Three notes.
A midnight apparition.
And a sound that would become inseparable from heavy metal.
In 1970, Black Sabbath opened their debut album with a song unlike almost anything that had come before it.
But the story behind “Black Sabbath” is even darker — and one of metal’s most famous legends isn’t quite what it seems.
THE RIFF
The terrifying riff at the heart of “Black Sabbath” is built around the tritone — an interval that would become deeply associated with the sound of heavy metal.
Tony Iommi, however, didn’t set out to use some forbidden medieval interval. He has said he didn’t even know what a tritone was when he came up with the riff.
THE APPARITION
The darkness went beyond the riff.
Geezer Butler has recalled waking one night to see a dark figure standing at the foot of his bed.
The experience helped inspire the lyrics to “Black Sabbath” — a song that captured the sense of fear the band wanted their music to create.
And that famous idea that the tritone had been banned by the medieval Church as “the Devil’s interval”? The historical evidence for that story simply isn’t there.
THEN CAME THE ATMOSPHERE
The rain, thunder and ominous bell heard at the beginning weren’t originally part of the band’s performance. They were added during production, transforming the opening into something closer to a horror film.
A strange apparition.
Three unsettling notes.
A storm and a distant bell.
In 1970, heavy metal found its darkness.
METAL UNTOLD
THE STORIES BEHIND THE NOISE
Sources & Links
https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/tony-iommi-on-jimmy-page-brian-may-and-jethro-tull