10 Bands That Started Hard Rock
3. Black Sabbath
Hard rock since its beginning has always had a certain level of thrill to it. Whether you were even a fan of some of the more exhilarating parts of the genre or not, the sheer volume behind a cranked amplifier was the kind of thing that moved that extra something in your gut the first time you heard hard rock music. But what if you took that same kind of energy and directed it towards something truly disturbing? Enter: Black Sabbath.
As much as Sabbath get heralded as the first proper metal band, Sabbath themselves always maintained their credibility as a heavy rock band at the end of the day, and its not hard to see why. Compared to the more straight ahead metal of Judas Priest, Sabbath actually had more in common with the psychedelic bands of the day like Cream, albeit with the macabre tone turned all the way up.
When you listen to the crux of Sabbath tunes, their subtle manipulations of everything from jazz to classical pieces feels absolutely earth shattering whenever they come on, as Tony Iommi's riffs seep into your brain and put you in a dark seance from the moment they start playing. Even though rock could be fun at times, this is where the rock and roll song met the genre of horror.