4/13/15

BOOK RELEASE AND REVIEW- BLACK SABBATH: Symptom of the Universe by Mick Wall

I love Rock N' Roll and I love reading. So I was very happy to see the new book BLACK SABBATH: Symptom of the Universe by rock journalist and former publicist to the band Mick Wall arrive in the mail.
 
Decades before his MTV reality show The Osbournes, Ozzy Osbourne was the dark, subversive lead singer in Black Sabbath, the band often credited with creating heavy metal. Selling more than 75 million albums worldwide, an induction into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and hitting #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2013, Black Sabbath has had lasting effect on music, influencing many bands along the way.
This biography of the legendary heavy metal band charts this iconic group from its inception, through the height of their fame, and well into their reunion, tracing the group through all of their very public ups and downs. Their journey wasn’t always easy. BLACK SABBATH: Symptom of the Universe takes us through the height of their fame, when the band discovered they'd been so badly ripped off by their managers that they didn't even own their own songs and they looked for salvation from Don Arden—a notorious gangster figure and father of Ozzy’s wife Sharon– who resurrected their career but left them indebted to him, financially and personally. And into the 15 year war after the group broke up between the post-Ozzy Sabbath and Ozzy himself, whose solo career overshadowed Sabbath so much that a reunion was entirely on his terms.

Mick delivers the Sabbath story in the best way possible. The story is often told by the band members themselves with quotes and stories from the various band members, producers, managers, and friends involved. Mick lays down the facts about each album and era including the process of making the music as well as the result of said work including the highest chart positions of the albums in both the UK and USA. He really gives you a idea of where the band was in each era in regards to success. I was happy to be schooled in all the various members of Black Sabbath over the years and their history with the band. Special attention is given to both Ozzy and Dio and their respectable solo careers as well.  If you are looking for the facts in regards to the drugs, sex, and rock n' roll within the band then you came to the right place with this book. Even when there is difference in stories from band members, you will hear from each one giving their side of the story. 

This book is a good read even to the most casual of Sabbath or Ozzy fans. I highly recommend giving it a good read. 

A hardcover copy of the book as well as a eBook is being released this Tuesday (April 14) on St. Martin’s Press.
You can pick it up on Amazon HERE.