LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts) When Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward formed
Black Sabbath in 1969 , they created a signature sound that set the blueprint for heavy music and influenced generations of disciples for years to come. For the first time, the full catalog from the original
Black Sabbath lineup is now available digitally in the U.S . and has been mastered specifically for iTunes , ensuring the delivery of the music to listeners with increased audio fidelity, more closely replicating what the artists, recording engineers, and producers intended. Available exclusively on the iTunes Store worldwide (www.iTunes.com/BlackSabbath ), fans now have the ability to download all albums in one newly created bundle (THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS 1970-1978), eight legendary studio albums, two classic compilations, or simply purchase each song individually.
"It's about f**king time the first eight
Black Sabbath albums were made available on iTunes in the U.S.," said Ozzy Osbourne.
"Great news, been a long time trying to explain to fans why the music wasn't available," Tony Iommi commented.
"It's going to be great to finally have the catalogue accessible on iTunes," Geezer Butler notes.
BLACK SABBATH: THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS 1970-1978 features the band's collected studio works for Warner Bros. Records from the 1970's , including their iconic eponymous debut (1970), the multi-platinum landmark Paranoid (1970), the platinum albums Master Of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), and the gold-certified Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976), and Never Say Die! (1978) . Also available is their classic 1976 compilation We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll as well as 2006's Greatest Hits 1970-1978 , which was released in connection with their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Following wildly successful shows in North and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe,
Black Sabbath will kick off another North American tour with dates starting March 31 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY . The trek will hit ten cities in Canada , including stops in Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton , before wrapping April 26 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA . These dates will be part of the band's final shows of their 2013-2014 world tour in support of their first studio album in 35 years , 13 , which entered the charts at #1 in 13 countries (including their first #1 in the U.S.). Another run of European festivals and headlining shows will follow this summer.
First formed in Birmingham, England,
Black Sabbath's doom-laden sound pioneered a new kind of heavy rock music, a sound that would later influence hundreds of other bands. Many consider
Black Sabbath to be the godfathers of heavy metal, but Sabbath were capable of surprising their fans with songs that showed other facets of their skills besides darkness and monstrous decibels. Thirty years after their initial impact, guitarists are still stunned by Tony Iommi's jaw-dropping riffs, Geezer Butler's swooping bass lines, and Bill Ward's thunderous drums. And, of course, in
Ozzy Osbourne the band had one of the most magnetic and unpredictable front men ever in rock, with a maniacal voice like few others before or since.
BLACK SABBATH Titles now available at iTunes: www.itunes.com/BlackSabbath
Black Sabbath (1970)
Paranoid (1970)
Master Of Reality (1971)
Vol. 4 (1972)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Sabotage (1975)
Technical Ecstasy (1976)
We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll (1976)
Never Say Die! (1978)
Greatest Hits 1970-1978 (2006)
The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978 (2014)
