Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne recognised in poll of Rolling Stone writers to find the top 100 metal songs ever written Sign up to our email newsletter for daily updates on what's happening in and around Birmingham We have more newsletters Rolling Stone writers have offered proof - if any were ever needed - that Ozzy Osbourne is the greatest star in the history of heavy metal. It's a label the band itself doesn't always believe in but the writers at Rolling Stone have begged to differ with reviews which also show the Midlands is the cradle of molten
music. They've doffed their collective caps to the blues turned rock and roll band from Aston who are now revered as the 'godfathers of heavy metal'. Black Sabbath didn't just top the poll with the opening track from their eponymous 1970 debut album, but Ozzy Osbourne's solo hit Crazy Train also makes the top seven places at No 6 where it's sandwiched by band classics War Pigs and Iron Man. Paranoid, the song which encored Black Sabbath's final world tour concert at the then Genting Arena at the NEC on February 4, 2017, and was the only song performed by Ozzy and guitarist Tony Iommi to climax the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games ' closing ceremony on August 8 last year didn't even make the top ten. The hit title track from their second album, also released in 1970, was listed at No 13 instead. Read more: How a drugs bust sparked the creation of Black Sabbath Fellow Midland rockers Led Zeppelin don't appear until No 18 with
immigrant Song (1970). Other Sabbath songs in the top 100 include Heaven and Hell (1980) at No 31, with Ronnie James Dio (ex-Rainbow) taking over from Ozzy on lead vocals, ahead of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water (1972) at 34. On bank of grass close to Portland Road, Edgbaston in 1968, manager Jim Simpson took this first picture of Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward in Edgbaston. He shared the picture with Graham Young and BirminghamLive in November, 2014 (Image: Jim Simpson) Black Country rockers Judas Priest were ranked at No 40 for Victim of Changes (1976), at No 27 for Living After Midnight and at No 4 with
BREAKING the Law (1980. Ozzy's Bark at the
moon (1983) was ranked No 56. A monthly US magazine founded in 1967, Rolling Stone said: "What millions of fans around the world have realised is that a good metal song transports you. Amid the deafening drums and growling vocals, the ideal metal tune relates power, resilience, and even hope. Where less cultured ears hear only noise and rage, metalheads recognize nuance. "A song like Metallica’s Fade to Black, for instance, actually helps you escape your personal darkness rather than encouraging it. Metal has always been about overcoming fear and finding community among like-minded outcasts. It’s about togetherness." Rolling Stone's Top Ten Greatest Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time The magazine said: "We debated the merits of more than 300 worthy songs over several months. These people include writers and critics who have been writing for Rolling Stone for decades and contributors to metal-focused publications." Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson at the then Barclaycard Arena on Sunday, May 21, 2017 during the band's Book of Souls world tour (Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive) 10. Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills (1982) 'A Western epic complete with a blistering, wah-wah-heavy solo... but it’s that final “run/for/your/liiiiii-vvv-esssss” yowl that turned the song into a metal anthem'. 9. Holy Diver - Dio (1983) 'Dio crafted the song about a Christ-like figure on another planet who sacrifices his life on a suicide jump meant to transport his soul to another world... it's a reflection of humanity's inner darkness'. 8. Raining Blood - Slayer (1986) 'Embodies what heavy metal is all about: mood, power, grandiosity, transcendence. And, in this horrifically beautiful song, actual poetry'. Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi says goodbye at The End (Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive) 7. Iron Man - Black Sabbath (1970) 'Ominous, colossal, and yet so simple... (it's) the very definition of Seventies heaviness'. 6. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne (1980) 'A defining line between Ozzy's Black Sabbath days and his solo career... a signpost to where metal was heading in the new decade'. 5. War Pigs - Black Sabbath (1970) '(The) bludgeoning riff and relentless rhythm offer no quarter to the money-hungry politicos who have shipped hapless kids off to die'. 4. Breaking the Law - Judas Priest (1980) 'Released right when the New Wave of
British Metal was reaching its apex, these seasoned Seventies veterans showed their younger, faster, louder peers that they could still evoke teenage angst with the best of them'. 3. Ace of Spades - Motorhead (1980) 'The band clearly had the pedal to the metal'. 2. Master of Puppets - Metallica (1986) 'The twists and turns of this song are thrilling'. The debut Black Sabbath album cover - it will be played in full by tribute band Sabbra Cadabra at a 'Birth of Metal' event on Broad Street to celebrate the 53rd anniversary of its release (Image: c/o Jim Simpson / Big Bear Records) 1. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970) 'Exudes raw, infernal majesty; it’s both scary and fun at the same time. It’s the feeling all metal bands have been chasing ever since and it still reigns supreme'. + There are other Midlands links in the top ten, too besides Sabbath and Priest. Motorhead's late legend Lemmy Kilmister was born in Burslem,Stoke. Iron Maiden's frontman Bruce Dickinson was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and New Hampshire-born US star Ronnie James Dio used to rehearse at Rich Bitch Studios on the Bristol Road in Selly Oak. Do you agree or disagree with Rolling Stone? What are your favourite Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath memories? Let us know by emailing: graham.young@reachplc.com READ NEXT Ozzy Osbourne and the Aston land that made him - and brought him back Black Sabbath reach The End with triumphant final gig at the Genting Arena This is why the last Black Sabbath concert was unforgettable Top Ozzy Osbourne tribute star Kevin McGillian says it's a 'great hobby' Inside story of Black Sabbath's Paranoid album on 50th anniversary