Features
Tuesday, August 2 2011
10 Albums That Supposedly Suck (But Don't)
Some of these are hopefully no-brainers, others may be head-scratchers. All of them are albums that deserve a fresh appraisal.
Thursday, July 1 2010
Black Sabbath 1968 - 1979: A Lyrical Reassessment
Black Sabbath, during Ozzy's original tenure, had at least as much in common with the 1960s counter-culture that preceded them as they did with the waves of metal bands that followed them in the 1980s and beyond.
Monday, May 17 2010
A Light in the Black: Ronnie James Dio, 1942-2010
In a genre that loves its iconic figures, Ronnie James Dio was one of the biggest. Sadly, one of metal's ageless wonders proved to be mortal after all.
Thursday, August 28 2008
To Hell and Back: Black Sabbath's Dio Years
Ronnie James Dio's original three-year sojourn with Black Sabbath was mercurial, but it completely transformed and re-energized the band.
Tuesday, July 17 2007
Part 2: Janis Ian to Jimi Hendrix (1966-1970)
Music truly is the universal language. The best songs of protest are passed around, from movement-to-movement, era-to-era; its singers gaining multilingual fluency along the way.
Columns
Tuesday, August 2 2011
Born Again, Again
Critically panned 28 years ago, Black Sabbath's bizarre 11th album, Born Again, has gone on to earn a cult following of its own.
Friday, April 18 2008
Into the Void: John Darnielle on Sabbath, Extreme Metal, and Indie Rock
Begrand dives into metal fandom with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who discusses the Mighty Riff, the uneasy relationship between indie and metal camps, and the life experiences behind his new book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.
Thursday, April 26 2007
Out of Shadows, Shining Ever-Bright
After catching the reunited '80s-era, Ronnie James Dio-helmed Black Sabbath on tour in Canada, Begrand looks back on an oft-neglected period in the metal titans' career.
Reviews
Wednesday, July 14 2010
Black Sabbath: Classic Albums: Paranoid
Black Sabbath's classic second album is given a throrough dissection on one of the best releases in the Classic Albums series.
Sunday, May 9 2010
Black Sabbath's Old Riffs Sound Much More Evil Than Their Contemporaries'
Black Sabbath invented metal. There was no metal, and then there was Sabbath, and now there is metal. If you need more proof than that, it can be found in this overly-academic book.
Tuesday, April 24 2007
Black Sabbath: The Dio Years
Ronnie James Dio's tenure in Black Sabbath was brief, but it resulted in some of the greatest songs in heavy metal history.
Wednesday, May 17 2006
Black Sabbath: Greatest Hits 1970-1978
Does Ozzy want a special prize for helping to invent the power ballad? Because I've got a bullet with his name on it right here, if so.
Wednesday, January 22 2003
Black Sabbath: Past Lives
Together, the two discs compliment each other well in an odd and circular way. Both are representative of what Sabbath was in the '70s; if they weren't on, they were off and on the verge of destruction.
Blogs
Thursday, November 17 2011
Black Magic: 15 Essential Original Lineup Black Sabbath Songs
The original lineup of one of heavy metal's first and greatest bands has recently announced it had reunited and is heading back into the studio, so now is as good a time as any to dive into the vault and celebrate some essential Black Sabbath offerings from that incarnation.
Thursday, August 19 2010
Hey Gibson, Let’s Talk Guitar Albums: An Alternative Top 10
When it comes to matters of taste and ranking (a particularly combustible combination), there is no pleasing everyone. In fact, there is no pleasing anyone, since the list makers themselves are invariably disappointed or frustrated. And yet...
Monday, May 17 2010
Fade to Black: R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio kicked off the '80s by helming Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne's departure. During the '80s, he routinely shunned temptation to soften or commercialize his sound. 20 years later, metal is immeasurably the better thanks to his efforts.
Monday, May 17 2010
Ronnie James Dio: Saying Goodbye to One of Metal's Greatest Voices
When news spread across the Internet on Saturday that legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio had succumbed to his battle with stomach cancer, I…
News
Monday, May 17 2010
Heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio dead at 67
Heavy metal lost one of its icons Sunday when singer Ronnie James Dio died at 67. He was being treated in a Houston hospital for…
