Irwin - Black Sabbath & philosophy: mastering reality

Series Editor: William Irwin
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This edition first published 2013
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Black Sabbath and philosophy : mastering reality / edited by William Irwin.
p. cm. (The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-39759-6 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-118-39760-2 (emobi) ISBN 978-1-118-39761-9 (epub) 1. Black Sabbath (Musical group) 2. Music and philosophy. 3. Rock musicHistory and criticism. I. Irwin, William, 1970
ML421.B57B54 2012
782.421660922dc23

2012026658

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Cover design: Wendy Mount

Dedicated to Connie Santisteban, the muse of pop culture who has guided this book series

The tape would stop in the middle of N.I.B. whenever Ozzy sang My name is Lucifer, please take my hand. That was enough to convince my 13-year-old self that something sinister was at work. The play button would pop up, and I would freak out. Together the songs produced a witches brew of guilt, fear, fascination, and intoxication. Listening to Sabbath I felt that I was doing something forbidden yet necessary, like losing my virginity. Maybe I should have heeded the tapes ominous warning, but here I am 30 years later. Adolescent obsession has become adult appreciation.

We dont just listen to Black Sabbath; we are haunted by them. The music and lyrics stay with us long after the songs stop playing. There is genius in the simplicity of the unforgettable riffs, and there is hidden depth in the lyrics, which confront existential despair, social instability, political corruption, the horrors of war, and the nature of evil. The name of the band is Black Sabbath, but dont be misled. They are all about shades of gray. As with most great art, Sabbaths songs are rich, suggestive, and ambiguous, often undercutting one message with its opposite. Sabbath flirt with the occult but embrace the divine. They tell cautionary tales of heroins hand of doom while themselves snowblind or high on sweet leaf. And they dont passively plead to give peace a chance to the tune of jangling guitars; they rage in the fight for peace to the beat of war drums. Paradoxically, their anti-war lyrics, infused with hope and love, are sung to the tune of pounding, hyper-masculine music.

Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. They changed everything. More than 40 years later, Sabbaths music is still too aggressive for most people, and its still not played on the oldies station. But questions linger. What makes Sabbath sound evil? Is evil in the ear of the beholder? What personal and cultural conditions led them to create heavy metal? Is it still Black Sabbath without Ozzy? Is it still Black Sabbath when Tony Iommi is the only original member? We dont aim to give the final word in answer to these questions, but we do aim to challenge the reader and stir the cauldron a bit.