5 Bands Who Improved After Replacing Their Singer (And 5 Who Didn't)
8. Became Worse - Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath's classic lineup lasted only ten years, but their influence on heavy metal is still heard in today's bands. Formed in 1968, Black Sabbath consisted of drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi, and front man Ozzy Osbourne. Leaning into darker occult themes and down-tuning their instruments, Sabbath shocked the world with their evil, but very listenable, brand of hard rock.
Iconic songs like Iron Man, Paranoid and War Pigs still receive regular radio play and have been licensed scads of times. One decade and eight albums into their run, Iommi fired Ozzy due to the frequency and intensity of the singer's substance abuse.
It was actually Ozzy's future wife Sharon who recommended Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio for the job. Dio had legit hard rock credibility and, to his credit, gave a great version of Ronnie James Dio while in Black Sabbath.
Sabbath never reached the same heights that they did with the original lineup. Even drummer Bill Ward had stated "It was intolerable for me to get on the stage without Ozzy". The Dio era may not have been intolerable...but it wasn't Ozzy.