2019  ·  Episode 4 of the podcast  ·  The complete Sabbath family tree

One of the earliest Metal Nerdery episodes and still the essential starting point — a comprehensive history of every member who has ever passed through the Black Sabbath universe, from Ozzy through Dio, Tony Martin, and Ian Gillan, through to the final farewell. Geoff Nicholls — originally brought in as second guitarist, switched to bass when Geezer left briefly, then moved permanently to keyboards. Vinny Appice learning songs on stage with notes on the floor. Bill Ward's history. The full Heaven & Hell sub-band era. "An exorcist, a wizard, and The Holy Ghost." The most comprehensive Sabbath membership database in Metal Nerdery history.

November 2020  ·  "That GOOD Sabbath"

For those of you who are only familiar with Side 1 of Paranoid — welcome to "That GOOD Sabbath." Deep cuts from the first six albums that rarely get played on classic rock radio but absolutely define what Black Sabbath truly are. Sleeping Village (with the WHOLE finger, not just A Bit of Finger). Behind the Wall of Sleep. Electric Funeral — "it's fair to say Electric Funeral was a bit…thrashy." Rat Salad. The Wizard. Supernaut. Solitude (#relaxer). Cornucopia. The Thrill of It All. Supertzar — "Evil Disney." Megalomania — "STING ME!" A National Acrobat. Spiral Architect — the C.A.R.E. commercial acoustic intro. Lord of This World. Hand of Doom. Also: will Russ show his Man Tetons on Facebook? Tune in.

2020  ·  Released February 13, 1970  ·  The Birth of Heavy Metal

The rain. The thunder. The bell. Black Sabbath's crushing debut set the bar for a new kind of rock music no one had ever experienced — something FAR heavier and darker than anything before. THIS was the BIRTH of Heavy Metal. Recorded October 16–19, 1969. Released Friday the 13th. The poem inside the inverted cross — the band had little to do with the added "evilocity" of the packaging. Rodger Bain producing. The Diabolus in Musica (the Devil's interval — the tritone). Django. The Figure in Black. N.I.B. Sleeping Village OR Devil's Island. The album cover photograph by Marcus Keef. Tony's SG. "Is this the first progressive metal band?" The evilest riff in all of metal — 50+ years later. #suicidepanelingshagcarpeting

2020  ·  Released September 18, 1970  ·  Fall is the quintessential Sabbath season

The album that made Black Sabbath a household name — and still the one most people point to as their entry point. "Fall being the quintessentially ideal season for Sabbath." Iron Man: not about a superhero — it's about a man who travels to the future, sees the apocalypse, gets turned to steel by a magnetic field, and then causes the very apocalypse he tried to warn people about. "That song made Black Sabbath evil Black Sabbath." War Pigs. Hand of Doom. Rat Salad. Fairies Wear Boots — "and yeah, I saw it too." Planet Caravan: the comedown. Paranoid the song: written in 15 minutes to fill album running time, became their biggest hit. The universe has a sense of humor.

2020  ·  Released July 21, 1971  ·  Metal Nerdery's 100th Episode

The 100th Metal Nerdery episode — and what better way to celebrate than to "inhale" Vol. III. Tony Iommi's opening cough solo on Sweet Leaf is the clarion call for the evolution of Sabbath's sound from doom metal into doom AND stoner metal — the Sabbath Hybrid. The tuning: C# and D standard (the first two albums were standard tuning). "Into the Void." After Forever: read those lyrics — they're crystal clear (and not what you'd expect). Lord of This World: the definitive stoner metal song before stoner metal had a name. Orchid: those acoustic interludes soften your ears before the hardness that follows. The Mixon joins. "Weedian." "Started with Ozzy, worked our way backwards." Special guest: Marc Potterson with a word on the opening cough solo.

2022  ·  Released September 25, 1972  ·  Metal Nerdery's 150th Episode

The album was going to be called "Cocaine." Then "Snowblind." The suits vetoed both. A stoner metal masterpiece built on a cocaine budget — "speaker boxes FILLED with…" Recorded at the John DuPont Mansion (strange backstory — go look it up). The Wheels of Confusion: The Straightener begins just after the final verse, shifting from brutal heaviness to an up-tempo progression with ghostly twin guitar solos. Changes: the piano ballad — "you skip it because you feel unhappy and you feel so sad." Supernaut: one of Tony Iommi's greatest riffs. Snowblind: the most honest song on the album. Tomorrow's Dream. Volume 4 is 50 years of stoner metal excellence. Budget carefully — someone consult the Drug Tracker.

2023  ·  Released November 1973  ·  "Their Black Album — i.e., Number Five Release, Vol. 5"

Recognized as the Black Sabbath Black Album — the fifth release, Vol. 5, their Load. Dreams turn to nightmares, heaven turns to hell. The constant bass drumbeat on the title track is like some early version of double bass drumming. A Bit of Finger / Sabbra Cadabra: Rick Wakeman of Yes plays keyboards — one of the most unusual guest appearances in heavy metal history. Killing Yourself to Live: reveals something new with each listen. "You've got to read those lyrics." Am I Going Insane? (Radio): Radio in this context means "mental," NOT a radio edit. The haunting acoustic guitar of Spiral Architect with mini-orchestra arrangements. Synthesizers! "They used keyboards/pianos before — but SYNTHESIZERS are something altogether different." Looking at the album cover: "Looks like Marilyn Manson with a shitty haircut." "He's about to take a dong…"

2024  ·  Released July 28, 1975  ·  The perfect synthesis of the First Six

After four brutally brilliant albums of heavy metal doom and gloom, and one with a greater focus on progressive and experimental soundscapes, Black Sabbath finally managed to blend every facet of their sonic sorcery into a single work representing the epitome of their signature sound. Hole in the Sky. Symptom of the Universe — one of the first proto-thrash riffs in metal history. Megalomania: going from creepy and heavy to fast and thrashy in one song, and the full definition of megalomania (#stingme). The Thrill of It All. Supertzar: "Evil Disney" with a full choir. Am I Going Insane? (Radio). The Writ. "Is Sabotage underrated?" The answer is always yes. The birth of NWOBHM is audible here if you listen carefully.

March 2025  ·  The complete Dio era overview

The early 80s saw a changing of the guard — Ronnie James Dio becoming "captain at the helm" with a heroic dose of wizards, dragons, clean tigers, shiny diamonds, and more mystical lyrical metaphors than you can shake a sorcerer's scepter at. "Ever notice how any band that Ronnie James Dio joins automatically sounds like Dio?" Neon Knights — the killer opener, plus the branding difference between Ozzy's peace sign and Dio's metal horns. Children of the Sea and the change in the Sabbath sound with RJD. Turn Up the Night — the Mob Rules killer opener. The Sign of the Southern Cross — stoner metal ASMR, #hoodahah. The Mob Rules. Slipping Away — check out Tony and Geezer exchanging solos. Fast forward to the early 90s — Dehumanizer, Wayne's World, and "Why are you driving a horse?" The Dio Years compilation. #speedupthebrown

May 2024  ·  Released November 4, 1981

The most Ronnie James Dio sounding Black Sabbath album in heavy metal history — "it almost sounds like it could pass as a Rainbow, Black Sabbath, OR a Dio record." Produced by Martin Birch. "Is this the Good Sabbath or the Bad Sabbath?" "It's DIFFERENT Sabbath." Turn Up the Night (#killeropener). Voodoo — "sounds like Deep Purple…sounds like Rainbow." E5150 as an instrumental opener to The Mob Rules (listen to these as one piece). The Sign of the Southern Cross: "maybe one of the finest songs EVER by Black Sabbath." That acoustic guitar combined with RJD's eerie vocal delivery — "it almost feels like you're hovering high in the air in the misty morning on the edge of time." The difference between hot ranch and "the smell of" hot ranch. The difference between a frenulum piercing and a frenum piercing. Right the wrongs. "The gravy's got no giblets in it."

2024  ·  Released January 1983  ·  40th Anniversary Edition

The first official live album from the founding fathers of metal — and the last album to feature Ronnie James Dio on vocals (until 1992). Released on the occasion of the remixed and remastered 40th anniversary edition. A setlist blending classic Ozzy era tracks with Dio era tracks from Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. "Whatever version of a given song you hear first, THAT will be THE version all others are compared to." Children of the Sea: one of the prime examples of how powerful the Dio era truly was. Heaven and Hell: one of the greatest examples of crowd work and on-stage banter in rock and metal — Tony Iommi's guitar solo is "cool as shit." The sing-along. RJD reminding the crowd "our next album will be, finally, a live album." The cassette vs CD album tracking conundrum. "Get ready for mouthshapes in 3-2-1." #thedance

July 2026  ·  Released April 1989  ·  "See? The Tony Martin era didn't hurt you…"

Metal Nerdery's Class of 1989 episode (Ep. 359) included "When Death Calls" from Headless Cross as the closer — and the reaction in studio was exactly what you'd hope for. The intro has a certain epic creepiness, with bass by Geezer Butler and a production that sounds somewhat similar to Planet Caravan. "It's like Dio Sabbath kinda…in a way." "Keep your pants on." Cozy Powell on drums. The Tony Martin era — more albums than you think, and less bad than people say. "See? The Tony Martin era didn't hurt you." Tony Martin also performed the Headless Cross songs live. For the full Class of 1989 episode, see here.

2024  ·  Released April 25, 1980  ·  The beginning of the Dio era

The album that introduced Ronnie James Dio to the Black Sabbath universe — and proved the band could reinvent themselves completely without losing their identity. Produced by Martin Birch (who was brought in because he had already worked with Dio). "While Heaven and Hell tends to have a more Rainbow meets Ozzy Sabbath sound to it, Mob Rules sounds much more like Dio." Neon Knights — the branding difference between Ozzy's peace sign and Dio's metal horns. Children of the Sea — "one of the prime examples of how powerful the Dio era truly was." Wishing Well. Die Young. Heaven and Hell — the title track has similarities to Rime of the Ancient Mariner that are undeniable. Lonely Is the Word. "Does Tony Iommi ever impress himself?"

2024  ·  Based on We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1975)

We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll was "technically" Black Sabbath's 7th release — a greatest hits compilation covering the First Six albums from the Ozzy era, produced and released without the band's involvement. Metal Nerdery's response: build a better one. Selection criteria limited to songs from The First Six, plus a smattering from the first two Dio era albums (Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules). "We sold our soul for fucking Black Sabbath." "You wouldn't start THERE?" "Can we include anything off of Mob Rules?" "Where do you draw the line?" "Anything side 2 would have totally gone on there." Also: which KISS "after dark" merchandise item belongs to only the most dedicated fan, and which continent has kangaroos that can beat up crocodiles after 15 drinks a day.

2025  ·  Villa Park, Birmingham, England  ·  July 5, 2025  ·  The Final Show

55 years after the release of their debut album, Black Sabbath played their final concert at Villa Park in Birmingham — Back to the Beginning. The farewell event that closed the book on one of the most important stories in the history of heavy metal. "The fact that he's still alive is a miracle of modern science." Guests reportedly included members of Metallica, Slayer, and other bands who owe their careers directly to the Godfathers of Metal. The last time Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, and Geezer Butler would take a stage together. Metal Nerdery was there — in spirit, in heart, and in full relaxer mode.

November 2025  ·  Originally released October 4, 1994

Released 24 years after Sabbath's debut — and 31 years have now passed since then, which is the same amount of time as from 2001 to now. Time does weird things to the mind. "Usually when you say Black Sabbath to people, most people think Ozzy." Biohazard doing After Forever — "#Friends was influenced by Black Sabbath." White Zombie doing Children of the Grave. Megadeth doing Paranoid. Al Jourgensen / 1000 Homo DJs doing Supernaut. Corrosion of Conformity doing Lord of This World — "that's exactly how Master of Reality should be remixed." Type O Negative doing Black Sabbath — "I turn 'round slowly and start to walk." Sepultura doing Symptom of the Universe. Geezer Butler and Rob Halford doing The Wizard. Bruce Dickinson — #Godspeed. Faith No More doing War Pigs. "If I ever move to Birmingham, Alabama, I'm just going to tell people I'm from Birmingh'm."

2020  ·  The 50th Anniversary Tribute to the Self-Titled Debut

While it might sound like the name of some evolutionarily engineered super strain of relaxers, purple and orange perfectly describes the chromesthesia generated by the sound of Vertigo — Zakk Sabbath's 50th anniversary tribute to Black Sabbath's crushing 1970 debut. Zakk Wylde, Blasko on bass, and Joey Castillo on drums — the power threesome. Black Sabbath: "that rain and that bell helps add to the purple and orange infused doom brutality of the Diabolus in Musica… also, that phaser adds an extra layer of creepiness." The Wizard: "now with even MORE creepy, mystical heaviness, especially in the harmonica department." N.I.B. — "Bassically nailing it." Sleeping Village: "sounds purple AND doom as fuck." Behind the Wall of Sleep: "like a remasterized version of the original — the vintage sound and that 70s mystical vibe are fucking spot on." #fuckyourcancelculture

2022  ·  "Uncorked and Unfiltered"  ·  Vol. 1 of an Unknown Infinite Number

The first volume of covers by and of the Godfathers of Metal — "none of that really matters: if it's anything Sabbath, we're intrigued and interested. Full stop." Faith No More doing War Pigs (from The Real Thing, 1989) — "go check out the live version of this!" Anthrax doing Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (from the I'm The Man EP, 1987) — "that part." System of a Down doing Snowblind — "this song IS cocaine." HedPE doing Sabbra Cadabra — "relaxer metal, that's what it stands for." Slayer doing Hand of Doom (Nativity in Black II). Neurosis doing Children of the Grave. Fates Warning doing The Sign of the Southern Cross. Bongzilla doing Under the Sun. Venom doing Megalomania with a big pink skull helmet. Death Angel doing Heaven and Hell. Overkill doing Cornucopia. "The secret word clue for which Sabbath song Def Leppard will cover: platelets."