BLACK SABBATH Bassist GEEZER BUTLER Talks Forthcoming Autobiography - "I Just Wanted To Have A Kind Of History Of My Life So The Grandkids Can Get To Know Me A Little Better"
June 3, 2023, a year ago
Black Sabbath bass legend, Geezer Butler, is gearing up to release his autobiography, Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond. he recently guested on the Far Beyond Metal podcast to doscuss the book. Check out the interview below.
Butler on making the decision to wtite an autobiography:
"It was just really to tell, because I always regretted not asking my parents much more than I did. I just took them for granted. It was like, 'There's mom and there's dad, and I haven't really heard (about) their lives.' I just wanted to have a kind of history of my life so the grandkids can get to know me a little better, and their kids and stuff."
"I keep thinking of things that should be in the book, and it's too late now. So I don't know how that works, if I can do an updated version when the paperback comes out. I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the publisher."
Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond will be released on June 6 in North America via HarperCollins imprint, Dey Street Books. The title will arrive in the UK on June 8, and that day at 6 PM Geezer will be at Waterstones' Piccadilly location in central London for a book signing session.
If you’re in London next Thursday, come say hello. @Waterstones #london #piccadilly pic.twitter.com/gU3WezleeA
— Geezer Butler (@geezerbutler) June 1, 2023
Signed copies of the book are available for pre-order at Coles Books.
An recent update from Geezer states: "After spending my entire life creating memories, to eventually set aside how reserved I am, I have put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). The recollection of my life (thus far) is coming out 6/6/23. Yes I know that 2x3=6. Although unintentional, having that as a release date suits me fine. If pre-ordering is your thing, you can do so on #amazon. If you are in the UK & want a signed edition, you can pre-order from Coles Books.."
Book description: A rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of Black Sabbath, covering his years as the band’s bassist and main lyricist through his later-career projects, and detailing how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed.
With over 70 million records sold, Black Sabbath, dubbed by Rolling Stone “the Beatles of heavy metal,” helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band’s renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it.
In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story, from the band’s beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet in Birmingham through the struggles leading to the many well-documented lineup changes while touring around London’s gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Who makes notable appearances!), and the band’s important later years. He writes honestly of his childhood in a working-class family of seven in Luftwaffe-battered Birmingham, his almost-life as an accountant, and how his disillusionment with organized religion and class systems would spawn the lyrics and artistic themes that would resonate so powerfully with fans around the world.
Into the Void reveals the softer side of the heavy metal legend and the formation of one of rock’s most exciting bands, while holding nothing back. Like Geezer’s bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising.
