Chris Walter, WireImage / Ethan Miller, Getty Images / Scott Dudelson, Getty Images

 

Paul Natkin, Archives Photos/Getty Images

Opeth, “Solitude”

Recorded live at Stockholm’s Sodra Teatern in 2012, Opeth’s rendition of Master of Reality’s penultimate cut is the only Black Sabbath song they’ve ever formally covered. It released as a bonus track on 2014’s Pale Communion, and according to frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, they’d been playing it since “the early ‘90s.”

 

In a nutshell, Opeth stick very closely to the Birmingham quartet’s surprisingly gentle and pastoral vision, with a bit less Moody Blues-esque psychedelic floweriness and a bit more Middle Eastern twang thanks to its marginal increase in fancy guitarwork. It’s slightly more biting and grounded (and less dreamy) as well, and it could just as easily be an Opeth original.

 

It’s perhaps the safest entry here, yet also one that epitomizes how the best covers are often as authentic to the initial creators as they are to the artists reimagining them.

 

Queensrÿche, “Neon Knights”

Heaven and Hell is routinely voted as one of Black Sabbath’s strongest LPs, and explosive opener “Neon Knights” plays as large a role in that distinction as anything else in the collection. That’s why Queensrÿche had quite the task in front of them when they chose to tackle it on 2007’s appropriately named Take Cover (which was sandwiched between two of their weakest efforts: 2007’s Operation: Mindcrime II and 2009’s American Solider).

 

They may’ve been lacking artistically when it came to their own material during that time, but they pretty much sound as energized and focused as ever on “Neon Knights.”

 

It’s almost identical structurally and Geoff Tate’s soaring voice still doesn’t outdo Dio’s show-stopping performance. Even so, they do a killer job injecting their own flavors into Black Sabbath’s template with respectfulness and resourcefulness.

 

In that way, it’s an endearing example of a quintessential progressive metal forebear bowing down and paying homage to one of their eminent forefathers.

 

Coheed and Cambria, “Heaven and Hell”

Given that they rarely border on straightforward heavy metal, you might not expect Coheed and Cambria to throw a Black Sabbath song into one of their trademark emo/prog rock/prog metal live sets. However, they toured with Heaven and Hell back in 2009, and they performed “Heaven and Hell” periodically during the second half of 2012.

 

Whereas the eponymous Side A closer of Black Sabbath’s 1980 album (their first with Ronnie James Dio replacing Ozzy Osbourne) was typically sludgy, gritty and gloomy, Coheed and Cambria pass some of that muckiness through a brighter, cleaner and more vibrant and epic filter.

 

Singer Claudio Sanchez’s distinctively high-pitched outcries make their version operatic, too, and although they lose the calm acoustic guitar outro, their electrifying closing jam is sufficiently awesome and idiosyncratic.

 

It’s not as “proggy” as some might anticipate, but it’s nonetheless a resourceful revision that wouldn’t have been too out of place on one of their early 2010s sequences.

 

 

Faroese foursome Týr are commonly credited as a power/folk/Viking metal ensemble, but they also incorporate ample amounts of progressive metal into their legendary conqueror persona. Their adaptation of “I” showcases that well by mixing the core rage and dynamic range of the Dehumanizer standout with Týr’s requisite sleek production and triumphant/motivational war-ready edge.

 

In a sense, their fiercer tone and multilayered arrangement is what might happen of Black Sabbath’s design was retooled for the newer God of War video games or any other recent pop culture depiction of Norse or Greek mythology.

 

Both instrumentally and vocally, it’s twice as adrenaline-fueled and magnificent, with the chorus sounding like it’s being sung by a dozen warriors ready to charge into battle.

 

Interestingly, they also covered “Stargazer” by Rainbow on the limited edition of 2011’s The Lay of Thrym (so listeners got a double dose of Viking-tinged prog metal Dio fury).

 

Green Carnation, “Solitude”

“Solitude” is among the greatest Black Sabbath ballads, so it deserves two spots on this list (especially since it gave way not only to Opeth’s traditional take but also to this bolder and richer interpretation).

 

Lifted from the Norwegian sextet’s sixth and latest LP – 2020’s Leaves of Yesteryear – its lusher and slower trajectory is apparent right away.

 

Forlorn acoustic guitar arpeggios, soothing keyboard backdrops and distressing piano notes (among other rustic/tribal tones) instantly give it a hauntingly symphonic coating. Meanwhile, Kjetil Nordhus’ tender lead vocals and evocative harmonies add to its chilling classiness.

 

The heart of Black Sabbath’s blueprint remains, of course, but it wouldn’t be wrong for fans of folk/goth/doom metal mainstays such as Katatonia and Borknagar to prefer Green Carnation’s execution.

 

Favorite Black Sabbath Album of 21 Rock + Metal Legends

Members of Metallica, Iron Maiden, and even Sabbath themselves reveal their favorite titles from the band’s catalog.

James Hetfield, Metallica

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Master of Reality

What he said about it:

“(Tony Iommi) can go from the heaviest doom riff into a happy mode and it would still sound heavy. We can’t do happy, but Tony can pull it off. My favorite track is ‘Into the Void.’”

—James Hetfield (Classic Rock)

ozzy osbourne performs with black sabbath in 2016

ozzy osbourne performs with black sabbath in 2016

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

What he said about it:

“Our last truly great album, I think… And with the music, we’d managed to strike just the right balance between our old heaviness and our new, ‘experimental’ side.”

—Ozzy Osbourne (I Am Ozzy)

smashing pumpkins, sighommi

smashing pumpkins, sighommi

Theo Wargo, Getty Images

 

Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

What he said about it:

“Creepy, spooky, and heavier than God in brief, fleeting moments. This album always makes me think of the soundtrack Sabbath would make to a final day of Earth.”

—Billy Corgan (Music Radar)

billy corgan in 2025

billy corgan in 2025

Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

What he said about it:

“Creepy, spooky, and heavier than God in brief, fleeting moments. This album always makes me think of the soundtrack Sabbath would make to a final day of Earth.”

—Billy Corgan (Music Radar)

lzzy hale, halestorm

lzzy hale, halestorm

Lzzy Hale, Halestorm

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Heaven and Hell

What she said about it:

“This album changed my life tonally for guitar. It definitely put me in the right direction to be a hard rock artist. I’ve been listening to Dio and Black Sabbath since I was a kid… and this was one of the first albums that I owned and listened to. I kind of got introduced to Sabbath during the Ronnie James Dio years and then I had to go back and rediscover Black Sabbath with Ozzy. It was the gateway drug.”

—Lzzy Hale (AXS TV)

tom morello, rage against the machine

tom morello, rage against the machine

Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Paranoid

What he said about it:

“The world may never recover”

—Tom Morello on the 50th anniversary of the album’s release.

Lars Ulrich, Metallica

Lars Ulrich, Metallica

Suzanne Cordeiro, AFP via

 

Lars Ulrich, Metallica

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabotage

What he said about it:

“Side A, if you look at vinyl, is probably the strongest 20 minutes of Black Sabbath. And then ‘Symptom of the Universe,’ – the simplicity in the riff, the down-picking, the chug – it’s obviously the blueprint for the core of what hard rock and metal ended up sounding like … up through the ’80s and ’90s.”

—Lars Ulrich (Rolling Stone)

Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath

Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath

Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath

Favorite Black Sabbath albums:

Black Sabbath, Paranoid and Dehumanizer

What he said about them:

“It has a raunchy sound, something I think has been missing from Sabbath over the last few years. This is very much a classic Black Sabbath record. In fact, I didn’t expect it to come out quite this good.” – Tony Iommi on Dehumanizer (Far Out)

iron maiden singer bruce dickinson performing solo with arm outstretched and beanie on head

iron maiden singer bruce dickinson performing solo with arm outstretched and beanie on head

Mariano Regidor, Redferns

 

Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

What he said about it:

“I was a kid and got this album and I was still a virgin, which made me open it up and go, ‘Oh, my God. Look at those women.’ But what a great record. What a great album.”

—Bruce Dickinson (Qobuz)

Judas Priests Rob Halford performs at The Joint in Las Vegas, 2019

Judas Priests Rob Halford performs at The Joint in Las Vegas, 2019

Rob Halford, Judas Priest

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Black Sabbath

What he said about it: “This album, recorded in a day, is magic for me. It captures the roots of what they are in the truest sense. You feel like you are in the studio with the lads.”

—Rob Halford (Radio.com)

Kirk Hammett, Metallica

Kirk Hammett, Metallica

Kirk Hammett, Metallica

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabotage

What he said about it:

“They created the genre in those first three albums, and then there was Vol. 4, which was just like another shift in their sound. And then Sabotage came out, which is another shift in their sound. They got a little bit more progressive, the playing got a little bit more advanced. The arrangements got a little bit more sophisticated.”

“And they wrote the riff that I think encapsulates the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and thrash metal as as we know it, and that riff is ‘Symptom of the Universe.’ That song literally breathes new life into heavy metal … That riff in itself shifted heavy metal and I have to give that album and that particular song a lot of credence.”

—Kirk Hammett (Consequence)

Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath

Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath

Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

What he said about it:

“It was a great time to be in Sabbath cause we’d established ourselves. We had a few quid in the bank and things were just great. It was really good. Everybody was enjoying being together.”

—Geezer Butler (Loudwire)

Zakk Wylde

Zakk Wylde

Zakk Wylde

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabotage

What he said about it:

“To me, Sabotage is insane good. Ozzy’s vocal performance on that… I love his vocal performance on all of them, but I mean Sabotage, specifically, is just — I’ll put that up against anybody.”

—Zakk Wylde (SiriusXM)

dave grohl

dave grohl

Maya Dehlin Spach, Getty Images

 

Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Mob Rules

What he said about it:

“In fact, Mob Rules got Dave Grohl and people of that generation into Sabbath. And then, of course, they go back and listen to the other stuff. I know that Dave Grohl was saying Mob Rules was one of his favorite albums.”

Dimebag Darrell, Pantera

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Master of Reality

What he said about it:

“I’ve recorded so many compilation cassettes of Black Sabbath records that I feel like I only know one long, long album of theirs. Still, this one’s in my jukebox. It’s killer! We’ll still be talking about it in 40 years.”

—Dimebag Darrell (Rock Hard)

Bill Ward, Black Sabbath

Bill Ward, Black Sabbath

Bill Ward, Black Sabbath

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Master of Reality

What he said about it:

“I liked it because the band was, by that time, very much a completely on-the-road, touring band. We hadn’t come off the road for several years and there’s a maturity about it. There’s something about Master; there’s something different about it. It’s always been one of my favorites.”

—Bill Ward (Rolling Stone)

slash

slash

Slash, Guns N Roses

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Black Sabbath

What he said about it: “In my opinion, there is no more ominous rock n’ roll record than this one. I don’t care what band you come up with – Black Sabbath’s first album tops them all. On every level, it’s the sound of pure evil.”

Collin McDaniel / Circuit of the Americas

 

Kerry King, Slayer

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Sabotage

What he said about it:

“Something about the vibe on that record. It’s cool. I mean, they’re all cool, but something about that one. Maybe ‘Symptom of the Universe.’ I don’t know. It’s nonstop badassery.”

Scott Ian, Anthrax

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Master of Reality

What he said about it:

“It’s only 34 minutes but you have ‘Sweet Leaf,’ ‘After Forever,’ ‘Children of the Grave,’ ‘Lord of this World’ and ‘Into the Void’ on it … An album with one of those songs on it would blow people’s minds. But all [five] of those songs are on one album.”

—Scott Ian (Guitar World)

Glenn Danzig, Misfits

Glenn Danzig, Misfits

Glenn Danzig, Misfits

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Black Sabbath

What he said about it:

“I played it when I got home (from the record store) and I was like, this is incredible. So then I took it around my neighborhood and started playing it for all of my friends, saying, ‘You got to hear this record, you’ve got to hear this band.’ Nobody knew who the fuck Black Sabbath was.”

—Glenn Danzig (Revolver)

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Master of Reality

What he said about it:

“This album not only has Tony Iommi capturing one of the greatest tones ever committed to tape, but Ward and Butler swinging as hard as they’re crushing it. This is a perfectly balanced bit of playing.”

—Henry Rollins (Goldmine)

Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Favorite Black Sabbath album:

Black Sabbath

What he said about it:

“This album is really the beginning of riff rock, which I really like. It sounds huge and scary, and slow and sludgy, and has a kind of otherworldly aspect to it that moves me.”

—Rick Rubin (Gibson)

23 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Black Sabbath

Thanks to a career spanning nearly five decades, an estimated 70 million albums sold around the world, and more timeless songs than you can shake a crucifix at, Black Sabbath have certainly earned their standing as the godfathers of heavy metal. But even one of rock’s most notorious and newsworthy bands has its fair share of little-known details in their history, so we set out to compile 23 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Black Sabbath:

Only One Session

Only One Session

Alex Pantling, Getty Images

 

Only One Session

It only took one session for Black Sabbath to record its self-titled first album in 1969.

Tony Changed His Mind

Tony Changed His Mind

Robert Cianflone,

 

Tony Changed His Mind

Black Sabbath nearly broke up before recording a single song, when guitarist Tony Iommi left to join the more established Jethro Tull in 1969, but he luckily changed his mind.

Story Behind The Name

Story Behind The Name

 

 

Story Behind The Name

Black Sabbath say their name was inspired by a 1963 Boris Karloff film. While some have speculated the name could have come from the debut album by American psych rockers Coven (released months before Sabbath’s debut) that boasted a song named “Black Sabbath,” Black Sabbath the band have remained steadfast that it was inspired by the film.

Anybody Know Her?

Anybody Know Her?

Rhino, Warner Bros./Canva

 

Anybody Know Her?

The name or whereabouts of the woman shown on the cover of Sabbath’s debut album or even the image’s photographer were a mystery up until a 2020 interview.

Warpiggers?

Warpiggers?

Black Sabbath via YouTube

 

Warpiggers?

War Pigs almost ended up with a different name. Ozzy said in his 2009 autobiography that the song was initially called Warpiggers, “which was a term for a black magic wedding or something.”

“Then, we changed it to War Pigs, and Geezer came up with the heavy-duty lyrics about death and destruction. No wonder we never got any chicks at our gigs.”

No Time For Soundcheck With Rod Stewart

No Time For Soundcheck With Rod Stewart

 

 

No Time For Soundcheck With Rod Stewart

Sabbath’s first U.S. show was at Ungano’s in New York City. Their second gig was opening for Rod Stewart and Faces at Fillmore East.

Apparently, the two bands didn’t necessarily get along despite being on the same bill.

“We were pissed off with the Faces, actually, because they didn’t give us any time for soundcheck,” Ozzy wrote in his 2009 autobiography. “And Rod kept well out of our way. Looking back now, I don’t suppose he was too happy having Black Sabbath supporting him.”

Metal To The Face

Metal To The Face

Black Sabbath via YouTube

 

Metal To The Face

Sabbath played a show in Memphis during their second U.S. tour. It was on that night Ozzy said in his 2009 autobiography that a fan in a “cloak” jumped on stage.

Annoyed by the fan’s antics, Ozzy pushed the fan toward Tony. Before he could make it to the guitarist, a roadie slammed a metal bar into the face of the cloaked fan. It was later revealed that the man was carrying a dagger under his cloak.

“I almost fell backwards into one of the speaker cabinets. I was so freaked out,” Ozzy recalled. “If it hadn’t been for our roadie, Tony might have been a goner.”

Phoning A Friend

Phoning A Friend

 

 

Phoning A Friend

Seeking to finesse their sound for 1973’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” the band called in a favor from Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, whose alcohol consumption was as legendary as his musical talents.

 

 

 

Ozzy was a fan of soul music in his younger days. He lists Sam and Dave among his favorite acts.

They Did WHAT On The Escalator?!?!

They Did WHAT On The Escalator?!?!

 

 

 

Black Sabbath hired respected art designers Hipgnosis to craft a sophisticated cover for 1976’s “Technical Ecstasy,” but Ozzy later dismissed it as “two robots screwing on an escalator.”

 

Ozzy Osbourne officially parted ways with Sabbath in 1979, but the singer had actually already quit the group in late ’77, forcing them to recruit former Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker for a single TV performance.

 

 

 

Who recommended Ronnie James Dio as Ozzy’s replacement? Band manager Don Arden’s daughter Sharon Arden … later known as Sharon Osbourne.

 

When Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan joined Sabbath in 1983, their plan was to start a new band. Gillian would stick around to sing on “Born Again;” in addition, 1986’s “Seventh Star” (with Glenn Hughes on vocals) was supposed to be an Iommi solo LP; but both were released under the Black Sabbath name at the behest of record label suits.

Never Interrupt A Sabbath Show

Never Interrupt A Sabbath Show

 

 

Never Interrupt A Sabbath Show

The song “Fairies Wear Boots” was inspired by an encounter with combat boot-wearing skinheads who disrupted one of Sabbath’s early concerts.

Original Four Comeback Album

Original Four Comeback Album

Getty Images

 

Original Four Comeback Album

The four original members of Black Sabbath almost recorded a comeback album with producer Rick Rubin in 2001, but Ozzy’s solo commitments and hit MTV show, “The Osbournes,” derailed their plans.

Miss Me Deadly

Miss Me Deadly

 

 

Miss Me Deadly

Tony Iommi was briefly engaged to wed metal goddess Lita Ford. But after the album he produced for her was shelved indefinitely, Lita broke off the engagement and was soon singing a duet with Ozzy on the “Close My Eyes Forever” single.

It Doesnt Make Sense

It Doesnt Make Sense

Warner Bros./Canva

 

It Doesn’t Make Sense

The “Paranoid” album’s artwork has also perplexed fans

 

Robert Plant makes a guest appearance on Patty Griffin’s new album Crown of Roses which will be released on July 25.

 

Plant contributes backing vocals on the song “Long Time”, it has been announced.

 

Plant and Griffin began a relationship and lived together in Texas after performing and recording as part of Plant’s Band of Joy project that began in 2010. The pair ended their relationship around 2013, however.

 

“Patty and I tried a sort of zig-zag across the Atlantic,” Plant told The Independent in 2014, “but she didn’t share my penchant for cider and she used to marvel at the Black Country character I became after four pints of Thatchers. My feelings are very much ones of sadness and regret, but I also disturbed myself. I had to come back [to Worcestershire] to find out just how much I valued what I’d left behind – it’s an old song, I guess.”

 

Plant previously appeared on Griffin’s 2013 album American Kid along with her self-titled 2019 album and her 2022 album Tape.

 

A Toussaint McCall cover Plant recorded with Griffin titled “Nothing Takes The Place Of You” was part of the soundtrack to the 2013 film “Winter In The Blood” and was also released on Plant’s 2020 compilation album Digging Deep: Subterranea. That album also included “Too Much Alike”, a previously unreleased Charlie Feathers cover Plant recorded with Griffin.

 

“Back at the Start”, the first single from Griffin’s new album, has already been released. Plant doesn’t feature on this song, however.

 

 

Follow Led Zeppelin News on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on news as it happens. You can also sign up to our email for a digest of the latest news sent to your inbox. LedZepNews uses paid Amazon referral links to earn commissions to cover its costs.

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that come Saturday, July 5, Black Sabbath will play their final show … ever.

 

The legendary rock band, comprising Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums), will take the stage at Back to the Beginning, a star-studded heavy metal event at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.

 

 

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning … time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne, 76, said of the show. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

 

Ahead of Back to the Beginning, Black Sabbath and Osbourne hit some major milestones with a resurgence on the U.K. charts.

 

Osbourne’s solo album Scream reentered the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart at No. 32, having previously peaked at No. 1. Black Sabbath also climbs the charts with Paranoid, rising to No. 23 on the albums list and its title track hitting No. 17 on the singles chart. This marks 104 total weeks for the single and 231 for the album on their respective tallies.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Back to the Beginning won’t just feature Black Sabbath, it’s slated to be a once-in-a-lifetime musical event with an artist lineup to match. See below for the known acts:

 

Metallica

 

Slayer

 

Pantera

 

Gojira

 

Halestorm

 

Alice In Chains

 

Lamb of God

 

Anthrax

 

Mastodon

 

Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins)

 

David Draiman (Disturbed)

 

Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses)

 

Slash (Guns N’ Roses)

 

Frank Bello (Anthrax)

 

Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)

 

Jake E. Lee

 

Jonathan Davis (Korn)

 

KK Downing

 

Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)

 

Mike Bordin (Faith No More)

 

Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne)

 

Sammy Hagar (Van Halen)

 

Scott Ian (Anthrax)

 

Sleep Token II (Sleep Token)

 

Papa V Perpetua (Ghost)

 

Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine)

 

Wolfgang Van Halen

 

Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne)

 

Back to the Beginning, which is fully sold out, will also be available to live stream. Osbourne’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, explained: “We had such an overwhelming demand from fans from around the globe, who couldn’t get tickets to the show, and they took to social media, pleading with us to broadcast a livestream of the show. Being this is such a historic event, we just couldn’t let them down.”

 

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.

 

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has said that she “does not believe” Neil Young’s headline set will be shown by the BBC.

 

Speculation about whether or not Young’s headline set with The Chrome Hearts would be shown by the broadcaster started yesterday (June 24), when the broadcaster revealed its itinerary for the 2025 festival.

 

 

The Canadian singer-songwriter is set to perform on Saturday (June 28) on the main Pyramid Stage at the Worthy Farm site. However, it appeared that his set would not be shown in BBC coverage as a recent article did not mention his name.

 

It was published following the ‘Harvest Moon’ singer briefly backing out of the festival due to the BBC coverage seemingly being “a corporate turn-off” for him. He would later rejoin the bill and describe the situation as a misunderstanding.

 

While the BBC report stated that it would be showing “some of the anticipated sets from the likes of The 1975, Rod Stewart, Olivia Rodrigo, Raye, Charli XCX and many more”, Young’s name was not mentioned for coverage on television, iPlayer nor on the radio.

 

 

Charli XCX’s huge set at The Other Stage will also be broadcast – which takes place at the same time as Neil Young – as will Doechii’s set over at West Holts.

 

It was not clear why Young’s name was not included, and there were some doubts over whether he would have his set aired or not.

 

Now, Eavis has spoken to the outlet’s entertainment correspondent Colin Patterson, and said that she does not think BBC will show the live show in its coverage.

 

“I asked Emily Eavis, ‘What was going on?’, and she said she does not believe that Neil Young’s set will be broadcast by the BBC,” Patterson said (via Far Out). “There’s been all kinds of backstage wrangling and negotiations, but as things currently stand, Neil Young’s headline set on Saturday night will not be broadcast by the BBC.”

 

 

While the platform has not explicitly said why Neil Young’s set has not been included on the schedule, it may stem from the aforementioned comments made by the ‘Heart Of Gold’ songwriter about Glastonbury’s partnership with the BBC.

 

“We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in,” his statement read. “It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being… We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.”

 

Just days later, he would go back on this decision and describe it as a misunderstanding. “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved,” he said. “Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”

 

It remains unknown what the exact “error in the information” refers to, and when asked about the apparent dispute, a BBC spokesperson told NME: “There’s always great excitement about Glastonbury’s bookings and who will appear at the legendary festival. We’ll talk more about our broadcast plans as the line-up shapes up.”

 

The headline slot will mark a return to Worthy Farm for Neil Young, as he previously headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2009. That appearance came after he was scheduled to do so 12 years earlier, only to be forced to pull out through an injury. His 2009 set ended with an extended ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ and a cover of The Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life’.

 

Earlier this month, the ‘Heart Of Gold’ singer kicked off his 2025 world tour with Chrome Hearts, performing a series of live rarities and classics in the lead up to Glasto.

 

Black Sabbath – Top 20 Songs – Ranked! The Masters of Heavy Metal whose iconic tracks like Paranoid, Iron Man, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath defined a genre. Photo: Mark Weiss

Black Sabbath. It’s a name, a band, a sound that every single Heavy Metal fan knows all about. They’re also a band who, quite rightly, excite high emotions, with the question of line-ups probably being the most contentious issue of all.

 

So, let’s get that one out of the way right from the start.

 

The party most definitely did not stop in 1979.

 

Sure, the original line-up pretty much invented the whole genre, and they slugged it out with Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin for the Heavy Crown. But then two things happened at a very similar time. Ozzy left Black Sabbath and a whole new influx of Metal bands came out of the woodwork, firstly in the guise of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and then a few years later, it was the MTV generation.

 

Black Sabbath’s final reunion happens 5 July 2025 at Villa Park! Ozzy Osbourne joins Iommi, Butler & Ward for one last show—plus Metallica, Slayer & more!

Black Sabbath’s final reunion happens 5 July 2025 at Villa Park! Ozzy Osbourne joins Iommi, Butler & Ward for one last show—plus Metallica, Slayer & more!

Black Sabbath went from standard bearers to veterans on the block, having to compete with the new boys.

 

Which, in my humble opinion, they did exceedingly well. Maybe their sound might have changed over the years to accommodate this new reality, but they wouldn’t be the first band to do it, and they’ll surely not be the last.

 

Black Sabbath – Photo: Pete Cronin

Discover the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath with the Anno Domini 1989-1995 box set. Photo: Pete Cronin

Everybody has their own list of favourite Black Sabbath songs. It’s what makes each one of us individual, and it’s what makes music, and the appreciation of it, such an equally individual thing.

 

So, that said, no way will everyone agree with this list, but we can all celebrate a band without whom Heavy Metal would certainly be different, and who knows, it may not even have happened at all.

 

20. Disturbing The Priest (Born Again, 1983).

Ian Gillan’s sole album outing as the Sabbath frontman was always controversial, as was some of the lyrical content. But Disturbing The Priest hits you right between the eyes with a song that has got Black Sabbath written right through it. It’s a brooding, malevolent slice of heaven-sent Metal.

 

19. Can’t Get Close Enough (Forbidden, 1995).

Don’t believe all of the negative anti-hype about this. The last album from Tony Martin’s tenure really isn’t all that bad. And this song absolutely nails it.

 

It’s got the classic Sabbath slow start and one of the best riffs of the entire decade. I kid you not. At a point in history when grunge seemed to be everywhere, and Metal seemed to be nowhere, Metaltastic gems like these were like absolute musical life jackets in a sea of despair.

 

18. Glory Ride (The Eternal Idol, 1987).

This album is one of my all-time favourites, and that’s even more of an achievement when you consider the amount of cocaine that Tony Iommi, in particular, was using, as well as the revolving door of personnel. This is an album that oozes class, and this song highlights Tony Martin’s ferocious vocals.

 

17. Sweet Leaf (Master of Reality, 1971).

Starting with the classic Tony Iommi joint cough, the awesome riff then leads us into a pounding, grinding song that celebrates the sacred herb in a way that only Black Sabbath can. Break out the Rizlas!

 

16. Seventh Star (Seventh Star, 1986).

Even Tony Iommi, the only remaining band member at this point, didn’t want Seventh Star to be a Black Sabbath album, but that doesn’t make it a bad effort. It was also the first Black Sabbath album I ever heard, so for me, it has a personal provenance.

 

The title track, though, remains true to the Sabbath brand, a slow and brooding song with a mystical lyrical direction and an absolutely colossal riff.

 

15. Turn To Stone (Seventh Star, 1986).

Drumming and riffing, and a solo to die for. Glenn Hughes really let rip with the vocals on this album, and nowhere more so than this song. It’s a song about relationships and love, but the story is absolutely told Black Sabbath’s way.

 

 

14. The Sign Of The Southern Cross (Mob Rules, 1981).

An epic from Ronnie James Dio’s second Black Sabbath album. This really is a song that has it all, tenderness and strength, hope and fear. For any who still doubted the fit of singer for band, this song utterly dispelled all of the naysayers.

 

13. Children Of The Grave (Master Of Reality, 1971).

With a quaint harpsichord sound at the beginning, this song soon blossoms into one of the all-time mega riffs while Ozzy screams out the lyrics of hope and despair at the same time. A song that is brilliant in its simplicity of form.

 

12. Hard Life To Love (The Eternal Idol, 1987).

Such an immense song from one of Metal’s truly underrated vocalists. The title leaves you in doubt what the song is about, and the message is delivered with ultimate impact.

 

“Living in the fast lane is easy till you run out of road.” How right the band are, and how well they proved that running out of road didn’t lead to a single drop in musical talent and quality.

 

11. War Pigs (Paranoid, 1970).

This is one of those songs that when it gets played at concert venues before the band, any band comes on, and you’ll hear everyone in the audience joining in. That’s because everyone in the venue will know the song and also because they’ll just love it.

 

War Pigs remains a raw, visceral anti-war song that savages the establishment. Just what a good Metal song should be doing.

 

10. Children Of The Sea (Heaven And Hell, 1980).

This was the first song that Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi created together, and it remains a timeless gem. A long way from being the heaviest Black Sabbath song, it retains delicacy, power, and, yes, beauty.

 

9. Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath, 1970).

The title track of the album that quite literally changed the world. No one had ever quite heard anything like this, the doom, the tone, and the message. It’s also the first song to bring the diabolical triton musical interval to Heavy Metal, but it sure wasn’t the last.

 

An immense doom-laden song which, despite all of that, I find endlessly uplifting.

 

8. Neon Knights (Heaven And Hell, 1980).

Ten years after the band’s first album and their rebirth was heralded by Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell’s opening track. It’s a totally high-speed, no-prisoners track, letting everyone know that there was a new singer in the band, that he wasn’t messing around, and that a band that was in disarray six months earlier were now back to stay.

 

7. N.I.B. (Black Sabbath, 1970).

Named after the shape of Bill Ward’s beard, this song was forever re-christened by the somewhat dramatic Americans as Nativity In Black. The opening riff is a tour de force by Geezer Butler, before Tony Iommi follows up with the guitar.

 

It’s a song about the devil falling in love and becoming a good person, which might surprise a lot of people who aren’t Black Sabbath fans.

 

6. Heaven And Hell (Heaven And Hell, 1980).

The title track of what by many was seen as Black Sabbath’s comeback album, and how! An electrifying, addictive riff, fabulous mystical lyrics, a delicate mix of soft and heavy, a solo that will leave you almost in tears and a finale that will have you jumping around the room.

 

5. Voodoo (Mob Rules, 1981).

An unexpected treble-like tone that loses nothing in heaviness. A sheer amazing riff and dark, brooding lyrics that are as uplifting and motivational as they are scary and ominous. Only Black Sabbath can create songs with that seemingly conflicting mix of emotions.

 

4. Iron Man (Paranoid, 1970).

Nobody does riffs like Black Sabbath, and this one was immortal. All sorts of rumours came out about the opening vocal line, which was apparently made through Ozzy speaking through an oscillating metal fan. Heavy Metal history doesn’t need hi-tech gadgets to create the legends.

 

3. Falling Off The Edge Of The World (Mob Rules, 1981).

Yet another Black Sabbath song that has it all. A slow start that then becomes heavier than you can possibly imagine. With a super-fast riff and a solo that will take your breath away, and lyrics that are so impossibly barren, you wonder if there can be any beauty at all in the world.

 

Until, that is, you take in the sheer beauty of the song itself.

 

2. Paranoid (Paranoid, 1970).

For a song that Tony Iommi actually didn’t like, this song has entirely belied expectations, being widely regarded as a classic and instantly recognisable as an indispensable Black Sabbath song on any Metal fan’s playlist.

 

Initially a concert opener, it soon became the finale, and rightly so. The energy and urgency of Paranoid make it the ultimate show-stopper-on-the-ultimate-high song ever.

 

1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 1973).

Coming out in 1973, this song’s riff was known as the riff that saved Black Sabbath, and how! No matter when this song came out, it would be forever known as a complete Metal classic, and it still is after all these years.

 

It’s a song that, for me, more than any other, encapsulates everything that Black Sabbath are and still is. It’s simply perfect in every way and the song that every Metal band wished they’d written.

 

 

So there it is, my Black Sabbath Top 20, and of course, entirely subjective. But to call songs like these a Top 20 really misses the point because every one of them is a winner. Every one of them is brilliant and a classic.

 

And let’s also be clear. When you’re talking Black Sabbath, simply coming up with twenty favourite songs is missing the point as well because for many of us, I’m sure, there are a lot more than twenty Black Sabbath songs that we could call our favourites.

 

Photo of Black Sabbath in 1975

Black Sabbath, 1975. Photo: Sam Emerson

Explore More On These Topics:

black sabbath

Sleeve Notes

Sign up for the MetalTalk Newsletter, an occasional roundup of the best Heavy Metal News, features and pictures curated by our global MetalTalk team.

 

 

 

 

 

In an unexpected blend of classic rock and classical music, a student orchestra from Vermont has taken the internet by storm with their stirring performance of Led Zeppelin’s iconic song “Kashmir.

” The high school ensemble, comprised of students from Montpelier High School, uploaded a video of their spring concert performance to YouTube — and within days, it had garnered hundreds of thousands of views and praise from music lovers across the globe.

 

What started as a creative challenge by the school’s music director, Emily Thorne, quickly turned into a viral sensation. Thorne, who has been teaching at the school for over a decade, wanted to show her students that orchestral music isn’t limited to the works of Mozart and Beethoven.

“Led Zeppelin was revolutionary in their sound, and ‘Kashmir’ in particular has a driving, almost symphonic quality to it. I thought, why not bridge the generations and give students a taste of something powerful and new?” she said.

 

The arrangement, carefully adapted for strings, brass, and percussion, was both faithful to the spirit of the original and innovative in its orchestration. Students poured their hearts into weeks of practice, some even listening to the original track dozens of times to understand its intricate rhythm and emotional depth.

 

The video, simply titled “MHS Orchestra – Kashmir (Led Zeppelin Cover)”, begins with a slow, moody build-up as the students tune and prepare, then erupts into the instantly recognizable riff that defined a generation. The conductor’s energy is matched by the students’ commitment — violins and cellos adding a haunting layer of drama while the percussion section drives the piece forward with rock-inspired beats.

 

It didn’t take long for the internet to take notice. On social media, users praised the students’ talent and the boldness of the musical choice.

Some Led Zeppelin fans admitted they were skeptical at first but came away deeply impressed by the rendition. “This is what music education should be — relevant, challenging, and moving,” one commenter wrote on Reddit, where the video climbed to the front page in the “Music” subreddit.

 

Not only did fans love it, but even some musicians took note. Rumors swirled that a member of Led Zeppelin’s former touring crew had seen the video and shared it with Robert Plant himself. While unconfirmed, the story only added to the performance’s legend.

 

Back in Montpelier, the students remain modest, though clearly excited by the attention. “We didn’t expect this at all,” said junior cellist Maya Kim. “We just thought it was a cool song and fun to play. The fact that people are listening and loving it means everything.”

 

As the video continues to rack up views, other schools have reportedly reached out to Thorne for the sheet music arrangement. The success of the performance highlights the power of music to connect generations, genres, and communities — and proves that sometimes, a group of passionate teenagers with violins and a vision can rock just as hard as the legends themselves.

 

 

 

 

The Sabbath guitarist found himself at the center of a dispute after the drummer’s comments were taken the wrong way

 

Tony Iommi (elft) poses for a portrait backstage at Cobo Arena in Detroit, March 22, 1986. Ronnie James Dio performs in concert at the Spectrum, in Philadelphia, September 13, 1985.

The end of the classic Black Sabbath lineup was difficult for all involved. Left without a band, Ozzy Osbourne had to build a new career from the ground up. As for Tony Iommi and the rest of Sabbath, they were left rudderless as they searched for another singer to lead them into a new era.

 

Ozzy found his answer in of Randy Rhoads , a young, talented guitarist he hired after bassist Bob Daisley had a premonition he’d lead the group to greatness.

 

Sabbath, meanwhile, turned to five-foot-four powerhouse vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had just been fired from Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and was down on his luck.

After a serendipitous meetup at L.A.’s Rainbow bar brought them together, Iommi and Dio forged an instant musical connection when, at their first jam session, they wrote “Children of the Sea,” one of the key tracks from 1980’s Heaven and Hell , Black Sabbath’s first album without Osbourne.

 

Latest Videos From GuitarPlayer

 

Though the task of winning over the Ozzy faithful fanbase wasn’t going to be easy, Dio’s vocal talents helped launch Sabbath to their highest chart position since 1975’s Sabotage, outdone only by the monster catalog albums Paranoid and Master of Reality.

 

Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who was Iommi’s best man when he married Susan Snowden in 1973, was one of those many fans impressed by what Dio brought to the band. However, his habit of straight-talking caused him to put his foot in his mouth when he intended to flatter Dio. It was left to Iommi to prevent the diminutive Dio from tearing into the much larger Bonham.

 

“Yeah, there was some kind of a word,” Iommi admitted when asked about the kerfuffle while being interviewed by Bill Burr in 2011. “John came to the gig when we played at Hammersmith in London. And we were going to go out after the show to a bar.”

 

Tony Iommi with Bill Burr (FULL 2011 INTERVIEW) | Opie & Anthony –

Tony Iommi with Bill Burr (FULL 2011 INTERVIEW) | Opie & Anthony –

According to a Black Sabbath fan site, the band played four consecutive nights at London’s Hammersmith Odeon between May 7 and 10, 1980, with Girlschool in tow. It’s not clear which night Bonham attended, but it was in the English capitol that his remarks were taken in the wrong light.

 

Get The Pick Newsletter

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands

Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

“John’s drinking on the side of the stage, drinking Guinness,” Iommi says, coloring the scene. “We came offstage, and as we walked past John, John said to me, ‘Oh, man, he’s got a great voice for a midget.’ And, of course, Ronnie heard that, and he didn’t really like that.

 

“He actually meant, ‘What a little body, and he’s got a big voice!’” the guitarist explains, interpreting Bonham’s poorly dressed pleasantries. “But the way he said it…

 

“Of course, Ronnie popped up and… I won’t repeat what he said. They were gonna fight.”

 

Drummer John Bonham of the rock band ‘Led Zeppelin’ performs onstage at the Forum on June 3, 1973 in Los Angeles, California.

John Bonham onstage with Led Zeppelin at the Los Angeles Forum, June 3, 1973.

Suddenly, Iommi found himself at the center of the ruckus and astutely defused the situation by telling the pair to “just get along.” Eloquently put. Tragically, Bonham would pass just months later, on September 25, 1980, the victim of too much drink.

 

Black Sabbath are set for one last hurrah at Villa Park next month, as the Tom Morello-curated Back to the Beginning farewell gig finally comes around.

 

How an Icelandic Concert Inspired Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’

 

There are lots of mystical and moving metaphors to be found in Led Zeppelin songs, but when Robert Plant sang about coming from the land of ice and snow in “Immigrant Song,” he meant it literally.

 

“Immigrant Song” appeared on Led Zeppelin’s 1970 album Led Zeppelin III and was its lone single. Several months prior to the album’s October release, the band played for the first and only time in Reykjavik, Iceland at a venue called Laugardalshol on June 22, 1970.

 

For Northern Hemisphere dwellers, June is usually associated with summer weather, but Iceland, as one might assume, never gets all that hot. Even at the time of year Led Zeppelin visited, the average temperature was likely around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Vikings, Hot Springs and the Midnight Sun

Plant took almost immediate lyrical inspiration from the surroundings (plus its history of exploratory vikings). Iceland is home to hundreds of hot springs and geothermal pools, and between the months of May and August, the region experiences close to 24 hours of daylight per day. Or in the lyrics of Plant: the “midnight sun”

 

“We weren’t being pompous,” Plant later recalled to author Chris Welch for the book Led Zeppelin. “We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. ‘Immigrant Song’ was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.”

 

By Jimmy Page’s account, it would appear the guitarist already had his part — an incredible, grinding riff — loosely figured out by the time Plant wrote the lyrics. As the band was preparing Led Zeppelin III, Page knew they were onto something with the power to be successful.

 

“Right at the early stages of rehearsing, when I think it was just John Bonham and myself, I had ‘Immigrant Song,’ ‘Out on the Tiles’ and also ‘Friends,’” he said to Total Guitar in 2020 (via MusicRadar). “If you say straight away you’ve got ‘Friends’ and ‘Immigrant Song,’ already it’s got the yin and yang. And there’s all this other stuff that’s going to go in.”

 

Listen to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’

 

Well before it was released in any official capacity, Led Zeppelin performed the song live a mere six days after playing Iceland at England’s Bath Festival on June 28, 1970. When it was later put out as a single in November of that same year, it went to No. 16 in the U.S.

 

Since the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant has performed in Reykjavik three times as a solo artist, twice in 2005 a few days apart and once on June 23, 2019. It was at that lattermost show that Plant finally sang the song in Iceland for the first time since that 1970 concert, nearly 50 years prior.

 

Watch Robert Plant Perform ‘Immigrant Song’ in Iceland in 2019

 

The Best Song From Every Led Zeppelin Album

Choosing the best song isn’t easy, since many of their LPs come together as a piece – and they include so many classic tracks.