10 Rock Bands That Outshine Their Lead Singer
4. Black Sabbath
There's probably a good subsection of hard rock fans shaking their heads right now at the idea of Black Sabbath outshining their singer. I mean, when you have a guy like Ozzy Osbourne (i.e. The Prince of Darkness) behind the mic, why the hell would you want to focus on anything else? Sabbath is not Ozzy's band though...it belongs to Tony Iommi.
As the years went on, Osbourne found himself increasingly out of step with the rest of the band, oftentimes getting too out of his mind on drugs to really contribute in any capacity. For as many people that thought Sabbath couldn't recover after sacking Osbourne, their decision to recruit Dio proved to be just as amazing, with Heaven and Hell brandishing the same sludgy riffs as before. Whereas Dio's high searing voice was another perfect foil to Sabbath's doomy metal, the real heart of Sabbath just comes down to Tony Iommi.
Ever since their inception, Iommi has always been the godfather of the group, coming up with one demonic riff after another and making it all fit under the mantle of Black Sabbath. Iommi was such an attraction unto himself that even when Ozzy was in the group, Iommi would be seen taking center stage as the real conductor of the metallic symphony. At the end of the day, singers can be a flash in the pan...Iommi is the one that stays there.