BLACK SABBATH See Three Classic Albums Debut On UK Charts This Week
November 28, 2024, 3 days ago
Three different Black Sabbath albums all debut on UK-based charts this week, reports Forbes Senior Contributor, Hugh McIntyre. Not return to—debut, which means they’re new to the tallies they appear on. Some of them hit just one ranking, while others land on three of them at once in what has turned out to be a huge show of support for the hard rock legends.
Headless Cross performs the best of all of Black Sabbath’s albums this time around. The title even makes it into the Top 10 on one list, the "Official Rock & Metal Albums" chart. On that genre-specific list, the decades-old project enters at #10.
The "Official Rock & Metal Albums" chart is the only ranking where all three Black Sabbath studio efforts - Headless Cross, Tyr, and Cross Purposes - debut. It’s the list that the band knows best, and it makes sense that they’d reach that tally over all others in any special circumstances.
Headless Cross also reaches two other UK rankings at the same time as the rock and metal-only roster. Black Sabbath launches the set at #47 on the Official Physical Albums chart and #53 on the Official Albums Sales list.
Read the full report at Forbes.
Legendary Black Sabbath guitarist, Tony Iommi, is featured in a massive career-spanning interview with Guitar World, where he discusses everything from his formative years and his time with Jethro Tull, to breaking down some of Black Sabbath's iconic songs. An excerpt is available below.
Guitar World: The "Iron Man" riff uses power chords built off the natural minor scale. But perhaps the real magic lies in the drag of the tempo you chose to play it in. Maybe it wouldn’t have had the same effect sped up.
Iommi: "Funnily enough, when we used to play live, we’d slow it down even more. When we went into the studio to do that album, we were so hyped up we were actually playing it a little faster. Then you end up sticking to that tempo because that’s what everyone hears on the album."
"But as we carried on playing it live over the years, it got slower and slower, just to give it more depth and power. That’s what you do as a live band. And other songs would end up being faster when we played live. Bill (Ward / drums) would get carried away with the tempo – or I would."
Guitar World: How’s the next solo album shaping up?
Iommi: "There’s definitely something coming. When it will be here, I do not know (laughs). The tracks I’m working on right now are a mixture of styles from acoustic to heavy stuff. There’s a variety. I haven’t picked out exactly what I’m going to do with the songs or who I’m going to use or whatever yet, but I’ve recorded quite a few ideas. A lot of them have been done at home. The next thing we’re going to do is put some drums on, so it’s coming along."
"I’m just taking my time with it. I can only work on the new music on certain days because I’ve got other stuff on. I tend to work on a Monday and Tuesday with Mike Exeter. We’ll go in and focus on a particular track while also fiddling around with sounds and whatnot for other stuff."
"It’s been an interesting process, juggling lots of different ideas. My studio is at the house in (West Midlands village) Broadway. Here in Poole, I don’t have a studio. We’re not down here enough to use one, really. We just come down for a few days and go back. Then I will pick things up at the beginning of the next week with Mike."
Read the complete interview here.