British heavy metal band Black Sabbath was formed in 1968 in Birmingham, England under the original name of Polka Tulk Blues Company, highly influenced by blues-rock bands and musicians from the 1960’s such as Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Blue Cheer, Jimmy Hendrix, and Janis Joplin.
The band soon would evolve to "Polka Tulk" and later renamed to Earth until the band adopted Black Sabbath following the dark direction of former bassist Terence Butler. Terence, who was a fan of Dennis Wheatley's black magic novels, got an ancient occult book written in Latin from which he took the name.
Later in a documentary, Butler revealed that, after trying that book he had a vision of a black hooded figure that was standing at the foot of his bed suggesting the name as the magic formula to succeed in music.
And Black Sabbath succeeded! The band eventually ranked in VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band’s discography encompasses 16 studio albums from 1970 through 1995; five live albums, and seven compilations between 1975 and 2007, although there is also a profuse non-official discography and a number of solo albums from their members.
Black Sabbath's breakthrough into the international mainstream came with their second album, "Paranoid", released in September 1970 with the title track hitting the UK's Top Five and breaking into the US Top Ten until 1971, but remaining in the charts for more than a whole year.
Black Sabbath and their original lineup were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. After a huge success, numerous tours, and posterior lineups reunions, the band is now performing as “Heaven and Hell†after the album of the same name, after releasing the album “Black Sabbath: The Dio Years"
"The Dio Years" encompasses also the Heaven and Hell 2007-2008 tour that continues under Tony Iommi's direction while Ozzy Osbourne is attending his traditional solo tour. Ozzy also announced on his web site that the original Black Sabbath's lineup would be releasing a new album in 2008.
This recording will mark the return of Black Sabbath to the recording studio after 30 years.
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