"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" is the opening title track of English heavy metal band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

's 1973 album of the same name. Its main riff has been cited as "the riff that saved Black Sabbath" because

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

, who wrote most of the band's music, had been suffering from

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. They resorted to drastic measures (including renting out the supposedly haunted

Clearwell Castle Clearwell Castle in Clearwell, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, is a Gothic Revival house constructed from 1727. Built by Thomas Wyndham to the designs of Roger Morris, it is the earliest Georgian Gothic Revival castle in England predating ...

to live in) to inspire him. The song has been singled out for praise by hard rock and heavy metal guitar players, with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

from Guns N' Roses stating to ''Guitar World'' in 2008, "The outro to 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the heaviest shit I have ever heard in my life. To this day, I haven't heard anything as heavy that has as much soul."

Brent Hinds William Brent Hinds (born January 16, 1974) is an American musician best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor. Hi ...

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agrees, telling Nick Bowcott in 2008, "The 'dreams turn to nightmares, Heaven turns to Hell' riff at the end of that song is unbeatable."

Live versions

The song was rarely played live in the 1970s. During the Heaven & Hell Tour, it was brought back for a number of shows, then dropped. On the '' Cross Purposes tour'', it usually closed shows, while on the '' Forbidden tour'', it was played in the middle of the setlist and featured additional guitar by

Geoff Nicholls Geoffrey James Nicholls (29 February 1944 – 28 January 2017) was a British guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sa ...

. During the band's late-1990s Reunion tour, the song was played but shortened, skipping the final verse due to Osbourne's diminishing vocal range. During subsequent tours and live shows, the opening riff was played as an intro to "

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Covers

American thrash metal band Anthrax covered this song, and it is featured as track 3 of their 1987 EP '' I'm The Man''. Swedish pop band

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

covered "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" on their debut album ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

''. American noise rock / experimental metal band Today Is the Day covered the song; it was featured on volume three of the '' In These Black Days'' tribute series and on the band's fourth studio album, ''

Temple of the Morning Star ''Temple of the Morning Star'' is the fourth studio album by the American noisecore band Today Is the Day, released on September 23, 1997, by Relapse Records. Since its release in 1997, the album has garnered much praise from critics and is cons ...

''.

Reception

"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" was ranked the fourth best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check. '' Cash Box'' said it was a "heavy metal excursion into the hard rocking world of these highly successful British rockers" but that "softer breaks incorporated with the heavy make this track Black Sabbath's strongest single possibility in some time." The song has also been covered by many bands, which is a testament to the song's legacy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Song) Black Sabbath songs 1973 singles Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Anthrax (American band) songs