Black Sabbath has a new album out, although things are a bit complicated. Y'see, the Sabs aren't allowed to call themselves Black Sabbath anymore because the band's original vocalist, the inimitable Ozzy Osbourne, whilst not willing to write or tour any new material with the band, isn't willing to vacate the mic in favour of someone more game. So, in order to actually get some stuff out for you to enjoy, the band - now featuring the classic Heaven & Hell lineup of guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Vinny Appice and vocalist Ronnie James Dio - has taken to calling itself, somewhat fittingly, Heaven & Hell.
This isn't the first time this has happened, of course. Sabbath had tired of Osbourne's antics as early as 1977; duly fired, the prince of darkness was replaced by Birmingham throatsmith Dave Walker (most famously the voice, over two spells, of blues-rock outfit Savoy Brown), who lasted long enough to record a British TV show with the band before being replaced by... Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy's second spell in the band didn't last long, however, and by 1979 Dio was in the band for what became recognized by many as the band's second golden age. Three great albums flowered under Dio's vocal leadership before, as became the norm, the band foundered amidst ego-driven misunderstandings and the singer was shown the door.
Dio's replacement was, somewhat improbably, former Deep Purple yodeller Ian Gillan. Gillan's arrival in the band shocked even himself - "I went to the pub with Geezer and Tony. When I woke up the next morning I was in Black Sabbath" - but once again the association didn't last long. After one album, the much maligned Born Again, Gillan was paid off and replaced, very briefly, for the act's Live Aid performance by... Ozzy Osbourne.
After Live Aid Sabbath hit the skids, with Iommi forming an American version of the band (fronted by the ludicrous 'male model' David Donato) before opting to put out a solo record to buy himself some time. Succumbing to record company pressure however, the guitarist agreed to put out the resultant elpee, Seventh Star, as a Black Sabbath record. Iommi had settled on another former Purple vocalist, Glenn Hughes, as the voice of SS, but two dates into the tour the former Trapeze singer got involved in a full and frank exchange of views with the band's production manager and had to leave the band after sustaining injuries that left him temporarily unable to sing. Hughes was replaced on the hoof by American Ray Gillen (who later went on to find fame with former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee in Badlands), who then went on to record vocals for the next Sabs oeuvre, 1986's Eternal Idol.
Of course, Gillen didn't last the course, and left before recording of the album was completed. Iommi went through three producers and eight musicians in the recording of this next 'Black Sabbath release' but his selection of a new vocalist, the relatively unknown British singer Tony Martin, was an important one. Martin, a fine vocalist with a voice heavily redolent of Ronnie James Dio, helped Iommi resurrect his somewhat battered band with vocals on three excellent late-eighties albums, the best of which, 1989's Headless Cross, sits proudly with anything the more lionised Sabbath lineups have recorded. But the fans in the US didn't take to this lineup, and with ticket sales drying up and the band beginning to flounder, Iommi stated to cast his net once again. The weak link was deemed to be Martin, and his replacement? I'll tell you next time...
