In most hard rock circles, Black Sabbath is considered to be the world's first true heavy metal band. Singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward began as a blues band called Earth in Birmingham, England, in the late Sixties, but inspired by horror films and a healthy distaste for the "Flower Power" music that was popular in America at the time, the band's guitars and attitude soon darkened. Diminutive vocal powerhouse Ronnie James Dio replaced Osbourne in 1979, and even after Dio's departure in 1982, the band has soldiered on through a number of other singers and many reunions with both Dio and Osbourne.

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