Despite being lauded as pioneers of the heavy metal genre, Black Sabbath founders Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler have revealed they don’t care too much for the harder stuff.
Ask anyone about some of the most seminal heavy metal bands of all time, and they’ll undoubtedly reel off a name like Black Sabbath somewhere along the line.
Forming in 1968 and releasing their self-titled debut in 1970, the group’s first album has long been considered the first heavy metal album to be released, thereby crediting Sabbath with creating the genre.
Over the years, plenty of other acts have found themselves inspired by the sound of Black Sabbath, following in the footsteps of the Birmingham group, and helping to further the sound of the menacing genre they gave birth to.
Late last year though, it was revealed that Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward were all set to be honoured in their hometown with a “metal bench” on the local Walk Of Stars.
While plans were in motion for the four founding members of the group to reunite for the unveiling of the honour, only the first two turned up in Birmingham on Wednesday to partake in the naming ceremony of the bridge, while also helping to launch the new Black Sabbath – 50 Years Exhibition at the city’s museum.
As Classic Rock reports though, the pair were asked by the media whether or not they also partake in a bit of headbanging, and if they listen to much metal in their spare time.
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“I don’t particularly,” Geezer Butler explained. “The Beatles, The Stones and The Kinks, that’s my kind of music.”
“I tend to listen to the more older stuff really,” Tony Iommi added. “More the classic stuff than the newer stuff because I relate to that more.”
However, when it came to the legacy of their music, Butler name-checked a few thrash metal titans while expressing gratitude for their fondness of Black Sabbath’s music.
“It’s absolutely amazing because we were put down by the press for so long, we didn’t really care about that because we always sold out at gigs and stuff in America,” Butler explained.
“And it wasn’t until bands like Anthrax covered Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Metallica cited us as their influence, we were going, ‘We’re being praised?!’”
In recent news, Ozzy Osbourne has hinted at the possibility of one final Black Sabbath show as a means to include founding drummer Bill Ward in the group’s end.
“I didn’t like the fact that Bill Ward wasn’t there, for a start,” Ozzy began. “People put that down to me, but it wasn’t me, honestly.
“We [Sabbath] didn’t have the fucking time to hang around, we had to get going, but I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Bill. Tommy [Clufetos] did great, but the four of us started this, and it should have been the four of us ending it.
“Those final gigs in Birmingham were bittersweet because you think of how far we came, and how much we did, and it would have been good to have shared that together,” he added.
“Maybe one day there’ll be one last gig, I don’t know.”
Check out ‘Sweet Leaf’ by Black Sabbath:
