I Like Black Sabbath

I LIKE BLACK SABBATH ,
My first introduction to Black Sabbath was at the age of (Approx.) 11 in 1980 or so. I heard Sabbath on a local radio stations weekly heavy metal show which came on every Sunday At like midnight or sometime there abouts. (Any time after 9 pm for an 11 year old is really freakin' late), it was probaply Paranoid or Iron Man, possibly War Pigs or Electric funeral that they played. I saved my allowances for a couple of weeks and hauled ass down to my local mainstream record store in search of these bad ass tunes that I had heard on the radio. I Found 'em but the going rate for a new release or "popular" cassette at the time was about $5.99, and I was not even aware of Ozzy being solo or even who Ozzy Osbourne was , to look for anything new, and didn't know Ronnie James Dio from Tony Martin or anyone else . I KNEW NOTHING!, So here I am, with a $5.99 Black Sabbath (self titled) cassette in one hand and about 4 bucks in the other, (BUMMER!). So me; being the type of person, "even then", to get to have what I want and get it now!, I proceeded to look around the store some more ...."AH HA" ! "a clearance rack". O.k., let's get this straight, at this point I'm not looking for a bargain, I'm caseing the store to see if I can lift the thing instead. I'm looking through this table of obscure cassettes, bands I'd never heard of, or were really washed up at the time like KC and the Sunshine Band, Donovan Etc., Then: LIKE A RAY OF SUNSHINE, I spot it: BLACK SABBATH Vol.4, priced at $1.99, SOLD!! and I've still got money for a Soft Serve 1/2 and 1/2 Ice Cream at the Candy Store on my way home. I grew up next to a mall (College Grove Shopping Center) in San Diego Ca., so all of these stores are like 5 mins. from home by skate board. O.k., I get this thing home ,Black Sabbath Vol. 4. and while this is not exactaly the popular stuff I'd heard on the radio which I concluded quickly, I freakin' Loved it. I was amazed that this shit even existed . In 1980 the only music I'd really been exposed to was; Pop Rock, New Wave, Disco, and Oldies which was what my Dad listened to (ALWAYS!), every time we went anywhere in the car . So when I heard this; "Psychadelic, Dark, Festival of Pleasure, Evil and Mayhem", I instantly fell in love and have loved it ever since. I had to have more of this "Metal" so the next cassette that I bought was Judas Priest Point of Entry. Still Dark and Evil but Faster, WOW ! I believe it was my 12th B-Day that my cousin Sherry (She's a whole 'nother story ! & I'll tell it one day, but not today.) got me AC-DC's For Those About To Rock and I just new on that day, I was A "Head Banger/Metal Head/ Rocker" , whatever you wanted to call it. I was so freakin' turned on by this music and the scene that accompanied it, this SHIT was for me ! Back to Black Sabbath, The next experience I had was at about age 14. I'd been listening to or I should say, wearing out my Vol.4 cassette for like 2-3 years and had been listening to Metal Shop (the radio show) religiously every sunday night as well, Id also met a few friends in Jr. High school that were hip, but I mean come on - we were like 13 or 14 years old we didn't really know shit, so I still hadn't broke into the "Metal or Hard Rock" scene yet, until one day that summer, my dad took me over to visit my cousins ("technically my second cousins" they're mom was his first cousin, but who really cares?) Heather and Ty, we get there to find my cousin Ty and his "best friend" Jeff (which later became like my best friend) on the side of the house listening to Black Sabbath the self titled album on this Huge almost Obscene Ghetto Blaster, my Dad disappears instantly to me. My cousin and this guy have got Hair, lots and lots of Hair and they are listening to the title track Black Sabbath on the Self Titled Album Black Sabbath, VERY, VERY Dark and Wicked . I was familiar with the song but had not heard the whole album. Here's my chance I thought , So I hang out with these guys for like 4 hours and I hear it all, PLUS and this is a PLUS they have BLIZZARD OF OZ . OH MY GOD!!! I'd heard Crazy Train and maybe; Over The Mountain, But This shit as a whole was over the freakin" edge they had Diary Of A Madman Too! I'm Freakin' out at this point, It was summer 1983. Everyday therafter I was hangin' out with Ty and Jeff and I couldn't get enough of this Music. Then as if I hadn't been shocked enough by my discovery of "Heavy Metal / Hard Rock". My friend Jeff lends me his Master Of Reality cassette and a couple of other albums along with his Walkman and Headphones which in 1983 was a pretty big freakin' deal (Fairly New Technology) I get this thing strapped to my head that night in my bedroom lying in bed and it took me to another plain. I'm astonished to this day by the whole album It was definitly ahead of it's time, and when I heard WASP, Behind The Wall Of Sleep (off of the self titled album; Black Sabbath) on Head phones I was Crippled with AWE ! Anyhow to make a long story even longer. My first concert was Iron Maiden headlining with Saxon and Fastway opening in 1983 on the World Piece Tour or Piece Of Mind Tour "HOLY SHIT"! Since then, I've probably seen 200 shows total, I've seen Ozzy like 6 times and was fortunate enough to see Black Sabbath on the Reunion tour/Ozzfest in 1997. I saw them in Portland at The Rose Garden With Incubus and PANTERA awesome! I'll never forget something that Phil Anselmo (the singer from PANTERA) said that night, he said: "I wanna see you bang your heads like it's 19 Eighty ****in' 5 !!" And we did. So here I am today, in my local mainstream CD store, with a $89.99 Black Sabbath Box Set in one hand and 50 bucks in the other. I Like Back Sabbath.


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