Product Description

For over a full decade Black Sabbath had dominated Heavy Metal. As much as Led Zeppelin scorned the term Black Sabbath embraced it. In an age of bona fide supergroups Sabbath were unquestionably the heaviest thing stalking the planet and quite remarkably had remained a solid unit where others around them suffered ongoing membership fall outs and line-up reincarnations. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward had weathered internal storms just as ferocious as every other band out on the circuit but had remained resolute. They had conquered the globe, sold close to 50 million albums and without concession had not pulled back one iota from delivering absolute, pure Heavy Metal.

In 1977 the unthinkable happened. Ozzy Osbourne decamped. He would be lured back for one last album 'Never Say Die' before flying solo, rapidly building a band unit that would equal the repute of the mother-ship.

Between 1979 and 1997 Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were pitched against each other in a titanic struggle unprecedented in Rock n' Roll. Both stars would employ the very finest players of the genre in the conflict and produce some of the finest Heavy Metal of the generation in the process. Tony Iommi, the man who without question invented Heavy Metal, fronted up Sabbath with vocal legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin against Ozzy's awesome arsenal of guitar innovators Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde.

Both Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne reinvented their bands time and time again. The huge array of elite players that travelled through the ranks is now a constant source of fascination and rumours for Sabbath fanatics.

'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath' reforges the author's two previous landmark tomes 'Ozzy Osbourne: The Story of the Ozzy Osbourne band' & 'Black Sabbath: Never Say Die!' along with additional material into this one definitive Metal milestone. Complete with over 100 photographs, many never seen before, and unique interviews, including with the late Ray Gillen and Cozy Powell as well as the highly controversial figure of Jeff Fenholt and mysterious Dave Donato, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the definitive account of those years (1979 to 1997) before the reunion.

Exclusive interview content with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Cozy Powell, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Rob Halford, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, Carmine Appice, Tommy Aldridge, Neil Murray, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Bobby Rondinelli, Rudy Sarzo, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, Bernie Torme, Brad Gillis, Jo Burt, Pete Way, Dana Strum, Terry Chimes, Lita Ford, Steve Vai, Don Airey, Lindsey Bridgewater, Terry Nails and many, many more.

Additional details: 8 page discography appendix detailing 264 career albums and singles from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Bill Ward, Geezer and Tony Iommi; plus 7 page index with 694 entries. Product Dimensions: 8.25 x 11.0 inches (210 x 279 mm). Weight: approximately 1.6 lbs (0.75 kg). The content of this second edition is the same as the first edition except for minor corrections and 10 additional images in the new book. This second edition has less pages than the first edition because the type is set at a smaller 10 point size and a few of the images are smaller too.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #450246 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 328 pages

From the Publisher
The content of this second edition is the same as the first edition except for minor corrections and 10 additional images in the new book. This second edition has less pages than the first edition because the type is set at a smaller 10 point size and a few of the images are smaller too.

From the Inside Flap
Between 1980 and 1997 Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were involved in a titanic struggle unprecedented in Rock n' Roll history. Both stars would employ the very finest players of the genre in the conflict and produce some of the finest Heavy Metal of the generation in the process. Tony Iommi, the man who without question invented Heavy Metal, pitched vocal legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin against Ozzy Osbourne's awesome arsenal of guitar innovators Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde.

Now the author's two landmark tomes `Story of the Ozzy Osbourne band' & `Black Sabbath: Never Say Die' along with new material are combined into one definitive Metal milestone. This meticulously detailed history employs exclusive interviews from the musicians that were sucked into this maelstrom: Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Cozy Powell, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Rob Halford, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, Carmine Appice, Tommy Aldridge, Neil Murray, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Bobby Rondinelli, Rudy Sarzo, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, Bernie Torme, Brad Gillis, Jo Burt, Pete Way, Dana Strum, Terry Chimes, Lita Ford, Steve Vai, Don Airey, Lindsey Bridgewater, Terry Nails, plus many more.

About the Author
Garry Sharpe-Young is known the world over as a leading expert on international Rock music. Since his early teens he has been embroiled in the world of Heavy Metal in all its aspects, executing over 30 album covers, including for Skyclad, Queensryche and Grim Reaper, making custom belt buckles for Guns n' Roses, designing stage wear for Judas Priest, label manager for Saxon and manufacturing merchandise for Cradle Of Filth, Megadeth, Dimmu Borgir, UFO, Motorhead and Iron Maiden. Throughout the course of all this mayhem Garry amassed a vinyl and CD collection of staggering proportions, toured the world and interviewed just about every major act on the planet. Garry's real passion though remains the discovery of new music and chronicling the phenomenon known as Heavy Metal.

Customer Reviews

Excellent in depth overview of 1979-1997 Black Sabbath
I can thoroughly recommend this to any Sabbath fan, Garry Sharpe-Young has done a excellent job on this book. I can guarantee you, you will find out something you did not know about Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. The albums covered here are Sabbath's Heaven & Hell to Forbidden (which the author describes as a 'bloated carcass' that bad eh?) and Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz to Ozzmosis. Each album and tour are covered in great depth along with all the 5682 line up changes Black Sabbath underwent in this period. This really is a compelling read for the die-hard Sabbath fan.

In depth interviews from all involved around this time including;
Tony Iommi, Ozzy, Geezer, Bill Ward, Ian Gillan, Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Bob Daisley, Paul Chapman, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholas, Vinnie & Carmine Appice and pretty much everyone else involved. Highly Recommended 10/10.