rendered by the Stones, say, or Zeppelin.

There was nothing remotely cute or cuddly about Black Sabbath (Ozzy’s recent incarnation notwithstanding). Black Sabbath simply oozed upon us, unfestooned by any pretense of art, peace, love, understanding, or mushroom embroidery, and immediately defined heavy metal with no less certainty, fortitude, or foofaraw than that betwixt the chicken and the egg.