Heaven and Hell: were Black Sabbath the first Christian rock band?
While rock had toyed with darkness before their arrival, it was Black Sabbath who jumped head-first into the mire, unafraid of what lay ahead. With Tony Iommi’s sludgy de-tuned riffs, the roaring rhythm section of bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, and the otherworldy wails of frontman Ozzy Osbourne, their sound was perfect for the bleak 1970s.
Butler had a direct hand in the band establishing such a sound. Doubling up as their lyricist, his Catholic upbringing and obsession with the occult formed a lyrical world that was the perfect tip of the spear for their heady but deeply unsettling music. In the liner notes for 1998’s live album Reunion, the bassist explained how he came to forge the dark approach to words.
Already a believer in the Devil thanks to his Catholic background, this was later afforded a much more complex and full-bodied essence after he started reading the weekly publication Man, Myth and Magic, which explored the realm of Lucifer in greater detail. That, and books by the likes of controversial occultist Aleister Crowley and Dennis Wheatley’s novel The Devil Rides Out would see the young Brummie fascinated with esoteric darkness. Butler even moved into a flat that he painted black with inverted crosses strewn on the wall.
During this era, Osbourne gifted the bassist a 16th-century book about magic that he’d stolen. Uneasy at the book’s presence, Butler stored it out of sight in his airing cupboard. However, as he states in the liner notes, that night, he woke up and saw a black shadow at the end of his bed. It terrified Butler, who went to throw the time away, but according to him, it had disappeared. Deeply disturbed, he said he gave up exploring the darkness from that point on.
Yet, it made a mark that would affect much of Sabbath’s most notable work. Whether it be ‘N.I.B.’ from the group’s debut, written from the perspective of Lucifer, or the original version of ‘War Pigs’ – ‘Walpurgis’ – based on The Devil Rides Out, to the nature of the music itself, there are many moments where the evil is tangible. Famously, the group were forced to change the latter track to its famous form by the record label due to its inherently wicked nature.
Of course, early songs such as these and the band’s aesthetic would lead many to believe they were devil-worshippers. However, ‘After Forever’ from the group’s 1971 masterpiece Master of Reality is actually a pro-Christian song. Butler penned the lyrics, which include: “Could it be you’re afraid of what your friends might say / If they knew you believe in God above? / They should realise before they criticise / That God is the only way to love”.
Impacted by his Catholicism and the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, Butler felt compelled to pen the lyrics in light of the context of the era. “A lot of it was because of the situation in Northern Ireland at the time,” he told Bass Guitar Magazine. “There were a lot of religious troubles between the Protestants against the Catholics. I was brought up strictly Catholic, and I guess I was naive in thinking that religion shouldn’t be fought over.”
He continued: “I always felt that God and Jesus wanted us to love each other. It was just a bad time in Northern Ireland, setting bombs off in England and such. We all believed in Jesus – and yet people were killing each other over it. To me, it was just ridiculous. I thought that if God could see us killing each other in his name, he’d be disgusted.”
Were Black Sabbath the first Christian rock band?
In short, no, given that 1960s garage rock group The Crusaders are widely deemed one of the first, with their 1966 album, Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitars, considered the introductory gospel rock record. Others also beat the Brummie quartet to it.
Interestingly, though, Michael Sweet, the frontman of Christian metal band Stryper – who covered ‘After Forever’ in 2014 – believes there is an argument for describing Sabbath as Christian rock. “We grew up on Black Sabbath,” he told Songfacts. “It says something. Stryper covering a Sabbath tune causes much controversy. The lyrics are very interesting because it questions if Sabbath was a Christian band or not. They could have been the first Christian group if you take a closer look at those lyrics.”
As well as Butler being raised a Catholic, Osbourne has been reported as a practising member of the Church of England who prays before each show. As for Iommi, he was raised as a Catholic like Butler and once revealed that he believes in God but has not attended a service since childhood. In 2017, though, he wrote a choral work called How Good It Is, with lyrics inspired by Psalm 133, that debuted at Birmingham Cathedral.
Original drummer Bill Ward is the only one who has outlined his explicit distaste for religion. He maintains that he grew up in a “heathen” family and called the idea of God “bloody rubbish!” regardless of enjoying singing in church choirs when a youth.
While there might be an argument to categorise Black Sabbath as Christian rock, there’s enough to separate them from it. Many songs of theirs aren’t about religion and instead deal with pure fiction, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf in ‘The Wizard’, as well as magic and other aspects of fantasy and science fiction, like the classic deep space romp ‘Iron Man’. They were always concerned with a world that wasn’t our own; they just drew upon religion for artistic effect. Write about what you know, as they say.
Furthermore, regardless of lineup changes, the band continued to focus on an ominous sound and conjuring darkness. Even Ronnie James Dio’s lyrics to ‘Heaven and Hell’ aren’t religious; they’re about the good and evil that everyone has inside them. Morality exists in all religions, not just Christianity.