Blogpost: The Formative Years – Black Sabbath

Posted by T • March 21, 2021

Posted by T • March 21, 2021

The Formative Years – Black Sabbath and Righteous Riffage

 

If one was to compile a list with the greatest riffs ever written, no doubt Black Sabbath would occupy quite a few spots at the more formidable end of the spectrum. Sometimes a band and their emissions are so great and prolific, that even epigones channelling their essence can appear attractive instantaneously by mere association or citing them as an influence.

Enter stoner rock and doom.

It was through cover versions of “Paranoid” by German punk bands in the late 1980s that I was first introduced to Toni Iommi idiosyncratic way of songwriting and it took not long to delve into Black Sabbath’s back catalogue and fall in love head over heels, without any vestige of my passion subsiding any time soon.

Over time, I was exposed to bands like Grief , Sleep and Eyehategod – bands that took the DNA Black Sabbath and created an ever more dirgy, powerful concoction that is immensely conducive to blazing up one’s mind, i.e. what is commonly classified as “doom” and constitutes one of the most powerful genres of underground music with its slowly building, crushing tsunamis of delightful heaviness.

I have always found it funny, how doom and dirge bands were perceived to be aggressive in nature by some of my comrades, when I found the listening experience to be immensely relaxing and satisfying, like a warm bath while under the influence of codeine.

It was through the Swiss label Off the Disk records, who released the first Infest 12” with the H.R. Giger coverABC Diabolo’s first 7” and other delicacies as Morbid Angel’s demo from the early 1990s on, that I was first exposed to Sleep and their tribute to Black Sabbath.

Their album Dopesmoker followed – not merely a telling title but a close to seventy minutes long exercise in meditation on heavy, drawn out riffing based on the essence of Black Sabbath but infusing it with their own style. Expertly executed and unrivalled to this day. Needless to say, any band or project a member of Sleep touched thereafter, did not let down either and it was fantastic to see Matt Pike incarnate in the third dimension with his current band High on Fire a few years ago.

Over time, some bands perfectioned their approach to a level that became borderline pornographic in term of auditory pleasure, with an example par excellence being Electric Wizard – a band that borderlines tectonic shifting doom glam.

If music carried calories, listening to Electric Wizard’s album “Funerapolis” would be the musical equivalent to having a cheese-laden lasagne with cookie dough ice-cream as desert.

An experience that does not waver to excite, hypnotize, and calm me down in equal measure.

T • March 21, 2021

More recent blogposts

Death from Above 1979

Posted by Mirela Z. • July 6, 2025

Death from Above 1979 @ SummerStage New York, USA July 2, 2025 "The boundary pushing Death From Above 1979 originated from Toronto with the uncompromising one-two punch of 2002’s fuzz-bomb EP Heads Up and 2004’s epochal debut album You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. The band has made numerous appearances on the Billboard charts as well as on TV performing … Read more

Sum 41 @ Scotiabank Arena

Posted by Mirela Z. • June 19, 2025

Sum 41 final shows - day 1 of 2 Scotiabank Arena Toronto Canada Jan. 28, 2025 All photos by @front.row.fans   Read more

Play/Search/Repeat - May 2025

Posted by Loren • May 27, 2025

It's been a while since I put another playlist up. I actually had this 99% done a couple of months ago, but everything went haywire and the list went on hold. This edition of Search/Play/Repeat is a quick play, running about 30 minutes in total. Enjoy! Read more

Visual Learner / BlackDots / City Mouse

Posted by Loren • May 14, 2025

Visual Learner, BlackDots, City Mouse, Couch Potato Massacre Cloudland Theater Minneapolis, MN May 7, 2025 I’m embarrassed that I haven’t covered any shows at Cloudland for SPB previously. It’s a relatively new addition to the Minneapolis scene and a welcome addition that feels as much like a community space as a club. In other words, it’s clean instead of dingy, … Read more

HORSE the Band @ The Glass House 4/26/25

Posted by Aaron H • May 2, 2025

HORSE the Band - Credit: AMH HORSE the Band are on the road celebrating the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, The Mechanical Hand. Joining them for the first leg of the tour was Pomona locals, Othiel, Flake from Wichita, Kansas, and LA's "melodic crust" quartet, Lagrimas. It's an odd feeling to remember being at the record release show for … Read more

The Linda Lindas/BYOP/Chicano Mosh @ GHCH 4/1/25

Posted by Aaron H • April 5, 2025

The Linda Lindas - Credit: AMH After spending the Summer playing stadiums opening for Green Day and The Rolling Stones, The Linda Lindas are out on the road supporting their new album, No Obligation. For their first major headlining tour since releasing their sophomore album last Fall, the young punk quartet brought along Garage-Punk veterans, Be Your Own Pet for … Read more

PJ Harvey @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt

Posted by T • March 14, 2025

PJ Harvey Sydney Opera House Forecourt 13 March 2025 Sydney, Australia photo courtesy of Daniel Boud and the Sydney Opera House.Caption Some artists perform. PJ Harvey transmutes. Like a figure walking between worlds, she never lingers too long in one place, never allows herself to fossilize into nostalgia. Instead, she reinvents - without ever severing the thread that binds her … Read more

The Get Up Kids/Ozma @ The Glass House 3/7/25

Posted by Aaron H • March 14, 2025

The Get Up Kids - Credit: AMH The Get Up Kids just finished the US leg of their 25th Anniversary Tour for their seminal album, Something To Write Home About with 2 nights at The Glass House in Pomona. Of course, I didn't wanna miss it. Following support from Indie-Rock band, Ozma -- who ran through tracks from their first … Read more

Chat Pile/Gouge Away @ The Glass House 2/22/25

Posted by Aaron H • March 4, 2025

Chat Pile Fans - Credit: AMH Chat Pile are about to wrap up their US West Coast and Canada tour with Gouge Away this week. I was fortunate enough to catch the sludgy rockers when they came through Pomona last week. Nightosphere - Credit: AMH Kansas City's Nightosphere has opened the shows every night. The trio's unique blend of shoegaze … Read more

Cursive/Pile @ The Glass House 2/14/25

Posted by Aaron H • February 18, 2025

Cursive - Photo Credit: AMH In a time of a lot of bullshit going on, spending Valentine's Day with my wife and Cursive at my favorite venue was a great escape. Cursive are out on the road in support of their newest album, Devourer, with support from Boston-Rock quartet, Pile. I hadn't previously heard of Pile and was surprised to … Read more