10 Greatest Metal Bassists Ever
4. Geezer Butler
Black Sabbath were the band that brought heavy metal into the mainstream context nearly single-handedly. The way Tony Iommi's guitar tone meshed with Ozzy's vocal bellows was something being birthed from the deepest depths of Hell. Aside from the great riffs and crazy singer, Geezer Butler was the one to truly bring the doom to Sabbath.
When you listen to any Black Sabbath track, Butler never plays the same thing straight through, as he incorporates blues runs and fantastic bass solos in Sabbath's early material like on "NIB" and "War Pigs." The way that early Sabbath tunes jerk around owes a lot to Butler's roots of playing jazzier material as well.
In addition to laying down thick bass grooves, Butler was also the primary lyricist in the band's early days, which brought a whole different dimension to the band's horrific presentation. And it wasn't like the band didn't take notice. When Butler came in one day playing his interpretation of Holst's "Mars" section of The Planet Suite, Iommi quickly turned the initial riff into the band's self titled horrorshow.
When all the elements of Sabbath are broken down, Geezer Butler's contributions are what truly gave the band that gloomy sound which turned into unadulterated metal.