The 500 - #131 - Paranoid - Black Sabbath

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #131
Album Title: Paranoid
Artist: Black Sabbath
Genre: Heavy Metal
Recorded: Regent Sound and Island Studios, London, U.K.
Released: September, 1970
My age at release: 5
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #139, dropping 8 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: War Pigs/Luke's Wall

In early 1979, Black Sabbath (vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward) retreated to a sprawling Bel Air mansion in Los Angeles to write their ninth studio album. It was a disaster.

Sabbath were coming off a grueling seven-month world tour supporting Never Say Die!, an album that had received a lukewarm response from critics and fans alike. Heavy drinking and drug use had taken a toll on the band, and the effects were becoming increasingly visible. On stage, the once-dominant pioneers of heavy metal appeared tired and worn down, a stark contrast to the rising wave of youthful, high-energy rock acts, such as Van Halen, AC/DC, and Def Leppard, who were injecting fresh vitality into the genre.

Never Say Die! Black Sabbath's eighth studio record.

The Bel Air sessions quickly unraveled. The band’s substance abuse continued unabated but, according to guitarist Iommi, "Ozzy was on a different level.” While the group tried to spark creativity through loose jam sessions, Osbourne showed little interest and often refused to sing. Before long, rehearsals were abandoned entirely, replaced by all-night parties and days spent sleeping off hangovers. In Steven Rosen’s 1996 book ,The Story of Black Sabbath, drummer Bill Ward reflected on the chaos: “Alcohol was definitely one of the most damaging things to Black Sabbath. We were destined to destroy each other. The band was toxic -- very toxic.” Eventually, the situation became untenable and the decision was made to fire Osbourne and search for a new vocalist.

About the same time,I began my Black Sabbath fandom. A friend loaned me his copy of Sabotage, the band’s sixth album, which I smuggled home under a ski jacket. I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away. That moment came a few months later, in April,1980, when Sabbath released Heaven and Hell. This was the record they had hoped to create during those chaotic Bel Air sessions a year earlier, but instead it was recorded in Miami with a new voice at the helm. Ronnie James Dio was a powerhouse American metal singer who previously fronted the rock groups Elf and Rainbow. The result was a revitalized sound that marked a bold new chapter for the band. I purchased a copy on cassette shortly after its release and wore it down with repeated plays that summer. It is still one of my favourite Sabbath records.

Black Sabbath (1980), (l-r) Bill Ward, Ronnie James Dio, Tony 
Iommi and Geezer Butler.

There was a silver lining for fans like me when the original Black Sabbath lineup collapsed...it meant more music. In the autumn of 1980, Ozzy Osbourne released his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz. The Birmingham-born singer had managed to regain enough focus to assemble a team of gifted musicians and songwriters, recording the album in Monmouth, Wales. The result was a stunning record that would later be ranked #9 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2017 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. For fans, the breakup was almost a bonus, while Sabbath forged ahead with Ronnie James Dio on Heaven and Hell, Ozzy launched a new era of his own, giving listeners twice the material to celebrate. From my perspective, immune to the events that led to it, the break-up of Sabbath was a net positive.

Blizzard Of Ozz, the debut record from Ozzy Osbourne.

Similar instances of the so-called "Split Effect" or "Creative Divergence" that affected other bands have resulted in some of my favourite music:

• Peter Gabriel’s exit from Genesis turned out to be a creative windfall for fans, as both camps went on to release multiple acclaimed records.
• When Fish (born Derek Dick) parted ways with neo-prog band Marillion in 1988, fans were treated to a creative explosion from both sides. Marillion pressed forward with a new vocalist, Steve Hogarth, while Fish had a successful solo career.
• The departure of David Lee Roth from Van Halen in 1985 was another net positive for me. Roth launched a flamboyant solo career, while Van Halen reinvented themselves with Sammy Hagar at the mic. The split gave listeners two distinct flavors of hard rock. You could opt for Roth’s swaggering, high-energy showmanship or Van Halen’s more polished, melodic approach under Hagar. I chose to enjoy both the same way a kid scoops two different flavours of ice cream on a single waffle cone

The two lead singers with Van Halen in the 70s' & 80s. 
David Lee Roth (left) and Sammy Hagar.

Black Sabbath’s Paranoid hit shelves in September, 1970, just seven months after their self-titled debut, a testament to the band’s creative momentum at the time. It was a period of focus and productivity. Their rehearsals were tight and studio time was used efficiently.

As an up-and-coming act, their excesses hadn’t yet derailed their creative process. In fact, the album’s iconic title track was famously written and recorded in about two hours. Originally, the record was set to be called War Pigs, after its blistering opening track, a scathing critique of the Vietnam War, which was raging at the time. Ultimately, the band opted for Paranoid, a name that would become synonymous with heavy metal history. That hastily written track would become the group's only Top Ten single. Clearly, they were firing on all cylinders in 1970.

1976 reissue of Paranoid single on picture disc.

Ronnie James Dio continued as Black Sabbath’s frontman for three records, bringing a new lyrical depth and operatic power to the band. At the same time, Dio launched a stellar solo career. For fans like me, the ’80s felt like triple the output -- Sabbath, Ozzy, and Dio records seemingly dropping every few months.

Ronnie James Dio second studio record -- Last In Line (1984).

During its 55-year history, Black Sabbath recruited several other singers, including former Deep Purple legends Ian Gillan and later Glenn Hughes. Each lineup brought its own flavour, from Gillan’s raw, blues tinged energy on Born Again to Hughes’ soulful touch on Seventh Star. Granted, many will argue that Seventh Star was a Sabbath record in name only because Tony Iommi was the last of the original members to feature on it. Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne carved out a wildly successful solo career, yet he never fully severed ties with Sabbath, reuniting for tours and albums that kept the early magic alive.

Seventh Star album jacket.

The most recent, and final, reunion came this past summer with the Back to the Beginning concert, a celebration of Sabbath’s legacy that closed a monumental chapter in rock history. The 10-hour benefit show, held at the Villa Park Football Stadium in the band's hometown of Birmingham, featured a who's who of rock legends performing the songs of Ozzy and Sabbath.

Ozzy, battling Parkinson’s and unable to walk, gave everything he had in a performance that was both triumphant and bittersweet. Just weeks later, the world mourned his passing, a loss that underscored how deeply his voice and presence shaped heavy metal. Black Sabbath began with Ozzy, and though others carried the torch brilliantly, it ended with him. A fitting tribute to the powerhouse of heavy metal.

Sabbath's final performance in Birmingham, July 5, 2025.

The 500 - #159 - Alive - KISS

 I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #159

Album Title: Alive

Artist: KISS

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Recorded: 4 concert venues - Detroit, Cleveland, Davenport and Wildwood

Released: September, 1975

My age at release: 10, my guest blogger was 8

How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #305, dropping 146 spots

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Nothing To Lose

I am delighted to welcome back Glen “Archie” Gamble as a guest writer for this album. “Arch”, as he is affectionately known in his wide circle of London, Ontario friends, is a drummer, writer, world traveler and vlogger (The Gamble Ramble). He helped me out with a guest post for the first Van Halen album (#415 on The 500) way back in July, 2020. Although he is best known for his tenure with Canadian rock band Helix, he has also played with Buffalo Brothers and The Joys. However, salient to this week’s guest writing duties, he spent several years as the drummer with the KISS tribute band Alive. In that capacity, he has met and played with the original members of KISS and I knew he would have a fantastic, insider's perspective on this record. Here’s Arch!!

It was Christmas season, 1976. I know this because I was with my mother, Xmas shopping in the department store K-mart. And even though I was only eight years old, I saw something that changed my life…The Alive record from the New York rock band KISS.

KISS (l-r) Ace Frehley (guitar), Gene Simmons (bass/vocals), Peter Criss
(drums/vocals) and Paul Stanley (guitar/vocals)

Trust me, I know how silly that sounds coming from an eight-year-old. But it was legit. And very, very real. In fact, I would venture a guess, and say that the impact of the KISS Alive album had just as much to do with changing the course of my life, as it did with changing the lives of the Kiss band members themselves.

Pretty big statement, right? But it’s one I stand by. The reason being that, on my end, this album started my pilgrimage toward a love of rock ‘n’ roll. But foremost, it was the album that saved KISS’ career; it got them out of debt with the record company, saved their record deal and boosted the earnings they made from live shows. As a matter of fact the proceeds from the sales of Alive also kept their record label Casablanca Records, from going under. This album came along at exactly when it was needed. Not just for the band, but for the music industry. In a tepid pool of luke warm ‘soft rock’, including Eagles, Carly Simon and James Taylor, during the mid-seventies, KISS Alive was like a sonic shotgun blast to the face. It also helped start a trend of double live album releases that continues to this day.

KISS were known for their elaborate stage shows.

There were no soft ballads about sleeping with a girl in the desert; instead there were anthems about taking a girl backstage to C’Mon And Love Me. And this is THE album that set me on the path of becoming a musician. So not only did it incredibly alter the lives of KISS themselves, it heavily affected mine as well. I couldn’t believe the incredible energy that was pouring from the vinyl when my big brother put it on. While he enjoyed it, I was absolutely captivated. I used to come into his room and ask to listen to it. until eventually, it became mine.

A young Glen "Archie" Gamble, flanked by his brothers
 John (left) & Jim

I can recall, listening to the vinyl, sitting across like it on the floor with my headphones on, curly cable and all. And a great thing about the album was the booklet that came with it. I remember reading through the book while listening to the music and staring at these four crazy characters. Were they even human? Hey, I was eight, but it seemed to me that they had captured everything that would be exciting to a kid; hard driving, loud rock ‘n’ roll, with over-the-top theatrics and an amazing show. I was hooked.

Centerfold from the KISS Alive booklet.

From that moment on, KISS became MY thing. My brother, as I said, liked them but wasn’t a huge fan. But by the time I came to pick up the newest album, Destroyer, I was in-hook line and sinker. And God bless my parents, it was an obsession that they got behind. This was actually before I even started drumming. My mom would take me to the record store in the mall, and buy me copies of older KISS albums, and even allow me to hang posters in my room. In fact, around this time, we moved into our first brand new home in the suburbs. I got my very own bedroom for the first time, and went absolutely insane, covering the walls, and I mean every inch, with KISS posters, magazine spreads, newspaper articles, etc., etc., etc. My poor mother; she had just decorated this entire house; wallpaper, wood paneling, new carpet, and more. And I turned it into a rock ‘n’ roll den of sin. Well, as much as an eight-year-old can.

A young Glen Gamble in his KISS shirt.

And of course, seeing this insane cat like character on the drums, something called Peter Criss, also changed my life. Although I would later have questionable interactions with the human man himself, the God like character that was pictured on the album covers blew me away. And it was a perfect persona for him: his rhythm’s fit perfectly; primal, jungle, and just plain ferocious. And once again, I was hooked.

Peter Criss behind the drums (1975).

“Mom, can I have a drum set?”

My parents were very supportive, but cautious, about this new out of the blue hobby. Being a bit of a strange child with no interest in sports or academia. I think they were just happy to see me interested in something. Not to mention, their marriage started to go bad around this time and there was a lot of fighting. And I mean a lot. I think indulging me with Kiss and drums was a way to placate me and sort of apologize for the violence at home.

At any rate, my parents picked me up a toy drum kit from the Sears catalog. You know the type, paper drum heads, and tin cymbals. It didn’t matter, I was in heaven! My very own drum set. It’s not for me to say, as my memory is not THAT good, but people tell me that I took to it straight away. I could actually play something that resembled ACTUAL rhythms. Very quickly, I went through this drum kit, both figuratively and literally; the drum heads were actual thick paper. And you know that didn’t last long with a young rock ‘n’ roll roller, full of energy, right?

1975 Sears Catalogue Instruments.

So my parents took the next step up and got me another drum kit, from Sears again, but this one with plastic heads. By plastic, I don’t mean the plastic used in a real drumhead (which is mylar) I mean, just a thick sort of sheet plastic. Regardless, it was a step up, and I was once again immeasurably excited. And for toys they actually sounded good. They helped me learn my way around a kit, create muscle memory, and learn how to function with my hands and feet at the same time. The next step was courtesy of my big brother Jim, One day, we visited a young rock roller in our new neighborhood who played guitar, bass and drums and loved Kiss as fanatically as I did. His name was Doug Rouse -and we are friends to this day. He’s one of the people who helped chart the course of my life. And he had a real drum set; far from fancy, but real. It was manufactured by Silvertone and it was a blue sparkle kit with old, beaten cymbals. Regardless, I was spellbound.

The blue sparkle Silvertone kit from Doug Rouse.

My brother Jim, and I watched him play for a little while and then Jim asked “can Glen give them a try? He plays, too? While I was definitely appreciative of my big brother's support, I was also scared.-this would be the first time I’ve ever played outside of the home, and certainly never in front of anyone other than my family! Well, as family legend tells it, I sat down and began to play a steady four-four rock ‘n’ roll beat, amazing both my brother and Doug . Apparently I had picked up how to play from records, television and magazines: how to use the high hat, which my drum set at home didn’t have. I can’t honestly recall what happened, but Doug saw how much it meant to me and sold the drums to my brother Jim for $25.

Glen (left) and his brother Jim (2016).

That was it, I was in. And I mean for life. A progression of neighbourhood bands followed, and on a steady basis, better drum kits. Next thing you know, I was a 15 year-old playing in nightclubs. And by 17 I was playing full-time weekends. By 18, I took off to start touring full-time, the path of my destiny. There were cover bands in Canada that could work 52 weeks a year across the country. And that’s what I did for the next 4 or 5 years. Eventually, one of those cover bands, Nasty Klass, settled in London, Ontario. We eventually came off the road from full time work, as we decided to get serious about writing music and getting a record deal. We were just young musicians, scrambling for the next meal and rent. But we MEANT it.

Glen (left) with the other members of Nasty Klass (late 80s).

And along comes Alive … this time, the band. You see, there were rumours of an amazing, world class KISS tribute band that existed in our town of London Ontario. At this point, I hadn’t met these guys yet, but would see them at our shows. They were hard to miss, trust me. Dressed in black, leather, like a hand, they stood out. And all young musicians, they would go out and check out the “competition“. I can clearly recall the first time they came to see us at the local bar, Mingle’s; there were four giant halos of curly black hair back by the soundboard. The lighting was such that their faces were washed out, and it was very mysterious. In fact, it was like being visited by the real KISS….

Alive promotional poster, prior to Glen joining.

After that show that night, I talked to my good friend Tom Kouzinous (R.I.P.) who was friends with that band, and also the cousin of Alive’s “Gene Simmons” -- Spiro Papadatos. After the show, he explained to me that it was his cousin’s band we saw standing by the soundboard and that they were very impressed. Tom later explained to me that their drummer was leaving, and that they were looking for someone new. Initially, I didn’t even entertain the idea of joining, as we were so full-time in our pursuit of rock ‘n’ roll glory, I had no time. However, I did tell Tom that I knew the entire Alive album if they ever wanted to jam while searching for a drummer, just to keep from getting rusty.

Alive - Kiss Tribute Band - in full regalia.

And then one day, the call came -asking me if I wanted to jam sometime. I said yes if we set a date. When I arrived at the house of brothers Steve and Dean Georgakopoulos, I was floored; in their basement rec room, they had set up two Marshall full stacks, two Ampeg bass cabinets and a full-size Peter Criss drum set. The classic vintage equipment Kiss set up. And as I was soon to learn, they also played at 70’s vintage Kiss volume! In fact, I had to stop them as we set up and balanced sounds, and ask them to turn it down. I said ‘guys, no one rehearses this volume’ to which they replied “Kiss does!” And while I couldn’t really argue with that, I did have to let them know that being able to hear each other was paramount, otherwise we would never get better as a band… and I confess, having seen this amazing set up, I was already thinking of myself as part of it. I was IN.

Alive, with Glen in the Peter Criss regalia.

We started with the first song on Alive, Deuce, and the chainsaw guitars roared to life. I kicked in with that famous drum film, and ‘it’ was there right from the start; we locked in and gelled from the get-go. In fact, that afternoon we played the entire KISS Alive album. From side one to side four. Afterwards, we were all buzzing with adrenaline, and the guys asked me the obvious question: “would you like to play some shows with us?” I, of course, said yes, barring any complaints from my present band members. Thankfully, once I explained to my band that they would come first, they gave me their blessing. They saw how excited I was, and they were all KISS fans, themselves. Not to mention, they knew that we all needed to make money anyway we could.

A promotional flyer for Montreal bar, La Brique 
where Alive played frequently.

And off it went … several years of travel and adventure, with three of the best friends I ever had. Not only were they an amazing live KISS tribute band, they were also really great people. All three members were from immigrant Greek families, who took me in, fed me and treated me as one of their own. And after joining them, I found out about the real fanatical KISS Army world. I mean, I was considered a ‘super fan’ by most people I knew, but the circles they travelled in were full of diehard fans that knew excruciating KISS minutia and history. This really WAS a whole new ball game.

The members of Alive, out of make-up, posing with 
Ace Frehley of KISS.

Part of playing with Alive meant that we played fan KISS conventions, and fan gatherings. Which were always amazing. You could walk around and look at rare videos, as well as purchase them. You could also buy bootleg recordings, and fans were trading/selling rare KISS merchandise, and actual KISS owned costume pieces, guitars and more. It was like being in KISS heaven. We played a lot of theatres and clubs, college campuses, and outdoor shows. It was definitely a step up from what I was used to playing club-wise. Alive played a lot of the A Circuit rooms (top theatres) across Canada and America.

And then the call came …

We were officially invited to join the real KISS on their 1995 worldwide convention tour. Yes, THE real KISS. It was unbelievable; they had constructed a day for the fans that travelled around North America and Australia. They contacted the best vendors to appear as well as a few tribute bands. And Alive was asked to do more shows than any of the other tribute bands, something I’m proud of to this day. And at all these conventions, KISS brought out the big guns; they dug into their warehouse and pulled out rare costume pieces, vintage guitars, and drums, and stage pieces as well, for the fan to look at in person. The tickets were, an unheard of (at that time), $100 but more than worth it. It was an all day multimedia, immersive KISS Experience. It was also one of the best tours I’ve ever been on. We got to hang out and travel with KISS, as well as spend a lot of after-show social hours with them. It was truly an incredible experience. A super-fans dream came true-and true value for money for the punters that attended.

Looking back, I have to say that it’s funny: with the amazing buzz and response to the look back to their history, I predicted that KISS were going to get back together with the original lineup and put the makeup back on. Everyone scoffed at my suggestion, saying “they hate each other“ etc., but I could see it. By 1995 their non-make up career had hit, pardon the pun, “rock-bottom”. It was all over but the shouting and they had nowhere else to go. So they reunited with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, put the makeup back on and started selling out stadiums…again.

Glen with KISS guitarits/singer Paul Stanley.

All I can say is that I was so happy to be there and take part in living my fan dream. And of course, our close proximity to KISS and their management ended up working out great for us, especially for Spiro. He ended up working for KISS for more than 10 years. And we, of course, got backstage passes and great tickets for future KISS reunion shows. And just think, all this started in 1976 when I picked up a four sided album called Alive at Kmart… what a ride it’s been. And what an adventure, one that still continues to this day. I am still a diehard, classic KISS fan and always will be (even if we did find out years later that much of Alive was re-recorded in the studio😂).

Glen performing with Alive (1990s).

And to quote the masters themselves, from the very last words of the classic Alive album…


Kiss Loves You…ROCK AND ROLLLLLL!!!

The 500 - #167 - Master Of Puppets - Metallica

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #167
Album Title: Master Of Puppets

Artist: Metallica

Genre: Thrash Metal

Recorded: Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark

Released: March, 1986

My age at release: 20
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #97, rising 70 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Master of Puppets

In the summer of 2024, I penned a lengthy post about Metallica's Black Album (#255 on The 500) in which I sketched out a brief history of heavy metal -- from its founding in late-’60s heavy blues, through its commercially successful glam rock phase in the ‘80s and into the arrival of Metallica in 1984.

In that post, I recalled my introduction to Metallica in 1987 when I was working at Fluffy's Pizza with a devoted headbanger named James Fast. James worked in the kitchen and, at first, I was a delivery driver. We both worked late into the night, especially on weekends, often finishing our shifts at 3:00 a.m. Those long hours were ballasted by caffeine, cigarettes and music. The stereo system in my car (a 1981 Chevette) was in overdrive, and James had his portable cassette player blasting away at the back of the kitchen.

We quickly connected over a shared love of Rush, Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Judas Priest; however, my tastes skewed toward more progressive rock sounds (Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Marillion, Yes) and James liked his sound louder and heavier. Among his favourite bands were the Danish Black Metal band Mercyful Fate and Metallica.

Metallica in 1987 (l-r) Kirk Hammett (lead guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums),
Jason Newsted (bass) and James Hetfield (guitar, vocals).

James tried hard to make me a Metallica fan, sharing stories of their epic performances and regularly sharing cassette tapes of their albums. These included their most recent work, Master Of Puppets, which I could listen to  during deliveries. I didn't mind the music. The songs were high energy and aggressive and that helped keep me awake as I drove around, squinting for street names and house numbers during late night deliveries. In a time before Satellite navigation and on-screen mapping apps like Waze, I relied on a well-worn map that I kept stuffed in the glove compartment. It had been folded and unfolded so many times it was hard to read the street names obscured in the creases.

The approximate delivery area I served, with Fluffy's Pizza Springbank located
on the map with a red star.

Despite James' best efforts, Metallica didn't stick – just another band that I "didn't mind" but too indifferent to commit time or money. Eventually, though, I was won over and Metallica songs are now scattered through my workout playlists.

I have to give Metallica and James their due. Master Of Puppets is an important record and considered by fans and music critics to be a highwater mark for Thrash Metal -- hailed for its strong lyrics, technical excellence and influence on the genre. The guitar riffs are relentless and the lyrics tap perfectly into teen-age anger, conspiratorial curiosity, rebellion and angst.

A 500 Podcast guest and Metallica fan, Joe Manganiello, aptly described the record as containing "muscular poetry", touching on themes of addiction, anti-war, religious corruption and corporate exploitation. It also delivered  a powerful instrumental inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror series, The Call of Cthulhu. In view of those laudatory comments I wonder why the teen-age version of me didn't like the record more.

Cthulhu (The Old One) creature from H.P. Lovecraft's mythos.

Perhaps I'll check in again with my friend "Jimmy Quick", as I like to call him. We have remained in touch over these past 40 years. He works as a sound engineer on television productions and is still a fan of Metallica. I'll have to let him know his late night, oven-side persuasions finally worked.

The 500 - #243 - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #243
Album Title: Black Sabbath
Artist: Black Sabbath
Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Recorded: Regent Sound, London, U.K.

Released: February, 1970
My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #255, dropping 112 spots since 2012
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Wasp/Behind The Wall Of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B.

The debut record from Black Sabbath is one that I first heard in high school in the early ‘80s. More specifically, while attending basement parties in London, Ontario. Listening to it in its entirety this week transported me back to those heady days of my youth. I was going to use the adjective "carefree" to describe that time in my life because, in retrospect, it was. However, back then, it didn't always feel that way. Awash in surging testosterone, I, like many teens, could run the gamut of emotions on any given day. Psychologists have dubbed this turbulent affliction as a period of "emotional overstatement." It can also occur during menopause or andropause. However, as adults, we are often better equipped to deal with it -- at least I think I am. I touched on my experiences with andropause in a 2016 post I called "Twitter and the lesson that makes me cry".

In September, 2022, I wrote about Black Sabbath when the group’s third record, Masters Of Reality, appeared on The 500 list at position #300. I will write about them again in November, 2025, when their best-selling record, Paranoid, arrives in position #131. It is another record that got plenty of plays in those smoke-filled, basement bars of my youth. As my wife said when we were listening to Black Sabbath this week: "When I hear this record, I can actually smell those wood-paneled, basement parties -- that mix of cigarette and marijuana smoke blended with stale beer and a hint of damp, musty mildew." Indeed, the sense of smell, or olfaction, is our most primary sense and one that can trigger powerful memories. How fascinating that music can trigger olfactory recollections.

An online shot of an 80s basement party.

The debut record by Black Sabbath is considered the first in the heavy metal genre. However, their sound had its genesis in a tale of tragedy and perseverance. Before becoming a professional musician, 17-year-old guitarist Tony Iommi made his living working at a steel mill in his hometown of Birmingham, England. On his last day of work, hours before a scheduled departure with his first band, The Birds And The Bees, on a tour of Germany, Iommi came home for lunch and briefly considered skipping the afternoon shift. His mother encouraged him to return to the factory, saying: "You have to finish a job properly."

Iommi as a teenager.

When he returned to the mill, he learned that another worker, who operated a guillotine-style machine on the assembly line, had not shown up. Iommi replaced him. In a 2020 interview, the left-handed guitarist recalled what happened next, saying:

"They said, 'You've got to go on the machine yourself because there's nobody else to do it'. So, as I'm pushing the metal through the press, the machine came down on my hand, and in the action of pulling my hand back quick, I pulled the ends of my fingers off."

As fate would have it, the fingertips were on his right hand, the one he used on the guitar fretboard to make chords while his right hand strummed and picked the strings. When the wounds had healed, Iommi struggled to play through the pain and even considered switching to play right-handed. He was frustrated and thought of quitting music altogether.

However, the manager of the  factory urged Iommi to try something different. The manager purchased him a record by legendary French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Reinhardt had taught himself to play the guitar, masterfully, after losing the use of all but two of his left-hand fingers – the index and ring fingers – in a fire. 

Django Reinhardt and his misshapen hands following
nerve damage resulting from a fire.

Inspired, Iommi fashioned himself thimble-sized fingertips from melted "Fairy Liquid" dish-detergent bottles and pieces of his leather jacket. The homemade prosthetic worked, sort of. He was unable to feel the strings, so he tended to push down on them much harder. Consequently, he was unable to “bend” the strings – an important manipulation to adjust the tone. His remedy was to replace the heavy gauge strings with lighter ones from a banjo. He also loosened the strings, lowering the guitar tone three semitones down from standard guitar tuning.

Iommi's hands, including the prosthetic fingertips, on his guitar fretboard.

Additionally, Iommi was forced to slow down his finger movements to prevent the tips from coming off, so he started to make the most of chord shapes and the sound created by the changes to his strings. The result was a bigger, weightier and darker sound -- and a heavy metal guitar legend was born.

Black Sabbath in 1970, (l-r) Geezer Butler, Iommi, Bill Ward
and Ozzy Osbourne.

I've thought about Iommi's story often since learning about it many years ago. It reminds me that, sometimes, persevering through hardship can lead to something better.

There was the time I was fired from my bartending job at East Side Mario's Restaurant in Oakville, Ontario. I was broke and, at 27, forced to move back home with my parents. It was a terrible time when I felt at my lowest. However, my financial situation forced me to quit smoking and I eventually got a much better job at Kelsey's Restaurant where I met one of my best friends (and frequent guest blogger), Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan. I also decided to go back to school to pursue a second degree and that led me to Teacher's College and to a career that I still love.

So, take a page from the book of Iommi -- you've got to finish a job properly.