Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward recently spoke with Rock Candy for an in-depth cover story celebrating the 50th anniversary of their landmark 1975 album, Sabotage.
The three musicians reflected on the immense pressure they faced during that period, balancing an intense legal battle with their former manager while pushing their musical creativity to new heights.
Butler recalled the frustration of the time, saying: “We were obviously immensely pissed off because we had hardly anything to show for five years of constantly touring, writing, and recording. It was difficult dividing time between creating music and time spent in lawyers’ offices, with QCs, and in law courts. But with our backs against the wall I think some of the songs on Sabotage were the angriest that we’d ever written.”
Iommi also described the struggle of juggling legal proceedings with making music, explaining: “It wasn’t easy, because as it turned out the court case happened smack bang in the middle of recording Sabotage. One minute you’d be worrying about whether a riff was right for a song, the next you’d be sat in court.“
Despite the external pressures, the band remained determined to experiment and evolve their sound. Butler elaborated: “We were in an experimental phase at the time. We’d introduced different instruments on the previous Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album, and once again were looking for new directions. Synths were relatively new at that time, so we had a go at introducing them on some songs. It was fun playing around.“
Reflecting on the album’s impact, Butler highlighted two standout tracks, saying: “‘Hole In The Sky‘ and ‘Symptom Of The Universe‘ are two of my all-time favorite Black Sabbath songs. I still love playing them, and they really come alive when we perform them live.” Ward also expressed pride in the band’s musical growth during that era, stating: “I was really, really happy with the writing. I think we were expanding, allowing ourselves to expand. We’d come a really long way from the song ‘Black Sabbath‘, as great as that song is. I thought the richness of what we were doing on Sabotage was brilliant.“
The full Sabotage feature is available in issue 49 of Rock Candy, along with interviews and stories on Billy Squier, Angel, Machine Head, Don Airey, L.A. GUNS, Jethro Tull and more.
For more details, visit www.rockcandymag.com.
Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly magazine based in the U.K., dedicated to capturing the essence of the greatest era in hard rock— the ’70s and ’80s. Founded by renowned British rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson, and Malcolm Dome, all of whom were key writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine during its prime, Rock Candy delivers in-depth coverage of the music, culture, and iconic moments that defined the era.
Scheduled for July 5 at Villa Park, the highly anticipated event, known as “Back To The Beginning“, sold out in under 10 minutes last month. This concert will mark the first time in 20 years that the original lineup of Black Sabbath: Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward, will share the stage together.
Also joining the lineup for this historic event are Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, and Mastodon.
Additionally, the concert will feature a special performance by a “supergroup of musicians“, including Duff McKagan and Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne), Wolfgang Van Halen (Van Halen, Mammoth WVH), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe), David Draiman (Disturbed), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Jonathan Davis (Korn), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token II (Sleep Token), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), and Papa V Perpetua (Ghost).
Ozzy, who has not performed a full show since late 2018, revealed his final performance on February 5.
The proceeds from “Back To The Beginning” will be donated to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a facility supported by Aston Villa.
