Self-styled harbingers of demonic hard rock, Black Sabbath originated from the
amalgamation of two Birmingham bands, Rare Breed (featuring Osbourne and Butler)
and Mythology (Ward and Iommi). Dabbling with occult references, they caught the
heavy metal wave through the 1970s and, driven by frontman Osbourne's "prince of
darkness" persona, they epitomised rock'n'roll excess. The albums Paranoid
(1970) and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) came to be regarded as classics of the
genre, inspiring an ardent fan base with a template copied by many heavy metal
bands. The heavy-drinking Osbo...