BLACK SABBATH

BLACK SABBATH – BW&BK Editor In Chief Martin Popoff To Issue New Bio Stuffed With Pictures



BLACK SABBATH: Doom Let Loose is the title of a new Black Sabbath biography by BW&BK Editor In Chief Martin Popoff. Published by ECW Press, the book is similar in format to Martin’s smash hit RUSH biography, Contents Under Pressure, also published by ECW.

The book is 260 pages and full colour throughout, with many of the photographs leaning toward memorabilia shots versus photos of the band. ECW has issued the following description:

“Containing rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff’s interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose is an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sabs’ 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, as well as ten interviews with Ronnie James Dio, and additional interviews with supporting musicians such as Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, and Neil Murray, make this full-colour retrospective a must for any fan.

The drugs, drink, depression, and doom surrounding this band have imbued songs like 'The Wizard', 'Paranoid', 'Iron Man', 'War Pigs', 'Children Of The Grave', and 'Heaven And Hell' with an almost supernatural importance among lovers of dark music. In the wider realm, full albums such as Master Of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, and Heaven And Hell show up with regularity on lists of greatest records of all time. Doom Let Loose explains how such classics came to be. It also deals with their tour history, documenting the places rocked, the supporting bands, and most notably, the band’s trials and tribulations as they tried to hold it together in the Satan-obsessed, drug-addicted America of the Nixon era. Look for all manner of Sabbath photos and artifacts that make this examination of heavy metal’s fearsome foursome a feast for the eyes as well as the enquiring mind.”

Orders, as with all of Martin’s books, can be filled directly with Martin, who will sign all books to the purchaser. Price including shipping: US orders: $29.00 US funds; Int'l orders (surface mail): $32.00 US funds; Int'l orders (air mail): $48.00 US funds; and Canadian orders: $33.00 Cdn. Funds.

Send payment to (personal check in US funds is fine): Martin Popoff, P.O. Box 65208, 358 Danforth Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4K 2Z2

PayPal also accepted (US or Canadian funds), using above prices, to martinp@inforamp.net. Email martinp@inforamp.net with any further questions. See www.martinpopoff.com for more.

BLACK SABBATH – Popoff’s New Book… Weighs Too Much!



The following is a correction to an earlier news piece. Prices quoted earlier for the following item have been increased due to the mammoth size and weight of the book – exactly one kilogram, putting the package at over a kilogram, with packing materials. Page count was also misquoted as 260 pages – it is actually 355 pages. Please note the new – and unfortunate – prices.

BLACK SABBATH: Doom Let Loose is the title of a new Black Sabbath biography by BW&BK Editor In Chief Martin Popoff. Published by ECW Press, the book is similar in format to Martin’s smash hit RUSH biography, Contents Under Pressure, also published by ECW.

This correction is necessary because:

The book is 355 pages and full colour throughout, with many of the photographs leaning toward memorabilia shots versus photos of the band. ECW has issued the following description:

“Containing rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff’s interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose is an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sabs’ 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, as well as ten interviews with Ronnie James Dio, and additional interviews with supporting musicians such as Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, and Neil Murray, make this full-colour retrospective a must for any fan.

The drugs, drink, depression, and doom surrounding this band have imbued songs like 'The Wizard', 'Paranoid', 'Iron Man', 'War Pigs', 'Children Of The Grave', and 'Heaven And Hell” with an almost supernatural importance among lovers of dark music. In the wider realm, full albums such as Master of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, and Heaven and Hell show up with regularity on lists of greatest records of all time. Doom Let Loose explains how such classics came to be. It also deals with their tour history, documenting the places rocked, the supporting bands, and most notably, the band’s trials and tribulations as they tried to hold it together in the Satan-obsessed, drug-addicted America of the Nixon era. Look for all manner of Sabbath photos and artifacts that make this examination of heavy metal’s fearsome foursome a feast for the eyes as well as the enquiring mind.”

Orders, as with all of Martin’s books, can be filled directly with Martin, who will sign all books to the purchaser. Price including shipping: US orders: $34.00 US funds; Int'l orders (surface mail): $37.00 US funds; Int'l orders (air mail): $65.00 US funds; and Canadian orders: $36.00 Cdn. Funds.

Send payment to (personal check in US funds is fine): Martin Popoff, P.O. Box 65208, 358 Danforth Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4K 2Z2

PayPal also accepted (US or Canadian funds), using above prices, to martinp@inforamp.net. Email martinp@inforamp.net with any further questions. See www.martinpopoff.com for more.

BLACK SABBATH Drummer BILL WARD - Audio Diary #15 Online



BLACK SABBATH drummer BILL WARD has issued the following update to webmaster Joe Siegler regarding his Audio Diary #15 which is online here. http://www.billward.com/sounds/diary081206.m4a

According to Siegler, "this new edition, totaling 15:44 in length is available right now. It was recorded on Saturday, August 12th, but due to some technical problems was not placed online until today (August 21st). Here's some of the highlights of what Bill has to say in this edition:

Talks about several of the bands he plays on his Rock 50 show, and a few words about Dave Mustaine's Gigantour.
An update on the Garage Sale
Bill's column in the Hails & Horns magazine
An Update on Beyond Aston, saying he's 'nearly at the end of it.'
A few brief remarks about terror issues in the world.
There's plenty more to hear as well, so make sure to check it all out.

You need one of any number of free audio players (Winamp, iTunes, or Musicmatch Jukebox) to play this file. Don't forget about Bill's Podcast for the diaries, you can get more info on that here http://www.billward.com/news/archives/2005/06/bills_diaries_a_1.htmlb . You can discuss the audio diary in this thread on Bill's forums here on billward.com. A short note, if you have Windows Media player, you may have to rename the file extension from m4a to mp4 to get the file to play right in that player."

BLACK SABBATH Drummer Bill Ward's Garage Sale Ebay Items Updated

According to BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward's website, there's more eBay auction items up right now as part of his Summer Garage Sale. These items all end around August 26th at 12:00:00 PDT. Here's the latest:

1) Bill Ward Black Sabbath Autographed Drumsticks. Authentic, Autographed Pair of Drumsticks used by Bill Ward on the Black Sabbath Tour during the concert at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY on 07-21-05. This is an extremely rare, official Aston Cross Music, Inc. item approved for sale by Bill Ward as part of the BillWard.com Summer Garage Sale. You can view this item here.

2) Bill Ward Black Sabbath Autographed Drumheads (2). Set of 2 Octoban Drumheads played by Bill Ward prior to the Black Sabbath Tour of 2004 and dated 07-02-04. This extremely rare set of octoban heads is an official Aston Cross Music, Inc. item approved for sale by Bill Ward as part of BillWard.com. Summer Garage Sale.

You can view all items here. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZastoncrossmusic

Vote For BLACK SABBATH In Planet Rock’s Definitive Album Poll


BLACK SABBATH guitarist TONY IOMMI's website has been updated with the following:

"Planet Rock is asking rock fans to vote for their favourite band’s best album - they have chosen 50 of the biggest or most influential or bands that have shaped and moulded classic rock music and from September 1st, 2006, Planet Rock’s website has been featuring three bands and their albums and invites listeners and fans of the bands to vote for the best album by each band.

Unsurprisingly, Black Sabbath are one of the featured bands and voting started on September 15th for 2 weeks only.

Click http://www.planetrock.com/Article.asp?id=265864&spito read more and to cast your vote for your favourite Sabbath album. The final poll will be announced in mid-December on Planet Rock."

Limited Edition BLACK SABBATH Clothing Line, Art/Photo Retrospective To Launch

Ozzyhead.com is reporting:

"A limited edition BLACK SABBATH (original lineup) clothing line, art/photo retrospective, and mini animation saga will be announced on 181martel.com on November 17th. Apparently they have Black Sabbath's blessing behind this all as well. The website is pretty vague... I'm not sure if these items will be available online, or in a store. I'll let you be the judge."

A posting at the 181martel.com site reads as follows:

The red ash of the apocalypse gives way to an engulfing darkness. The sun is extinguished behind a sulphorous cloud of cinder and debris. Countless lives are lost, and the few who survived the cataclysm face a punishing torrent of rain - a toxic sluice of chemicals, pulverized concrete and seared human remains - as the bruised black sky swells and bursts endlessly, without mercy.

The survivors endure, find a common purpose: to rebuild. To start again. To revive humanity. They are from diverse backgrounds, but these survivors, shielded from the predatory elements by the fortified walls of the concrete venue, are bound by one universal element as human beings... the pounding metal of Black Sabbath. They are all die-hard fans - and the hardcore rock of The Sabbath will become their religion, their economy, their hope...

On January 24th, 1972 - Black Sabbath began their show in their hometown, at the Birmingham Town Hall venue - unknowingly on the brink of an earth-scorching fracture in space-time. 0 hours, 29 minutes, 43 seconds into the show, as they ripped into the opening bars of 'Iron Man', it happened... And with it, all recordings from that night were abruptly cut off. All at the same moment.

This is a true story.

Black Sabbath Resurrection is a mind-blowing chronicle of that night and its mystery, birthed from the music of Black Sabbath - it becomes a crucible for the band and their fans to overcome the dark pieces of a fractured reality, unite the remaining survivors and finish the show that was so crudely interrupted that night.

Please join us on November 17th at 181 Martel to experience the world of Black Sabbath Resurrection and never-before-seen treasures at the Black Sabbath Retrospective installation in the adjoining Naked space."

BLACK SABBATH Drummer To Go "Hardcore" On Next Rock 50 Radio Show

BLACK SABBATH drummer BILL WARD has issued the following Rock 50 show update:

"Hi Everyone. It's Bill. October 28th is our hardcore show. This month, I've thrown in a few Halloween surprises. We have some new releases, or relatively new. STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, good stuff. SIKTH, a new band - to me, they sound great. More LAMB OF GOD from their Sacrament album; ARCH ENEMY; IN FLAMES; new to me, PSYCHOCHARGER; ROB ZOMBIE's 'Death Of It All' - just right for Halloween; the MURDER DOLLS - mmm, I wonder what they'll be playing; EXODUS; new MASTODON - great album: TYPE O NEGATIVE - one of my favorite bands, quite brilliant, I think. The show, I hope, will get you moving. There are many more bands, and I hope you'll like it."

Bill Ward's Rock 50 radio show can be heard online here:
Dialup, http://web.cerritos.edu/cm/uploads/WPMD/wpmd.asx
Broadband. http://web.cerritos.edu/cm/uploads/WPMD/WPMDhq.asx

BLACK SABBATH Guitarist Performs 'Paranoid' At The Kremlin

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi's website has been updated with the following news:

"Tony was in Moscow this week to perform 'Paranoid' alongside Russian band ZEMLYANE at the Kremlin Palace. The show was put together to celebrate the band’s 30 years in the music industry, and featured a huge line-up of musicians including GLENN HUGHES, Rick & Adam Wakeman, URIAH HEEP’s Ken Hensley, KINGDOM COME, NAZARETH, THE ANIMALS and BONNIE TYLER. Tony’s technician, Mike Clement, will be adding his road diary and more photos from the trip to the message board over the next few days."

BLACK SABBATH Resurrection Website Launched

A BLACK SABBATH Resurrection website has been launched online. According to the site, a BSR Opening Reception is being held on November 17th from 6-10 PM at 181 N. Martel Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. For more information and to view a Black Sabbath Resurrection trailer, visit this location. http://www.blacksabbathresurrection.com/

As previously reported, according to BW&BK sources, Sanctuary UK are putting together a complete Black Sabbath reissue program starting in March. The first three albums (1970's Black Sabbath, 1970's Paranoid and 1971's Master Of Reality) will be released with bonus tracks. Watch for more info to surface soon.

BLACK SABBATH Guitarist And Daughter Attend Guitar Hero II Launch; Photo Available


Iommi.com is reporting: "BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi was in London recently for the launch of the new computer game Guitar Hero II. We’ve just got hold of this photo of Tony with his daughter, Toni-Marie, who was performing at the event with her band LUNARMILE. Toni-Marie also featured in Tony’s most recent Black Sunday radio show – full playlists for all 11 shows to date are now available on the radio page http://www.iommi.com/radioshow.htm

BLACK SABBATH Guitarist's Axe To Go On Display In Dublin

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has lent one of his guitars to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin for a new exhibition called RockChic: The Life and Times of the Electric Guitar 1931-2006. The exhibition will feature more than 100 legendary, vintage, rare and customised guitars, including instruments played by JIMI HENDRIX, Phil Lynott (THIN LIZZY), Rory Gallagher, Keith Richards (THE ROLLING STONES), BO DIDDLEY, CARLOS SANTANA and VAN MORRISON. Also featured will be new customised guitars from the likes of Patrick Cox, Christopher Bailey, David LaChapelle, Diane von Furstenburg and legendary Irish broadcaster Dave Fanning – these guitars will form part of a charity auction once the exhibition is complete. The guitar on loan from Tony is one of his black Limited Edition Gibson Custom Shop SGs, as played on Black Sabbath tours and recordings since 2001. RockChic runs at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin from 23rd November 2006 to 21st January 2007. Admission is free. For opening hours and general information visit www.museum.ie. The exhibition is due to move to London from the end of January; more information on this when details are confirmed.

BLACK SABBATH - "Holy Grail" Track 'The Rebel' Back In The Spotlight

Robert Dwyer from Sabbathlive.com has issued the following update:

"It's been a long while since I've penned any new articles for Sabbathlive, but I know you hardcore fans will be salivating once you read this one. There are a lot great things happening behind the scenes in the BLACK SABBATH world right now. Unfortunately, my hands have been tied on discussing most of these developments publically. I can tell you that there have been some really great discoveries in the Sabbath vault and this is just one of them. I'm very proud to be able to bring you new information about this 'holy grail' collectors item in this new Sabbathlive exclusive:

'The Rebel' is without a doubt one of the most sought after Black Sabbath songs ever recorded. Although a small fragment of this very un-Sabbath like song can be heard on The Black Sabbath Story Volume 1 video, most fans have never heard this still unreleased 1969 demo. Although there really isn't any substitute for actually hearing the song yourselves, I've written this article in hopes of illuminating this mystery track until that times come.

Is it an EARTH or Black Sabbath demo?

One of the most frequently asked questions about 'The Rebel' is whether the song could be considered as an Earth demo. Although the actual acetate credits the recording to Black Sabbath, the song was recorded during a transitional period. It has been alleged in several recent Black Sabbath biographies that the band decided upon changing their name from Earth to Black Sabbath while they were on route to The Star Club in Hamburg in early August 1969. To avoid the inevitable confusion arising from this sudden change, the band performed many prior bookings as Earth. In fact, their final gig as Earth was performed in Kilcaldy, Scotland just one day after recording 'The Rebel'.

The Session In London

The recording session for 'The Rebel' took place at Trident Studios in St. Anne’s Court in Soho, which was an eight-track facility at the time. Overseeing the session was Gus Dudgeon, who had also worked with LOCOMOTIVE and would later produce albums for ELTON JOHN and DAVID BOWIE. The band was less than impressed with Gus, who kept using Locomotive as the benchmark for anything they did. It was than that engineer Rodger Bain was offered his first chance to produce a record…and the rest is history.

The band had just returned from a German tour to begin rehearsing. Manager Jim Simpson suggested that they record 'The Rebel', a song that was written by Norman Haines. Norman played keyboards in Jim's band Locomotive. Haines also took part in this session, playing organ and piano. Two months later, the band recorded yet another Haines composition called 'When I Come Down', which was retitled 'When I Came Down' for the Sabbath version. The band weren't pleased with either of these songs, but went along with the sessions so their manager would have something to shop to the record labels. Neither song represented the heavy rock direction they were already formulating OR their Earth-y blues based roots.

You can read more of the report at this location.

(Photo by Dave Tangye: drummer Bill Ward arrives at Trident Studios to lay down tracks for 'The Rebel')

pour les collectionneurs, un live de 78 écoutable à cette adresse, moyennant une inscription gratuite au site :
http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/ConcertDetail.aspx?id=20049645

BLACK SABBATH's TV Funhouse Cartoon Available In Top Quality

A top quality version of the TV Funhouse BLACK SABBATH cartoon, The Black Sabbath Show, produced by Robert Smiegel/animated by John Schnall is now available online at this location.

In other Black Sabbath rarities news, as previously reported, Robert Dwyer from Sabbathlive.com recently issued the following update:

"King Biscuit Flower Hour recorded Black Sabbath at Civic Arena in Pittsburgh on September 2nd, 1978. Strangely enough, only four songs were used in the original broadcast - 'Snowblind', 'Black Sabbath', 'Iron Man', and 'Paranoid'. These tracks have been recycled in varying quality on numerous bootleg released since then.

As of 2006, Wolfgang's Vault purchased the rights to much of the King Biscuit catalog. Among these newly acquired tapes is a nearly complete version of the long unheard Pittsburgh '78 show!! With a running time of 64:25, this tape lacks the show opener 'Symptom Of The Universe', but adds five previously unheard live tracks plus the drum and guitar solos. With a only a handful of professionally recorded '78 shows in circulation (the disappointing London 6/19/78 and the incomplete Abilene 12/7/78), this should be something of a treat for the collectors.

Tracklisting:
'Snowblind' <6:34>,
'Black Sabbath' <7:26>,
'Dirty Women' <6:58>
'Rock & Roll Doctor'
Drum Solo <10:12>,
Guitar Solo <7:13>,
'Electric Funeral' <3:10>,
'Iron Man' <7:20>,
'Fairies Wear Boots' <6:16>,
'Children Of The Grave' <6:05>,
'Paranoid' <3:11>

Wolfgang's Vault is still working out the rights issues to release recordings like this one, but you can actually listen to the extended version of this show here! You will need to register with Wolfgang's Vault to listen to the show, but there is no cost to do so.

Additionally, the now legendary Asbury Park '75 show can also be heard at Wolfgang's Vault. Click here for more information.

(In other news) Carl Sentance has posted a video clip from a performance he did with the GEEZER BUTLER BAND on his official website. I believe the track is titled 'Heat In The Street', although I have no information to confirm the title. This professionally shot concert footage is from a showcase they did in London in 1987."

To view the 'Heat In The Street' video (1987) click here

BLACK SABBATH Guitarist's Gibson Axe On Display In London


A Gibson Guitar owned by BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi is going on display at Harrods’ central London store today in an exhibition called ‘Born To Rock’ as part of the month long ‘Harrods Rocks’ series of events. The guitar in question is one of his black Limited Edition Gibson Custom Shop SGs, as played on Black Sabbath recordings and tours since 2001. The exhibition in London follows the extremely successful Dublin show ‘Rock Chic’ which had record-breaking attendances at the National Museum Of Ireland and featured more than 100 legendary, vintage, rare and customised guitars, including instruments played by JIMI HENDRIX, RORY GALLAGHER, PHIL LYNNOTT, KEITH RICHARDS, BO DIDDLEY and MARK BOLAN. More information on the event which runs until March 3rd 2007 is available from the Born To Rock website and at Harrods site.