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EXPLAINED: Sabbath - The Real Truth

"We thought, 'What the hell is going on around here?' They thought he was some lunatic who got into the castle." How a ghostly apparition ended Tony Iommi's writer's block and inspired one of Black Sabbath's greatest riffs

With Tony Iommi suffering from writer's block, Black Sabbath did the most logical thing: They hired a haunted castle

Metal Hammer

“I’m just catching a ride, I’m not in retirement or ill or giving up”: Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward declares he’s “still a drummer” despite needing to use a wheelchair

The pioneering heavy metal sticksman “can’t walk very far without needing to rest” but refuses to give up his instrument

Metal Hammer

"That riff is probably the very first heavy metal riff ever": The story of the Hendrix-inspired Cream classic their label boss thought was "psychedelic hogwash"

Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love was a slow-burning success, but it inspired a generation of future rockers

Louder

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“Without you, we wouldn’t be here”: He played bass with Robert Plant, gave Tony Iommi his sound and created an iconic British amp brand – the life and times of Lyndon Laney

The loved and respected founder of the Midlands amp company was behind the seismic sound of Black Sabbath and countless more

Guitar World

“I always felt like I was the weak link in the band. I felt that my guitar playing was was too raw and unpolished”: How guitar hero Vivian Campbell overcame self-doubt to create a heavy metal masterpiece with legendary singer Ronnie James Dio

His solo in Dio's most famous song was cut in one take

MusicRadar

"John orders 12 bottles of champagne. I thought he was going to treat everybody in the club, but he turned to me and said, 'Go on, drink it – that's yours.'" What happened when John Bonham was best man at Tony Iommi's wedding

Led Zeppelin's famously revelrous drummer John Bonham was Best Man at Tony Iommi's wedding in 1973

Louder

“I was looking for it and he said, ‘Oh that? I threw it away. It was crap.’ I couldn’t believe it”: How Tony Iommi found the secret to his Black Sabbath tone (and how he lost it)

A moment of madness from an amp tech and Iommi's secret weapon was gone, never to be seen again

MusicRadar

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Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi named MBE in King's Birthday Honours

Tony Iommi says MBE is an "unbelievable honour" – Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood also honoured

Metal Hammer

“He only ever said one thing to me about sounding like anyone he’d played with before”: Rowan Robertson on the key piece of advice he received from Ronnie James Dio on how to faithfully play Tony Iommi’s riffs

Though Robertson was only 17 at the time he was hired for Ronnie James Dio's band, the legendary frontman had the utmost confidence in him

Guitar World

“This movie will absolutely happen... We're full steam ahead”: Jack Osbourne confirms Ozzy Osbourne biopic is still in the cards

The movie will reportedly feature Ozzy at the tail end of his Black Sabbath career – and will also include Randy Rhoads

Guitar World

"Substitute any Vietnam reference with any current war and the lyrics still stand up. I think the lyrics on Paranoid are timeless." How themes of war, madness and nuclear holocaust shaped Black Sabbath's second album

Black Sabbath ditched the hippy dream and faced brutal reality on Paranoid

Louder

"70s metal was definitely the coolest. AC/DC had some fly records, Sabbath had some cool s**t." Ten Beastie Boys songs featuring samples of classic rock anthems

"When hip hop DJs started using those chunky riffs, we started checking out old metal again"

Louder

“He got the same sound. It’s the way he played – it wasn’t his gear”: What happened when Brian May recorded with Black Sabbath – and played through Tony Iommi’s rig

The Black Sabbath legend weighs in on the ‘gear versus player’ debate

Guitar World

"We were just jamming, making stuff up. Our session went totally out of the window." The true story of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin's lost jam

Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi on the legendary Black Zeppelin jam – the greatest session you’ve never heard

Metal Hammer

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MusicRadar

“Lyndon was not only a founder, but also a creator and innovator”: UK amp pioneer Lyndon Laney has died, aged 77

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi leads tributes to the founder of Laney Amplification, whose tube amps give helped birth heavy metal – and who also had a connection with Led Zeppelin, too

Guitar World

Before he went solo, Ronnie James Dio had already worked with two guitarists etched onto heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. But players can also learn plenty from the oft-overlooked shredders who anchored his solo band

From a 17-year-old prodigy to a future stadium-conquering guitar superstar, Ronnie James Dio had a dream team of six-string sidekicks over the course of his solo career – and their contributions to his catalog should be essential listening for any aspiring metal guitarist

Louder

“It was the first keyboard solo I’d heard on the radio for a very long time”: The Marillion song that proves Mark Kelly’s genius, by Adam Wakeman

Ozzy, Sabbath and Purple contributor says Fish and co were the first prog band he beyond dad Rick’s work with Yes

Louder

"Like Blondie with Teeth." Shakin' Street mix high-energy rock with post-punk pop sensibility on album starring Ross The Boss and Fabienne Shine

What Ross The Boss did after the Dictators but before Manowar

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MusicRadar

“We were labelled ‘the new Led Zeppelin’. I mean, wow! But it was a blessing and a curse. There could never be another Led Zeppelin, just like there could never be another Beatles”: The strange tale of a great rock band that had it all – and then blew it

As one critic said, this band had “more good riffs in one song than there are in the first four Black Sabbath albums”

Metal Hammer

Watch Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale sing Black Sabbath covers at Geezer Butler and Paul Rodgers tribute show this week

Taylor sang Paranoid and Hale took on lead vocals for a version of Neon Knights, with Butler playing bass for both performances

Metal Hammer

"It’s very, very exciting." Black Sabbath to be given the classical treatment on UK tour featuring local orchestras

A series of shows will reinvent Sabbath's metal blueprint throughout the UK – with strings attached

MusicRadar

“Ozzy came to see us in Los Angeles and said it was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard, which coming from him is the biggest compliment”: Nina Persson on the Cardigans’ Sabbath covers

Band recorded versions of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Iron Man

MusicRadar

“I was at school supposedly trying to get an education and all I could think about was that album. Black Sabbath are the gods, man!”: How Pantera singer Phil Anselmo fell under Sabbath’s evil spell

And why he thinks that Norwegian black metal ruled in the ’90s

Guitar World

“Those cleaner tones are very characterful and usable, evoking classic tube-driven bass amps”: Ashdown Geezer Butler Pedal of Doom review

Geezer Butler helped invent heavy metal. Here’s a slab of heavy metal bearing his name.

Metal Hammer

"I’m still grieving the loss of him. I can’t really accept it because, like a lot of people, I don’t want to think about him not being here." Judas Priest legend Rob Halford on his love for Ozzy Osbourne, touring with Alice Cooper and what comes next

The Metal God opens up on his friendship with the Prince Of Darkness and a whole lot more

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