50 years ago there were 4 guys (Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler) from Birmingham who had a dream – and that dream became reality. A thunderclap, a bell sounds, a well-known riff sounds – from the song “Black Sabbath”. A band history that started somewhere in the middle of England…… Read more about Rock’n’Roll music here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/

Four naïve guys become one of the biggest bands on planet earth with dark music. They founded the genre of heavy metal and rewrote the history of rock music.

The most famous son of the city of Birmingham frontman Ozzy Osbourne ” Prince of Darkness” who embodies the face of the band for almost 50 years and gave the word “Heavy” a whole new meaning. Ozzy is not only a dazzling figure as the band’s frontman, but is also more than successful solo.

After all, Black Sabbath have co-founded the genre of Heavy Metal in the following decades and they can proudly be called the forefathers of Metal. Hardly any other band shaped rock history with so many excesses for almost 5 decades. With their dark, aggressive sound, melancholic elements, excessive guitar solos and thunderous riffs, they heralded a new era, which was later often copied by many bands. The group recorded their debut album Black Sabbath in just twelve hours – it was released in the UK on Friday the 13th in 1970. The album is still considered a milestone in rock history today, and has had a lasting influence and inspiration on many successful bands.

Ozzy: “It was amazing how quickly cocaine took control of our lives.” After two tired albums and chaotic tours, he left the band in 1979. Successor Ronnie James Dio gives the band new momentum for a short time, but in the following years the staff rotates through Black Sabbath – the only constant remains the artistic head Tony Iommi.

With their debut single “Paranoid” from the album of the same name, the band succeeded in creating a classic, which is still today a recognition and anthem for every fan of rock music. Black Sabbath’s most successful record in terms of sales was “Paranoid*”, which hit the record stores in 1970. It reached the top of the charts in Great Britain and quadruple platinum in the USA. To date, about four million copies of the album have been sold worldwide.

Over the years, the band’s line-up has been re-formed several times, but the triumphal procession around Black Sabbath has not come to an end. In 2006 they finally manage to be accepted into the HALL of FAME. And in 2008 the unbelievable finally takes shape again: Ozzy is back on the scene… Five decades later the band still sounds monumental, powerful, mysterious and as dark as on the first day and even the devil bows his head before so much gloom and darkness.

Grey Daze, the first band of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington

Launched her first real album almost a month ago. After the tragic suicide of Chester, the idea of a joint album lay fallow. In the year of his death the project was already planned. The first reunion show was announced and it could have been so beautiful, but unfortunately – as we all know – it turned out quite differently.

First of all I have to say: “Amends” is an emotional rollercoaster ride for me. It also starts directly with the opener Sickness. The instruments, which have all been re-recorded, fit together perfectly with the old Chester soundtracks. The sound is unpleasantly oppressive in a nice way and especially the dominant bass lines burn themselves into the ear canals quickly. Apart from that you can’t say anything new about the vocals. Chester’s voice just goes through your marrow and leg and gives you goose bumps at its best.

The following Sometimes has a folky intro and after the rather calm introduction it goes into a harder and faster direction, whereby the calm aspects are always remembered. Handkerchiefs out is the motto for me on the first single What’s In The Eye. With a very grungy sound, reminiscent of Alice In Chains, and the painful vocals of Chester, the music not only presses my heart but also my tears. After the innumerable voices I have heard so far, not many have succeeded in evoking such emotions in me.

With The Syndrome, my highlight is already hitting the screen immediately afterwards. Like the rest, The Syndrome benefits a lot from the redesign. The original, known as The Down Syndrome, was already strong, but especially the electronic elements at the beginning and the echo to Chester’s voice give the song a good portion of intensity. Also instrumentally again absolutely on point and simply frontally into the pit of your stomach.

Every moment on “Amends” goes straight to the heart without question, but the most special one is certainly in Soul Song. Here Chester’s son Jamie Bennington contributed backing vocals. The lyrics alone move to tears, in today’s context this is an even more intense experience. Musically packaged as a mid tempo ballad, with a focus on Chester and Jamie’s vocals, and I’m inclined to say that Chester’s work, which he did here before his time with Linkin Park, is probably the most emotional of all his works. It’s hard for me to put into words what it is that gets me so carried away here. But I am sure that some people will understand it after hearing it.

The conclusion of this highly emotional album is the atmospheric ballad Shouting Out, a duet with the singer LP. The absolutely different voices of the two harmonize excellently and form a really beautiful conclusion. In the last moments you hear a message from Chester, spoken on an AB.