DEBUNKING / DECONSTRUCTING: Every Genre Created by Black Sabbath?
In the advent of the death of the great Ozzy Osbourne, I started reading more articles about the brilliance of Black Sabbath, including this "famous" piece Every Metal Subgenre Began as a Black Sabbath Song. It did spark a discussion back then among plethora of online forums. To say the least, I totally disagree with this piece (of shite) article, and wanted to present my own version. But then again, it couldn't be otherwise, as it wasn't written by a legitimate Metalhead. And one day I had an epiphany - DUH, I HAVE A BLOG, so let's DO THIS!
So let's right the wrong, and correct this mistake (because let's face it, it's the most important matter in the world right now, and you know it). First of all, I will present legitimate genres, so no "Hair Metal" here, for example. Here you go:
1. ALTERNATIVE
An umbrella term, encompassing everything, from Grunge, Glam, Funk, to Nu Metal or Metalcore. It's safe to say that Black Sabbath did inspire these bands to say the least, as each one of them had this heavy, downtuned simple riff, which was the basis of the song. And let's not forget their collabo with Ice-T. So that's a BIG YES. Let's pull out the big sucker as an approval:
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2. BLACK
In a way, yeah, their first album sparks the most of the satanic imagination (despite the band being actually Christian), albeit music-wise, "Born Again" feels closer to the raw, rough, Speed-y Metal origins of the Black Metal genre. It also has a devil child on the cover, so there's that. But this might be the only example, where I more or less agree with the original article (outside of obvious ones). Black Metal is not always about Norwegian shrieking and Norsecore, it can be also like Venom or Mercyful Fate. So... KINDA YES
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3. DEATH
And now this is, where I diverge the most. There's not a single Black Sabbath song, where you can trace ANY Death Metal. However, considering that Death Metal is more or less, an extension of Thrash Metal, and its logical conclusion, you can argue that Death Metal in a way started with "Symptoms of the Universe", alas I'll have to disagree, because that's really really reaching. With that said, Black Sabbath had a cover for one of their album that nowadays, could have been considered Death Metallish. I'm talking about "Mob Rules" (pictured above) by Greg Hildenbrandt. It does look like something that would belong to some Swedeath band. But no, music-wise, Black Sabbath never had any truly extreme song. And to imply otherwise is laughable. NOPE
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4. DOOM / STONER / SLUDGE
Basically, Stoner and Sludge are to Doom Metal the same that Death and Black is to Thrash. They are different facets of the same source. Obviously, Black Sabbath is not only the first Heavy Metal band, it's also the first Doom Metal band period. Nowadays, the bluesy style that Black Sabbath originated, has a legacy tag, called "Traditional Doom Metal". No arguments here. FUCK YEAH
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5. ELECTRONIC / INDUSTRIAL
This genre is conveniently omitted, despite being more legitimate than others mentioned in the shitty article. And yes, like with Death Metal, Black Sabbath never really had any song, nor remix that would qualify. But again, interestingly enough, Black Sabbath had a rather futuristic cover for their adequately named album, "Technical Ecstasy". So while they never recorded anything that would resemble Industrial, they did share some of the interests with this genre. NOPE?
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6. EXPERIMENTAL / AVANTGARDE
Well, it's pretty hard to explain what "Avantgarde" really means. Black Sabbath wasn't alien to experimentation, and their output isn't as obvious, as people are led to believe. They did have some weird songs, going as far as "Rat Salad" on "Paranoid" or "Embryo" on "Masters of Reality". So in a way, this is a very undertalked piece of Black Sabbath legacy. KINDA?
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7. FOLK / VIKING / PAGAN
Now this is tricky, because Folk Metal wasn't really a thing until '00s, despite bands like Skyclad, or Finntroll existing since the '90s the least. And of course, Folk Rock existed at least since the '60, so Black Sabbath had no chance of being the originators of this genre. With that said, I want to remind about the album "TYR" with Tony Martin on vocals, a very underrated album (and an era as well), which was released the same year as probably first truly Viking-themed album, namely "Hammerheart" by Bathory (both in 1990). So in a way, you can safely say, that Black Sabbath was among the first Metal bands to showcase an interest in Folk / Viking / Pagan themes. And you can always argue, that early Sabbath also had some roots in Blues / Folk music anyway. YES! (And it's a glaring omission in the original shit-article)
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8. GOTHIC
Nothing really comes to my mind, albeit again, what "Gothic" really means depends on whom you ask. One could say that "Headless Cross" will remind people of Gothic aesthetics (not to mention their debut's cover art). But no, no particular song that would come to my mind, albeit some traces are more likely to be found. NOPE, NOT DIRECTLY.
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9. GROOVE
Groove Metal is similar to Alternative Metal, except it's more of a legitimate genre. Let's say that by Groove Metal I think about Machine Head and final Sepultura albums with Cavalera at helm. Groove, like Doom, relies on a heavy and simplistic riff. Are "Paranoid" or "Sweet Leaf" the earliest examples of Groove Metal? You decide, but I'll say YES.
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10. GRIND
Ha ha ha ha. Sorry, but NOPE. At least NOT DIRECTLY. Iommi did admit to some Punk influence over years, but really, NO.
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11. POWER
Obviously it's Dio-era of Black Sabbath, rather than Ozzy. "Heaven and Hell" (1980) was kinda spearheading the movement. In a way, I used to associate the band with this genre, when I was younger, So... YES
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12. PROGRESSIVE
Prog Rock, like Folk Rock, was the thing back in the day, so it would be hard to not find such songs in Black Sabbath repertoire. The band did not started it, but contributed to its development greatly. So, let's have a YES, even if they weren't the first.
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13. SPEED
Yes, and no. Speed Metal's origins for me will always be associated with Deep Purple (it's annoying how nowadays, there are attempts to obfuscate their credit to the genre). But here's the thing, Gillan did an album with B.S., which was released at the perfect time (1983), so it kinda counts. And you can probably find something similar in their early catalogue anyway. So YES, they contributed to the development of the genre, despite not really being its creators.
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14. SYMPHONIC
Well... hmm.... It would be a stretch to say yes, but at the same time, post-Ozzy era did have some orchestral arrangements (again, "Headless Cross"), but at the same time, I really don't want to go that far, as to give Black Sabbath a full-credit. So... KINDA?
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15. THRASH
Yeah, this is an easy one. Both "Sabotage" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" have this Thrash Metal attitude, starting with covers, and ending with riffs, with the most notable example being the cult "Symptom of the Universe". If Death was a NOPE, then Thrash is a YEAH!
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Phew. Let's do the count. 9 decisive Yeahs vs 6 Nope / Kindas. Not bad for a good ole Black Sabbath. And if someone disagrees with me, well that's all I have to say:
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