This Day In Music History: February 13th, 1970 – Black Sabbath changes music forever with self-titled debut

Everything changed when Black Sabbath released their debut album on February 13th, 1970. And I mean everything. Black Sabbath were certainly not alone in developing the heavy metal sound through blues-rock – bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were right beside them – but when Black Sabbath dropped, it was a bombshell. It arguably established everything we know about the last 50+ years of rock and metal, and kickstarted the career of likely the most iconic metal band of all time.

Even over 50 years later, this album is still highly important, influential, and iconic in the world of metal. Perhaps it’s time to revisit it if you haven’t. It was also a key influence on many of metal’s subgenres to come, especially doom metal, sludge metal, and funeral doom.