Zakk Sabbath: King of the Monstours at the Rust Belt -- January 10.
Friday, January 10, 8 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Its hard-rocking ensemble featuring guitarist/vocalist Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), bassist Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie), and drummer Joey Castillo (Danzig, Queens of the Stone Age), the popular touring act Zakk Sabbath: King of the Monstours headlines a January 10 engagement at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, performing from a repertoire that includes such Billboard top-1o smashes as Master of Reality, Sabotage, and the chart-topping Paranoid.
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, and they are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The outfit helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid (both 1970), and Master of Reality (1971), and throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Black Sabbath underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
After previous iterations of the group – the Polka Tulk Blues Band, and Earth – the musicians settled on the name Black Sabbath in 1969, distinguishing themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and down-tuned guitars. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, a cover of the Crow song "Evil Woman," in January of 1970, and their self-titled debut album debuted the following month. Though it received a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success, leading to a follow-up record, Paranoid, later that year. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, critics were starting to respond favorably. This album, along with its predecessor Vol. 4 (1972) and its successors Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978), saw the band explore more experimental and progressive styles.
To date, Black Sabbath have sold in excess of 70 million records worldwide, making them one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands of all time. Together with Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, the three outfits been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies," and Black Sabbath was ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band of All Time," also placing second on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list. Rolling Stone, meanwhile, ranked them number 85 on its "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list. Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, they have won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, and in 2019, the band received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Zakk Sabbath: King of the Monstours performs their headlining engagement in East Moline in January 10 with additional sets by Zoso and The Iron Maidens, admission to the 8 p./m. concert is $39.75-44.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
