Black Sabbath Follow Up

The band enlisted Heavy metal vocalist Tony Martin to re-record Ray Gillen's tracks, and former Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan to complete a few percussion overdubs. Before the release of the new album. Black Sabbath accepted an offer to play six shows at Sun City, South Africa during the apartheid era. The band drew criticism from activists and artists involved with Artists United Against Apartheid, who had been boycotting South Africa since 1985. Drummer Bev Bevan refused to play the shows, and was replaced by Terry Chimes, formerly of The Clash, while Dave Spitz returned on bass.

After nearly a year in production, The Eternal Idol was released on December 8, 1987 and ignored by contemporary reviewers. On-line internet era reviews were mixed. AllMusic said that "Tony Martin's powerful voice added new fire to the band", and the album contained "some of Iommi's heaviest riffs in years". Blender gave the album two stars, claiming the album was "Black Sabbath in name only". The album would stall at No. 66 in the United Kingdom, while peaking at 168 in the U.S. The band toured in support of Eternal Idol in Germany, Italy and for the first time, Greece. In part due to a backlash from promoters over the South Africa incident, other European shows were cancelled. Bassist Dave Spitz left the band again shortly before the tour, and was replaced by Jo Burt, formerly of Virginia Wolf.

Following the poor commercial performance of The Eternal Idol, Black Sabbath were dropped by both Vertigo Records and Warner Bros. Records, and signed with I.R.S. Records. The band took time off in 1988, returning in August to begin work on their next album. As a result of the recording troubles with Eternal Idol, Tony Iommi opted to produce the band's next album himself. "It was a completely new start", Iommi said. "I had to rethink the whole thing, and decided that we needed to build up some credibility again".

Tony Iommi enlisted former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell, long-time keyboardist Geoff Nicholls and session bassist Laurence Cottle, and rented a "very cheap studio in England". Black Sabbath released Headless Cross in April 1989, and it was also ignored by contemporary reviewers, although AllMusic contributor Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album four stars and called it "the finest non-Ozzy or Dio Black Sabbath album". Anchored by the number 62 charting single "Headless Cross", the album reached number 31 on the UK chart, and number 115 in the U.S.

Queen guitarist Brian May, a good friend of Tony's, played a guest solo on the song "When Death Calls". Following the album's release the band added touring bassist Neil Murray, formerly of Colosseum II, National Health, Whitesnake, Gary Moore's backing band, and Vow Wow.

The unsuccessful Headless Cross U.S. tour began in May 1989 with openers Kingdom Come and Silent Rage, but because of poor ticket sales, the tour was cancelled after just eight shows. The European leg of the tour began in September, where the band were enjoying chart success. After a string of Japanese shows the band embarked on a 23 date Russian tour with Girlschool. Black Sabbath was one of the first bands to tour Russia, after Mikhail Gorbachev opened the country to western acts for the first time in 1989.

The band returned to the studio in February 1990 to record Tyr, the follow-up to Headless Cross. While not technically a concept album, some of the album's lyrical themes are loosely based on Norse mythology. Tyr was released on August 6, 1990, reaching number 24 on the UK albums chart, but was the first Black Sabbath release not to break the Billboard 200 in the U.S. The album would receive mixed internet-era reviews, with AllMusic noting that the band "mix myth with metal in a crushing display of musical synthesis", while Blender gave the album just one star, claiming that "Iommi continues to besmirch the Sabbath name with this unremarkable collection". The band toured in support of Tyr with Circus of Power in Europe, but the final seven United Kingdom dates were cancelled because of poor ticket sales. For the first time in their career, the band's touring cycle did not include U.S. dates.

While on his Lock Up the Wolves U.S. tour in August 1990, former Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio was joined onstage at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium by Geezer Butler to perform "Neon Knights". Following the show, the two expressed interest in rejoining Sabbath. Butler convinced Iommi, who in turn broke up the current line-up, dismissing vocalist Tony Martin and bassist Neil Murray. "I do regret that in a lot of ways," Iommi said. "We were at a good point then. We decided to reunite with Dio and I don't even know why, really. There's the financial aspect, but that wasn't it. I seemed to think maybe we could recapture something we had."

Ronnie James Dio and Geezer Butler joined Tony Iommi and Cozy Powell in autumn 1990 to begin the next Sabbath release. While rehearsing in November, Powell suffered a broken hip when his horse died and fell on the drummer's legs. Unable to complete the album, Powell was replaced by former drummer Vinny Appice, reuniting the Mob Rules line-up, and the band entered the studio with producer Reinhold Mack. The year-long recording was plagued with problems, primarily stemming from writing tension between Iommi and Dio.

Songs were rewritten multiple times. "It was just hard work," Iommi said. "We took too long on it, that album cost us a million dollars, which is bloody ridiculous." Dio recalled the album as difficult, but worth the effort: "It was something we had to really wring out of ourselves, but I think that's why it works. Sometimes you need that kind of tension, or else you end up making the Christmas album".

The resulting Dehumanizer was released on June 22, 1992. In the U.S., the album was released on June 30, 1992 by Reprise Records, as Dio and his namesake band were still under contract to the label at the time. While the album received mixed reviews,, it was the band's biggest commercial success in a decade. Anchored by the top 40 rock radio single "TV Crimes", the album peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured "Time Machine", a version of which had been recorded for the 1992 film Wayne's World. Additionally, the perception among fans of a return of some semblance of the "real" Sabbath provided the band with much needed momentum.

Sabbath began touring in support of Dehumanizer in July 1992 with Testament, Danzig, Prong, and Exodus. While on tour, former vocalist Ozzy Osbourne announced his first retirement, and invited Sabbath to open for his solo band at the final two shows of his No More Tours tour in Costa Mesa, California. The band agreed, aside from Dio, who told Iommi, "I'm not doing that. I'm not supporting a clown." Dio spoke of the situation years later:

"I was told in the middle of the tour that we would be opening for Ozzy in Los Angeles. And I said, "No. Sorry, I have more pride than that." A lot of bad things were being said from camp to camp, and it created this horrible schism. So by the band agreeing to play the shows in L.A. with Ozzy, that, to me, spelled out reunion. And that obviously meant the doom of that particular project. Ronnie James Dio quit Sabbath following a show in Oakland, California on November 13, 1992, one night before the band were set to appear at Ozzy Osbourne's retirement show.

Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford stepped in at the last minute, performing two nights with the band. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler joined Ozzy Osbourne and former drummer Bill Ward on stage for the first time since 1985's Live Aid concert, performing a brief set of Sabbath songs. This set the stage for a longer-term reunion of the original line-up, though that plan proved short-lived. "Ozzy, Geezer, Tony and Bill announced the reunion of Black Sabbath – again," remarked Dio. "And I thought that it was a great idea. But I guess Ozzy didn't think it was such a great idea… I'm never surprised when it comes to whatever happens with them. Never at all. They are very predictable. They don't talk."

Drummer Vinny Appice left the band following the reunion show to rejoin Ronnie James Dio's solo band, later appearing on Dio's Strange Highways and Angry Machines. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler enlisted former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli, and reinstated former vocalist Tony Martin. The band returned to the studio to work on new material, although the project was not originally intended to be released under the Black Sabbath name. As Geezer Butler explains:

"It wasn't even supposed to be a Sabbath album; I wouldn't have even done it under the pretence of Sabbath. That was the time when the original band were talking about getting back together for a reunion tour. Tony and myself just went in with a couple of people, did an album just to have, while the reunion tour was (supposedly) going on. It was like an Iommi/Butler project album."

Under pressure from their record label, the band released their seventeenth studio album, Cross Purposes, on February 8, 1994, under the Black Sabbath name. The album received mixed reviews, with Blender giving the album two stars, calling Soundgarden's 1994 album Superunknown "a far better Sabbath album than this by-the-numbers potboiler". AllMusic's Bradley Torreano called Cross Purposes "the first album since Born Again that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record". The album just missed the Top 40 in the UK reaching number 41, and also reached 122 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Cross Purposes contained the song "Evil Eye", which was co-written by Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen, although uncredited because of record label restrictions. Touring in support of Cross Purposes began in February with Morbid Angel and Motörhead in the U.S. The band filmed a live performance at the Hammersmith Apollo on April 13, 1994, which was released on VHS accompanied by a CD, titled Cross Purposes Live. After the European tour with Cathedral and Godspeed in June 1994, drummer Bobby Rondinelli quit the band and was replaced by original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward for five shows in South America.

Following the touring cycle for Cross Purposes, bassist Geezer Butler quit the band for the second time. "I finally got totally disillusioned with the last Sabbath album, and I much preferred the stuff I was writing to the stuff Sabbath were doing". Butler formed a solo project called GZR, and released Plastic Planet in 1995. The album contained the song "Giving Up the Ghost", which was critical of Tony Iommi for carrying on with the Black Sabbath name, with the lyrics: You plagiarised and parodied / the magic of our meaning / a legend in your own mind / left all your friends behind / you can't admit that you're wrong / the spirit is dead and gone ("I heard it's something about me..." said Iommi. "I had the album given to me a while back. I played it once, then somebody else had it, so I haven't really paid any attention to the lyrics... It's nice to see him doing his own thing – getting things off his chest. I don't want to get into a rift with Geezer. He's still a friend."

Following Butler's departure, newly returned drummer Bill Ward once again left the band. Tony Iommi reinstated former members Neil Murray on bass and Cozy Powell on drums, effectively reuniting the 1990 Tyr line-up. The band enlisted Body Count guitarist Ernie C to produce the new album, which was recorded in London in autumn of 1994. The album featured a guest vocal on "The Illusion of Power" by Body Count vocalist Ice-T. The resulting Forbidden was released on June 8, 1995, but failed to chart in the U.S.

The album was widely panned by critics; AllMusic's Bradley Torreano said "with boring songs, awful production, and uninspired performances, this is easily avoidable for all but the most enthusiastic fan"; while Blender magazine called Forbidden "an embarrassment... the band's worst album". Black Sabbath embarked on a world tour in July 1995 with openers Motörhead and Tiamat, but two months into the tour, drummer Cozy Powell left the band, citing health issues, and was replaced by former drummer Bobby Rondinelli. "The members I had in the last lineup – Bobby Rondinelli, Neil Murray – they're great, great characters..."

Iommi told Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross. "That, for me, was an ideal lineup. I wasn't sure vocally what we should do, but Neil Murray and Bobby Rondinelli I really got on well with."

After completing Asian dates in December 1995, Tony Iommi put the band on hiatus, and began work on a solo album with former Black Sabbath vocalist Glenn Hughes, and former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland. The album was not officially released following its completion, although a widely traded bootleg called "Eighth Star" surfaced soon after. The album was officially released in 2004 as The 1996 DEP Sessions, with Holland's drums re-recorded by session drummer Jimmy Copley.

In 1997, Tony Iommi disbanded the current line-up to officially reunite with Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath line-up. Vocalist Tony Martin claimed that an original line-up reunion had been in the works since the band's brief reunion at Ozzy Osbourne's 1992 Costa Mesa show, and that the band released subsequent albums to fulfill their record contract with I.R.S. Records. Tony Martin later recalled Forbidden (1995) as a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion. However I wasn't privy to that information at the time". I.R.S. Records released a compilation album in 1996 to fulfill the band's contract, titled The Sabbath Stones, which featured songs from Born Again (1983) to Forbidden (1995).

In the summer of 1997, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne reunited to coheadline the Ozzfest tour alongside Osbourne's solo band. The line-up featured Osbourne's drummer Mike Bordin filling in for Bill Ward. "It started off with me going off to join Ozzy for a couple of numbers," explained Iommi, "and then it got into Sabbath doing a short set, involving Geezer. And then it grew as it went on… We were concerned in case Bill couldn't make it – couldn't do it – because it was a lot of dates, and important dates… The only rehearsal that we had to do was for the drummer. But I think if Bill had come in, it would have took a lot more time. We would have had to focus a lot more on him."

In December 1997, the group was joined by Bill Ward, marking the first reunion of the original quartet since Osbourne's 1992 "retirement show". This line-up recorded two shows at the Birmingham NEC, released as the double album Reunion on October 20, 1998. The album reached number eleven on the Billboard 200, went platinum in the U.S. and spawned the single "Iron Man", which won Sabbath their first Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Metal Performance, 30 years after the song was originally released. Reunion featured two new studio tracks, "Psycho Man" and "Selling My Soul", both of which cracked the top 20 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Shortly before a European tour in the summer of 1998, Bill Ward had a heart attack and was temporarily replaced by former drummer Vinny Appice. Ward returned for a U.S. tour with openers Pantera, which began in January 1999 and continued through the summer, headlining the annual Ozzfest tour. Following these appearances, the band was put on hiatus while members worked on solo material. Tony Iommi released his first official solo album, Iommi, in 2000, while Osbourne continued work on Down to Earth (2001).

Sabbath returned to the studio to work on new material with all four original members and producer Rick Rubin in the spring of 2001, but the sessions were halted when Osbourne was called away to finish tracks for his solo album in the summer. "It just came to an end…" Iommi said. "It's a shame because the songs were really good". Iommi commented on the difficulty getting all the members together to work:

"It's quite different recording now. We've all done so much in between. In the early days there was no mobile phone ringing every five seconds. When we first started, we had nothing. We all worked for the same thing. Now everybody has done so many other things. It's great fun and we all have a good chat, but it's just different, trying to put an album together."

In March 2002, Osbourne's Emmy-winning reality show The Osbournes debuted on MTV, and quickly became a worldwide hit. The show introduced Ozzy Osbourne to a broader audience and to capitalise, the band's back catalogue label, Sanctuary Records released a double live album Past Lives (2002), which featured concert material recorded in the 1970s, including the Live at Last (1980) album. The band remained on hiatus until the summer of 2004 when they returned to headline Ozzfest 2004 and 2005. In November 2005, Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and in March 2006, after eleven years of eligibility—Osbourne famously refused the Hall's "meaningless" initial nomination in 1999—the band were inducted into the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the awards ceremony Metallica played two Sabbath songs, "Hole in the Sky" and "Iron Man" in tribute.

While Ozzy Osbourne was working on his solo album, Black Rain in 2006, Rhino Records released Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a compilation of songs culled from the four Black Sabbath releases featuring Ronnie James Dio. For the release, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio, and Vinny Appice reunited to write and record three new songs as Black Sabbath. The Dio Years was released on April 3, 2007, reaching number 54 on the Billboard 200, while the single "The Devil Cried" reached number 37 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Pleased with the results, Iommi and Dio decided to reunite the Dio era line-up for a world tour. While the line-up of Osbourne, Butler, Iommi, and Ward was still officially called Black Sabbath, the new line-up opted to call themselves Heaven & Hell, after the album of the same title, to avoid confusion. When asked about the name of the group, Iommi stated "it really is Black Sabbath, whatever we do... so everyone knows what they're getting and so people won't expect to hear 'Iron Man' and all those songs. We've done them for so many years, it's nice to do just all the stuff we did with Ronnie again."

Bill Ward was initially set to participate, but dropped out before the tour began due to musical differences with "a couple of the band members". He was replaced by former drummer Vinny Appice, effectively reuniting the line-up that had featured on the Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992) albums. Heaven & Hell toured the U.S. with openers Megadeth and Machine Head, and recorded a live album and DVD in New York on March 30, 2007, titled Live from Radio City Music Hall. In November 2007, Dio confirmed that the band had plans to record a new studio album, which was recorded in the following year.

In April 2008 the band announced the upcoming release of a new box set and their participation in the Metal Masters Tour, alongside Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament. The box set, The Rules of Hell, featuring remastered versions of all the Dio fronted Black Sabbath albums, was supported by the Metal Masters Tour. In 2009, the band announced the title of their debut studio album, The Devil You Know, released on April 28.

On May 26, 2009, Ozzy Osbourne filed suit in a federal court in New York against Tony Iommi alleging that he illegally claimed the band name. Iommi noted that he had been the only constant band member for its full 41-year career and that his bandmates relinquished their rights to the name in the 1980s, therefore claiming more rights to the name of the band. Although in the suit, Osbourne was seeking 50% ownership of the trademark, he said that he hoped the proceedings would lead to equal ownership among the four original members.

In March 2010, Black Sabbath announced that along with Metallica they would be releasing a limited edition single together to celebrate Record Store Day. It was released on April 17, 2010. Ronnie James Dio died on May 16, 2010 from stomach cancer. In June 2010, the legal battle between Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi over the trademarking of the Black Sabbath name ended, but the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

In a January 2010 interview while promoting his biography I Am Ozzy, Ozzy Osbourne stated that although he would not rule it out, he was doubtful there would be a reunion with all four original members of the band. Osbourne stated: "I'm not gonna say I've written it out forever, but right now I don't think there's any chance. But who knows what the future holds for me? If it's my destiny, fine."

In July, Geezer Butler said that there would be no reunion in 2011, as Osbourne was already committed to touring with his solo band. However, by that August they had already met up to rehearse together, and continued to do so through the autumn. On November 11, 2011, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bill Ward announced that they were reuniting to record a new album with a full tour in support beginning in 2012. Guitarist Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma on January 9, 2012, which forced the band to cancel all but two shows (Download Festival, and Lollapalooza Festival) of a previously booked European tour. It was later announced that an intimate show would be played in their hometown Birmingham.

It was the first concert since the reunion and the only indoors concerts that year. In February 2012, drummer Ward announced that he would not participate further in the band's reunion until he was offered a "signable contract".

On 21 May 2012, at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, Black Sabbath played their first concert since 2005, with Tommy Clufetos playing the drums. In June, they performed at the Download Festival at the Donington Park motorsports circuit in Leicestershire, England, followed by the last concert of the short tour at Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago. Later that month, the band started recording an album.

On January 13, 2013, the band announced that the album would be released in June under the title 13. Brad Wilk (formerly of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) was chosen as the drummer, and Rick Rubin was chosen as the producer. Mixing of the album commenced in February. On April 12, 2013, the band released the album's track listing. The standard version of the album features eight new tracks, and the deluxe version features three bonus tracks.

The band's first single from 13, "God Is Dead?", was released on April 19, 2013. On April 20, 2013, Black Sabbath commenced their first Australia/New Zealand tour in 40 years followed by a North American Tour in Summer 2013. The second single of the album, "End of the Beginning", debuted on May 15, in a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode, where all three members appeared. In June 2013, 13 topped both the UK Albums Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming their first album to reach number one on the latter chart. In 2014, Black Sabbath received their first Grammy Award since 2000 with "God Is Dead?" winning Best Metal Performance.

In July 2013, Black Sabbath embarked on a North American Tour (for the first time since July 2001), followed by a Latin American tour in October 2013. In November 2013, the band started their European tour which lasted until December 2013. In March and April 2014, they made 12 stops in North America (mostly in Canada) as the second leg of their North American Tour before embarking in June 2014 on the second leg of their European tour, which ended with a concert at London's Hyde Park.

On September 29, 2014, Ozzy Osbourne told Metal Hammer that Black Sabbath would begin work on their twentieth studio album in early 2015 with producer Rick Rubin, followed by a final tour in 2016. In an April 2015 interview, however, Osbourne said that these plans "could change", and added, "We all live in different countries and some of them want to work and some of them don't want to, I believe. But we are going to do another tour together."

On September 3, 2015, it was announced that Black Sabbath would embark on their final tour, titled The End, from January 2016 to February 2017. Numerous dates and locations across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand were announced. The final shows of The End tour took place at the Genting Arena in their home city of Birmingham, England on February 2 & 4, 2017. On October 26, 2015, it was announced the band consisting of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler would be returning to the Download Festival on June 11, 2016.

Despite earlier reports that they would enter the studio before their farewell tour, Osbourne stated that there would not be another Black Sabbath studio album. However, an 8-track CD entitled The End was sold at dates on the tour. Along with some live recordings, the CD includes four unused tracks from the 13 sessions.

On March 4, 2016, Tony Iommi discussed future re-releases of the Tony Martin-era catalogue: "We've held back on the reissues of those albums because of the current Sabbath thing with Ozzy Osbourne, but they will certainly be happening... I'd like to do a couple of new tracks for those releases with Tony Martin... I'll also be looking at working on Cross Purposes and Forbidden." Martin had suggested that this could coincide with the 30th anniversary of The Eternal Idol, in 2017. In an interview that August, Tony Martin added "Tony Iommi still has his cancer issues of course and that may well stop it all from happening but if he wants to do something I am ready." On August 10, 2016, Iommi revealed that his cancer was in remission.

Asked in November 2016 about his plans after Black Sabbath's final tour, Tony Iommi replied, "I'll be doing some writing. Maybe I'll be doing something with the guys, maybe in the studio, but no touring." The band played their final concert on February 4, 2017 in Birmingham. The final song was streamed live on the band's Facebook page and fireworks went off as the band took their final bow. The band's final tour was not an easy one, as longstanding tensions between Osbourne and Iommi returned to the surface. Iommi stated that he would not rule out the possibility of one-off shows, "I wouldn't write that off, if one day that came about. That's possible. Or even doing an album, 'cause then, again, you're in one place. But I don't know if that would happen." In an April 2017 interview, Geezer Butler revealed that Black Sabbath considered making a blues album as the follow-up to 13, but added that, "the tour got in the way."

On March 7, 2017, Black Sabbath announced their disbandment through posts made on their official social media accounts.

In a June 2018 interview with ITV News, Ozzy Osbourne expressed interest in reuniting with Black Sabbath for a performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games which would be held in their home city Birmingham. Tony Iommi said that performing at the event as Black Sabbath would be "a great thing to do to help represent Birmingham. I'm up for it. Let's see what happens." He also did not rule out the possibility for the band to reform only for a one-off performance rather than a full-length tour. Iommi was later announced to be part of the opening ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games alongside Duran Duran.

On August 8, 2022, Osbourne and Iommi made a surprise reunion to end the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. They were joined by 2017 Black Sabbath touring musicians Tommy Clufetos and Adam Wakeman (son of Rick Wakeman) for a medley of "Iron Man" and "Paranoid".

In September 2020, Ozzy Osbourne stated in an interview that he was no longer interested in a reunion: "Not for me. It's done. The only thing I do regret is not doing the last farewell show in Birmingham with Bill Ward. I felt really bad about that. It would have been so nice. I don't know what the circumstances behind it were, but it would have been nice. I've talked to Tony a few times, but I don't have any of the slightest interest in doing another gig. Maybe Tony's getting bored now." Geezer Butler also ruled out the possibility of any future Black Sabbath performances in an interview with Eonmusic on November 10, 2020, stating that the band were over: "There will definitely be no more Sabbath. It's done." Iommi however, pondered the possibility of another reunion tour in an interview with The Mercury News, stating that he "would like to play with the guys again" and that he missed the audiences and stage. Bill Ward stated in an interview with Eddie Trunk that he no longer had the ability or chops to perform with Black Sabbath in concert, but expressed that he would love to make another album with Osbourne, Butler and Iommi.

Despite ruling out the possibility of another Black Sabbath reunion, Ozzy Osbourne revealed in an episode of Ozzy Speaks on Ozzy's Boneyard that he was working with Tony Iommi, who appeared as one of the guests for his thirteenth solo album, Patient Number 9 (2022). In an October 2021 interview with the Metro, Bill Ward revealed that he had kept "in contact" with his former bandmates and stated that he was "very open-minded" to the possibility of recording another Black Sabbath album: "I haven't spoken to the guys about it, but I have talked to a couple of people in management about the possibility of making a recording."

On September 30, 2020, Black Sabbath announced a new Dr. Martens shoe collection. The partnership with the British footwear company celebrated the 50th anniversaries of the band's Black Sabbath and Paranoid albums, with the boots depicting artwork from the former. On January 13, 2021, the band announced that they would reissue both Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules as expanded deluxe editions on March 5, 2021, with unreleased material included.

In September 2022, Ozzy Osbourne reiterated that he was unwilling to continue Black Sabbath, stating that if the band were to make another album, he would not sing on it. However, he remained open to working with Tony Iommi on more solo projects following the latter's involvement on Patient Number 9. Osbourne later retired from touring in February 2023 after not sufficiently recovering from medical treatment, putting the possibility of another Black Sabbath reunion in concert in further doubt.

Geezer Butler, who had retired in June 2023, insisted that Black Sabbath had been "put to bed", until August 2023 when he stated that he was open to performing a one-off show, but expressed that he had "no desire to tour again" with Black Sabbath. According to Tony Iommi, the band were offered, but turned down, a reunion at Power Trip in October 2023, where Osbourne was initially scheduled to headline the festival's second date; he eventually cancelled his appearance and was replaced by Judas Priest, due to health issues. In May 2024, Osbourne renewed interest in a reunion of the original line-up, admitting he was sad that Bill Ward was not part of the final tour and that "it wasn't Black Sabbath that finished it. It's unfinished. If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance." Iommi, Butler and Ward all later expressed interest in the possibility of a one-off reunion show featuring the original line-up.

The Birmingham Royal Ballet presented Black Sabbath: The Ballet which premiered at the Birmingham Hippodrome in September 2023, before touring to Theatre Royal, Plymouth and Sadler's Wells Theatre in October.

A box set of Tony Martin-era albums, Anno Domini 1989–1995, was released on May 31, 2024 and includes remasters of Headless Cross, Tyr and Cross Purposes and a remixed version of Forbidden; each disc of the box set (except Tyr) includes one bonus track.

In February 2025, Ozzy Osbourne announced that the original line-up of Black Sabbath would reform for one final charity show at Villa Park, Birmingham on July 5. Titled Back to the Beginning, it is set to be the final gig for both Osbourne and the group. It will be Black Sabbath's first concert in eight years and will also mark the first time in twenty years that the original line-up of the band has performed together. Proceeds from the show are going to support Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice.

Tom Morello was announced as the show's musical director. Osbourne said, "I'm not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What's the fucking point in that? I'm not going up there in a fucking wheelchair." In addition to a solo performance by Osbourne, the supporting acts for the show will be Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Halestorm, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons, and it will include "additional performances from" Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Slash, David Draiman, Sammy Hagar, Fred Durst, former Judas Priest guitarist K. K. Downing, and three former members of Osbourne's solo band (Rudy Sarzo, Jake E. Lee and Mike Bordin).

Black Sabbath are a Heavy metal band. The band have also been cited as a key influence on genres including Stoner rock, Grunge, Doom metal, and Sludge metal. Early on, Black Sabbath were influenced by Cream, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Iron Butterfly.

Although Black Sabbath went through many line-ups and stylistic changes, their core sound focuses on ominous lyrics and doomy music, often making use of the musical tritone, also called the "devil's interval".

While their Ozzy-era albums such as Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) had slight compositional similarities to the Progressive rock genre that was growing in popularity at the time, standing in stark contrast to popular music of the early 1970s, Black Sabbath's dark sound was dismissed by rock critics of the era. Much like many of their early Heavy metal contemporaries, the band received virtually no airplay on rock radio.

As the band's primary songwriter, Tony Iommi wrote the majority of Black Sabbath's music, while Ozzy Osbourne would write vocal melodies, and bassist Geezer Butler would write lyrics. The process was sometimes frustrating for Tony Iommi, who often felt pressured to come up with new material: "If I didn't come up with anything, nobody would do anything." On Iommi's influence, Osbourne later said:

"Black Sabbath never used to write a structured song. There'd be a long intro that would go into a jazz piece, then go all folky... and it worked. Tony Iommi—and I have said this a zillion times—should be up there with the greats. He can pick up a guitar, play a riff, and you say, "He's gotta be out now, he can't top that." Then you come back, and I bet you a billion dollars, he'd come up with a riff that'd knock your fucking socks off."

Beginning with their third album, Master of Reality (1971), Black Sabbath began to feature tuned-down guitars. In 1965, before forming Black Sabbath, guitarist Tony Iommi suffered an accident while working in a sheet metal factory, losing the tips of two fingers on his right hand. Iommi almost gave up music, but was urged by the factory manager to listen to Django Reinhardt, a jazz guitarist who lost the use of two fingers in a fire. Inspired by Reinhardt, Iommi created two thimbles made of plastic and leather to cap off his missing fingertips. The guitarist began using lighter strings, and detuning his guitar, to better grip the strings with his prosthesis. Early in the band's history Iommi experimented with different dropped tunings, including C♯ tuning, or 3 semitones down, before settling on E♭/D♯ tuning, or a half-step down from standard tuning.

Black Sabbath has sold over 70 million records worldwide, including a RIAA-certified 15 million in the U.S. They are one of the most influential Heavy metal bands of all time. The band helped to create the genre with ground-breaking releases such as Paranoid (1970), an album that Rolling Stone magazine said "changed music forever", and called the band "The Beatles of heavy metal". Time magazine called Paranoid "the birthplace of heavy metal", placing it in their Top 100 Albums of All Time.

MTV placed Black Sabbath at number one on their Top Ten Heavy Metal Bands and VH1 placed them at number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. VH1 ranked Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" the number one song on their 40 Greatest Metal Songs countdown. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band number 85 in their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". AllMusic's William Ruhlmann said: "Black Sabbath has been so influential in the development of heavy metal rock music as to be a defining force in the style. The group took the Blues-rock sound of late '60s acts like Cream, Blue Cheer, and Vanilla Fudge to its logical conclusion, slowing the tempo, accentuating the bass,

and emphasising screaming guitar solos and howled vocals full of lyrics expressing mental anguish and macabre fantasies. If their predecessors clearly came out of an electrified blues tradition, Black Sabbath took that tradition in a new direction, and in so doing helped give birth to a musical style that continued to attract millions of fans decades later."

According to Rolling Stone's Holly George-Warren, "Black Sabbath was the heavy metal king of the 1970s." Although initially "despised by rock critics and ignored by radio programmers", the group sold more than 8 million albums by the end of that decade. "The heavy metal band…" marvelled Ronnie James Dio. "A band that didn't apologise for coming to town; it just stepped on buildings when it came to town."

Black Sabbath have influenced many acts including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Slayer, Metallica, Korn, Black Flag, Mayhem, Venom, Guns N' Roses, Body Count, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Disturbed, Death, Opeth, Pantera, Megadeth, Sepultura, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slipknot, Foo Fighters, Testament, Fear Factory, Candlemass, Godsmack, Corrosion of Conformity, and Van Halen.

Two Gold-selling tribute albums have been released, Nativity in Black Volume 1 & 2, including covers by Sepultura, White Zombie, Type O Negative, Faith No More, Machine Head, Primus, System of a Down, and Monster Magnet. Metallica's Lars Ulrich, who, along with bandmate James Hetfield inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, said "Black Sabbath is and always will be synonymous with Heavy metal", while Hetfield said "Sabbath got me started on all that evil-sounding shit, and it's stuck with me.

Tony Iommi is the king of the heavy riff." Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash said of the Paranoid album: "There's just something about that whole record that, when you're a kid and you're turned onto it, it's like a whole different world. It just opens up your mind to another dimension...Paranoid is the whole Sabbath experience; very indicative of what Sabbath meant at the time. Tony's playing style—doesn't matter whether it's off Paranoid or if it's off Heaven and Hell—it's very distinctive." Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian said "I always get the question in every interview I do, 'What are your top five metal albums?' I make it easy for myself and always say the first five Sabbath albums."

Lamb of God's Chris Adler said: "If anybody who plays Heavy metal says that they weren't influenced by Black Sabbath's music, then I think that they're lying to you. I think all heavy metal music was, in some way, influenced by what Black Sabbath did." Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford commented: "They were and still are a groundbreaking band...you can put on the first Black Sabbath album and it still sounds as fresh today as it did 30-odd years ago. And that's because great music has a timeless ability: To me, Sabbath are in the same league as The Beatles or Mozart. They're on the leading edge of something extraordinary." On Black Sabbath's standing, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello states: "The heaviest, scariest, coolest riffs and the apocalyptic Ozzy wail are without peer. You can hear the despair and menace of the working-class Birmingham streets they came from in every kick-ass, evil groove. Their arrival ground hippy, flower-power psychedelia to a pulp and set the standard for all heavy bands to come." Phil Anselmo of Pantera and Down stated that "Only a fool would leave out what Black Sabbath brought to the heavy metal genre".

According to Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses, the main riff of "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses, from Appetite for Destruction (1987), was influenced by the song "Zero the Hero" from the Born Again album. King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque affirmed that the clean guitar part of "Sleepless Nights" from Conspiracy (1989) is inspired by Tony Iommi's playing on Never Say Die!.

In addition to being pioneers of Heavy metal, they also have been credited for laying the foundations for heavy metal subgenres Stoner rock, Sludge metal, Thrash metal, Black metal and Doom metal. Sabbath has had a significant impact on alternative music, being cited as an influence by Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Dinosaur Jr.. Rock critic Simon Reynolds writes that when late 1980s bands such as Tad and The Butthole Surfers "revived Black Sabbath's ponderous riffs, it felt like a daring challenge to the approved canon of underground rock", and that "Sabbath-style heaviness" became the norm after the commercial emergence of Grunge.

Tony Iommi has been credited as the pioneer of lighter gauge guitar strings. The tips of his fingers were severed in a steel factory, and while using thimbles (artificial finger tips) he found that standard guitar strings were too difficult to bend and play. He found that there was only one size of strings available, so after years with Sabbath he had strings custom made.

Culturally, Black Sabbath have exerted a huge influence in both television and literature and have in many cases become synonymous with Heavy metal. In the film Almost Famous, Lester Bangs gives the protagonist an assignment to cover the band with the immortal line: "Give me 500 words on Black Sabbath". Contemporary music and arts publication Trebuchet Magazine has put this to practice by asking all new writers to write a short piece (500 words) on Black Sabbath as a means of proving their creativity and voice on a well documented subject.

Black Sabbath (1970)

Paranoid (1970)

Master of Reality (1971)

Vol. 4 (1972)

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

Sabotage (1975)

Technical Ecstasy (1976)

Never Say Die! (1978)

Heaven and Hell (1980)

Live at Last (1980)

Mob Rules (1981)

Live Evil (1983)