I remember one of them trying to play it on his black Ovation electric guitar which was shaped like a bat.” With Dio on board, Sabbath genuinely sounded born again on Heaven And Hell. Tony Iommi claims that Die Young was ... the Double O hails Children ...

Jake E. Lee, Ronnie Wood and Nuno Bettencourt were among the six-string royalty joining the likes of Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Gojira for the nine-hour celebrat

Bill Ward's emotional return to Black Sabbath at Birmingham's Villa Park reminded fans of the band's rich history and the enduring bonds forged through music.

The biggest gathering in heavy metal history took place this weekend in Birmingham to say farewell to Ozzy Osbourne and the legendary Black Sabbath.

Four West Midlands bands proved the music genre, so closely associated with Birmingham pioneers Black Sabbath, is very much alive in kicking at Metal in the Midlands. The event, staged by BBC Radio WM and B:Music, provided a platform for Defects, Cherrydead, Meatdripper and Gans to showcase their music.

Do you know about the rock band that Ozzy Osbourne initially wanted to hire for his post-Black Sabbath band Blizzard Of Ozz? It was before the release of his first solo record with the now famous lineup that included Randy Rhoads.

Before the dawn of Black Sabbath there was Earth. This was the band Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward formed from the ashes of their previous project, The Polka Tulk Blues ...

Tony Iommi's 2000 debut solo album, featured contributions from Billy Idol, Dave Grohl, Ian Astbury, and Billy Corgan, among others.

From The Crown you can trace the rise of Black Sabbath by walking past other venues they played, including "one of the great buildings of Birmingham", the Town Hall, added Mr Collins. "They'd have played at the Odeon, which is now just a cinema, and ended up at the Town Hall, which is two minutes from The Crown," he explained.

“This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever,” said music director Morello. (From left to right): Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne in the 1970s.