Geezer Butler Interview on Black Sabbath as New Genre of Music

Geezer Butler talks about the Black Sabbath‘s early days and who is responsible for the heavy metal genre. The legendary bassist Geezer Butler explains to the band that their creativity on heavy music was “they called us heavy metal” they did with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward.
In 1968, Black Sabbath was founded in Birmingham, England. The band comprised Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, Bill Ward on drums, and the great Ozzy Osbourne as lead vocalist. They also applied the basis for what would become one of the most influential bands in heavy metal history.
Psychedelic rock and power dominated music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. On the other hand, Black Sabbath went in a darker and heavier direction, combining foreboding riffs, haunting lyrics, and forceful vocals that spoke to a new generation. Their self-titled first album, “Black Sabbath,” released in 1970, startled the world and established them as heavy metal pioneers.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” Black Sabbath’s bassist Geezer Butler answered questions like: “How he feels about being considered one of the originators of the heavy metal genre?”
“I got used to it. It’s just a term, like any other. People try and classify all kinds of music – try to put it in a bag or whatever and they come up with all these different things to call it.I think they called us heavy metal because we were a lot heavier than most hard rock bands that were around at the time. We’d gone one step heavier than anybody else, so they couldn’t call it ‘heavy rock’; they called it heavy metal.
It was the first place to have factories — Birmingham was the very first place to have factories in the world, and it was part of the industrial revolution. That’s where all the cars were made and all the ammunition and tanks and everything, Spitfires during World War II were made. It’s always been an industrial part of England. I think that translated into the type of music that we wanted to play.
“When we were on tour in America, I think it was the second tour in the United States. I read this review, and the guy said, ‘This isn’t music. It sounds like a bunch of heavy metal being smashed together.’ Somehow that got over to England, and from then on it was like the sarcastic thing they used to apply to us — ‘this isn’t music, it’s a load of heavy metal being smashed together.’ And for some reason we got stuck with it.”

A clip from yesterdays #trunknation talking with @geezerbutler about the term heavy metal and how @BlackSabbath invented it. Full clips on my IG or FB page. Full interview now on @SIRIUSXM app. @TrunkNationSXM pic.twitter.com/uPrq7QtZ6Z
— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) June 30, 2023
Also, this year Geezer Butler was shared which album worst in Black Sabbath’s discography:
“I will say that ‘Never Say Die!‘ is easily the worst album we did. The reason for that is we tried to manage ourselves and produce the record ourselves. We wanted to do it on our own, but in truth, not one of us had a single clue about what to do.
By that point, we were spending more time with lawyers and in court rather than being in the studio writing. It was just too much pressure on us, and the writing suffered. The thing is, we were trying to progress too much musically. We completely lost the plot, I think. We stopped doing the things that made Sabbath what it was and began going from more melodic stuff, which was a mistake looking back.”
Here are some albums that put Black Sabbath in a legendary status for heavy metal music.
“Paranoid” (1970): After the success of their debut, Black Sabbath released “Paranoid,” which became a major smash. The album included classics including “War Pigs,” “Iron Man,” and the title track “Paranoid.” These songs take their place in the metal scene and helped influence the whole genre for years.
“Master of Reality” (1971): This album shows the band’s ability to generate a darker mood. The album is regarded as one of the best metal albums ever, with classics such as “Sweet Leaf” and “Children of the Grave.”
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (1973): Black Sabbath released this critically praised album with advanced elements. Songs such as “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “Killing Yourself to Live” showcased their musical abilities.