Black Sabbath’s greatness cannot be understated.
The grandaddies of heavy metal cut a distinctively gloomy brand of psychedelic hard rock when they first came blaring out of Birmingham, England, so much so that it revolutionized just how heavy music could be. From their forcibly down-tuned grooves, to the horror movie-adjacent lyricism to the uniquely tuneful wail of lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, Sabbath broke every boundary. Every metal band since then is forever in their debt.
The Black Sabbath catalog, of course, is full of unimpeachable classics. But whether they’d been blowing minds in the U.K. club scene, dominating arenas and festival stages worldwide, declaring a premature “End” or setting up a grand hometown finale, what has been the Sabbath song that gets the fanbase roaring the loudest.
We asked Revolver readers to pick their funereal live favorite, and these were the top five vote-getters.
“Black Sabbath”
The song that started it all.
We’re not just talking about how Black Sabbath’s grand-but-grim de facto theme song begins the band’s iconic self-titled LP, either — were it not for the depressive, disturbing and absolutely ungodly feel of “Black Sabbath,” heavy music as we know it may never have ended up as, well, heavy.
Hell, they may even had kept playing under the name Earth, had it not been for this gloomy game-changer.
Based around a chilling devil’s tritone and a slow-dirge Bill Ward rhythm, and narratively framed by the fires of hell themselves, “Black Sabbath” sounds like the sinister rock-and-roll equivalent of a Hammer Horror film. Though Ozzy’s terror-stricken sermonizing reads as a warning to steer clear of an incoming Satan, when the vocalist hits that iconic “Oh, no” onstage, a lot of Sabbath fans were probably scrambling to get closer while shouting, “Fuck, yes!”
“Into the Void”
Master of Reality houses several songs tailor-made to bring you to a higher plane. There’s its stomping and stoned-out introductory “Sweet Leaf,” of course, but don’t forget that the album closes with an ominous rocker about rocketing straight off the Earth to escape the impending apocalypse.
Give Iommi’s slow-mo intro riff a whiff and you might catch a bit of Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King.” The dangerously low-tuned and intonation-rattling vibe of the verses, meanwhile, is still a soupy blueprint for sludge music. Ozzy’s anti-war, pro-environment and dark-as-hell vocal approach is as potent as ever.
It’s been about eight years since Sabbath last hit this one live, but damned if you can’t still smell the metal burning in the atmosphere.
“N.I.B.”
Geezer Butler themed his lyrics in “N.I.B.” around the idea of Lucifer falling in love with a mortal woman, but apparently named the song after his rhythm-section partner Bill Ward’s pointy beard (he thought it looked like a pen nib). Despite that thematic incongruity, one of the greatest strengths to this early track is how undeniably in-tune the band are with one another.
Its seismic lead riff is so damn catchy that Ozzy, Iommi and Butler are in lock-step the whole melody-line through. Nevertheless, this one is full of energetic Ozzy swagger (you’re singing those “Oh yeahs” in your mind as you read this, aren’t you?), a sinisterly wriggling guitar solo and more.
Make no mistake, the love Revolver readers have for this one is real.
“War Pigs”
Countless metal fans have gathered in their masses to celebrate the mightiness that is Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
Even amid Sabbath’s impressive catalog of genre-codifying all-timers, there’s something especially explosive about this one. From its dynamic, quiet-loud-quiet intro to Iommi’s screaming solo work to the tune’s oppressively hummable instrumental outro, “War Pigs” is early metal perfection.
Per Setlist.fm, Black Sabbath have only played two songs in concert more than “War Pigs” — “Paranoid” and “Iron Man.” This is all to say, despite its Vietnam-era anti-war angle, Sabbath’s war machine kept turning through their various eras — and generations of headbangers have worshipped them for it.
“Children of the Grave”
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
“Children of the Grave” is as energetic as it is ominous, barreling at you full-force through Ward’s earth-rumbling swing while simultaneously shocking the soul with a 1500-volt jolt of Iommi and Butler’s neon violet melodicism. Ozzy’s scale-climbing howl is in peak form.
Like many Sabbath classics, the sound of “Children of the Grave” set off a revolution in our minds the first time we heard it, and its staggering metal fury endures. No matter their age, the kids have had their say — this is the Black Sabbath song Revolver readers are most psyched to see played live.