Black Sabbath is a seminal British hard rock/heavy metal band, originally comprising John "Ozzy" Osbourne (vocals), Frank Anthony Iommi (guitar), Terence "Geezer" Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums). They are cited by many as having helped pioneer the Heavy Metal genre in the early 1970s. Black Sabbath formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 under the name Polka Tulk Blues Band (soon shortened to "Polka Tulk"), and later Earth. Initially a blues-rock band, Earth moved in a darker direction when their bassist, Geezer Butler, a fan of the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley, wrote an occult-themed song titled "Black Sabbath" (the song name was apparently inspired by a 1963 Mario Bava film). (In their reunion concert film, the band stated that the song is based on an experience Geezer had one night when he saw a black object at the end of his bed and noticed the next day that an occult book Ozzy had given him was missing).
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