10 Bands That Changed Rock And Roll

As the '60s came to a close, rock was suddenly something much more serious than it was at the start. Though the British Invasion tended to keep things bright and sunshiny, the Vietnam War was soundtracked by songs that had a lot harsher stance on the world, with the Doors and Jimi Hendrix dominating the cultural lexicon. Those were just the warm ups though. Black Sabbath is where things really started to take a turn.

Born out of the English blues boom of the late '60s, Sabbath originally was going to be a blues act in the vein of Cream before hitting on the idea to make songs that could send shivers up your spine. Starting from their first record onward, Tony Iommi turned in some of the most menacing riffs ever conceived, while Ozzy Osbourne brought a dark aura to the songs with lyrics about everything from Satan to witchcraft and dark magic.

Aside from the actual music, this was the genesis of what became known as metal, with everyone from Metallica to Van Halen citing Sabbath as an early influence. Even though Judas Priest might be the first band to proclaim themselves as metal, this is the kind of darkness that planted the seed in every child's brain that there was something heavier out there. You may claim to have written something heavy, but there's absolutely no dark riff that you can play that Tony Iommi doesn't already have trademarked.