Black Sabbath
Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.
Retired14 formations19 studio albums
Formation chronology
Newest first
Formation 14 of 14
Jul 5, 2025
Members
- Ozzy OsbourneLead VocalsJul 2025 – Jul 2025
- Tony IommiGuitarJul 2025 – Jul 2025
- Geezer ButlerBassJul 2025 – Jul 2025
- Bill WardDrumsJul 2025 – Jul 2025
Formation facts
- Black Sabbath appeared to close its live story with The End tour in Birmingham in February 2017. Eight years later, there was one final chapter. On July 5, 2025, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward reunited at Villa Park for Back to the Beginning, their first performance together in twenty years. It became Black Sabbath's final performance and brought the original quartet back to Birmingham for the band's last bow.
Formation 13 of 14
2012 – Feb 2017
Members
- Ozzy OsbourneLead VocalsJan 2012 – Feb 2017
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 2012 – Feb 2017
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 2012 – Feb 2017
- Tommy ClufetosDrumsJan 2012 – Feb 2017
Formation facts
- The original four announced a reunion in 2011, but the plan quickly changed. Tony Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma, while Bill Ward withdrew amid a contract dispute. Sabbath continued with Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi and Geezer Butler; Brad Wilk supplied the drum parts on 13, while Tommy Clufetos took the live drum position and remained with the band through years of touring and The End. Despite the upheaval, 13 became Black Sabbath's first number-one album in the United States and also topped the UK chart.
Studio albums
- 13 (Jun 2013)
Formation 12 of 14
Dec 1997 – 2005
Members
- Ozzy OsbourneLead VocalsDec 1997 – Jan 2005
- Tony IommiGuitarDec 1997 – Jan 2005
- Geezer ButlerBassDec 1997 – Jan 2005
- Bill WardDrumsDec 1997 – Jan 2005
Formation facts
- Ozzy, Iommi, Butler and Ward reunited for a single day at Live Aid in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. It did not immediately restore the original Black Sabbath. That took until the late 1990s, when the four finally reunited substantially enough to record their Birmingham shows for Reunion. The album also produced an unexpected career milestone: the live "Iron Man" earned Black Sabbath its first Grammy, nearly three decades after the original recording.
Formation 11 of 14
1994 – 1995
Members
- Tony MartinLead VocalsJan 1994 – Jan 1995
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1994 – Jan 1995
- Neil MurrayBassJan 1994 – Jan 1995
- Cozy PowellDrumsJan 1994 – Jan 1995
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsJan 1994 – Jan 1995
Studio albums
- Forbidden (Jun 1995)
Formation 10 of 14
1993 – 1994
Members
- Tony MartinLead VocalsJan 1993 – Jan 1994
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1993 – Jan 1994
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1993 – Jan 1994
- Bobby RondinelliDrumsJan 1993 – Jan 1994
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsJan 1993 – Jan 1994
Studio albums
- Cross Purposes (Jan 1994)
Formation 9 of 14
1991 – Nov 1992
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsJan 1991 – Nov 1992
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1991 – Nov 1992
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1991 – Nov 1992
- Vinny AppiceDrumsJan 1991 – Nov 1992
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsJan 1991 – Nov 1992
Formation facts
- The 1992 Dehumanizer reunion ended under extraordinary circumstances. Black Sabbath agreed to play shows in Costa Mesa connected to Ozzy Osbourne's supposed retirement, but Ronnie James Dio refused to open for Ozzy and left the band. With concerts still to play, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford stepped in at the last minute and fronted Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi remembers the result as one of the most unusual lineups in the band's history.
- When Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice reunited again in 2007, they deliberately used the name Heaven & Hell. Iommi says the new identity freed them from having to fall back on songs such as "War Pigs." Their shows could instead consist entirely of the music they had created with Dio. The lineup subsequently recorded The Devil You Know, making Heaven & Hell a separate continuation of the Dio partnership rather than another Black Sabbath formation.
Studio albums
- Dehumanizer (Jun 1992)
Formation 8 of 14
Apr 1989 – 1990
Members
- Tony MartinLead VocalsApr 1989 – Jan 1990
- Tony IommiGuitarApr 1989 – Jan 1990
- Neil MurrayBassApr 1989 – Jan 1990
- Cozy PowellDrumsApr 1989 – Jan 1990
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsApr 1989 – Jan 1990
Formation facts
- Laurence Cottle recorded the bass on Headless Cross as a session musician, but Black Sabbath needed a permanent bassist for touring. Cozy Powell suggested Neil Murray, who auditioned just after the album was completed and joined the band. With Tony Martin, Tony Iommi, Powell and Geoff Nicholls, Murray toured extensively with Sabbath, including dates in the Soviet Union, and the same core lineup went on to record Tyr.
Studio albums
- Tyr (Aug 1990)
- Headless Cross (Apr 1989)
Formation 7 of 14
Nov 1987 – 1988
Members
- Tony MartinLead VocalsNov 1987 – Jan 1988
- Tony IommiGuitarNov 1987 – Jan 1988
- Jo BurtBassNov 1987 – Jan 1988
- Terry ChimesDrumsNov 1987 – Jan 1988
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsNov 1987 – Jan 1988
Formation facts
- Ray Gillen had already recorded vocals for The Eternal Idol when he left Black Sabbath. Tony Martin says he was called in, auditioned on "The Shining," and soon had roughly a week to redo the album's vocals. Bob Daisley and Eric Singer supplied much of the released rhythm section, but the operating band that took the album on the road became Martin, Tony Iommi, bassist Jo Burt, drummer Terry Chimes and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls. Martin's emergency arrival ultimately became an eleven-year association with Sabbath.
Studio albums
- The Eternal Idol (Nov 1987)
Formation 6 of 14
1985 – Mar 1986
Members
- Glenn HughesLead VocalsJan 1985 – Mar 1986
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1985 – Mar 1986
- Dave SpitzBassJan 1985 – Mar 1986
- Eric SingerDrumsJan 1985 – Mar 1986
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsJan 1985 – Mar 1986
Formation facts
- Tony Iommi began Seventh Star as a solo project with Glenn Hughes singing, but the record company insisted on keeping the Black Sabbath name, ultimately releasing it as **Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi**. Hughes then lasted only a few shows on the tour before Ray Gillen took over vocals. Gillen's tenure became the bridge between the Seventh Star operating lineup and the later arrival of Tony Martin.
Studio albums
- Seventh Star (Jan 1986)
Formation 5 of 14
1983 – Mar 1984
Members
- Ian GillanLead VocalsJan 1983 – Mar 1984
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1983 – Mar 1984
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1983 – Mar 1984
- Bill WardDrumsJan 1983 – Mar 1984
- Geoff NichollsKeyboardsJan 1983 – Mar 1984
Formation facts
- Ian Gillan remembers drinking heavily one night with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, then receiving a call from his manager the next morning asking why he had agreed to join Black Sabbath. Gillan could not remember doing it. The unlikely partnership nevertheless produced Born Again. Iommi later said the project had originally felt more like a supergroup than something specifically intended to carry the Black Sabbath name.
- Bill Ward recorded the drums on Born Again, but Bev Bevan took over the drum position when Black Sabbath went on tour. The tour then produced one of the band's most famous production disasters: Geezer Butler had suggested a life-size Stonehenge set, and the builders took the dimensions literally. Ian Gillan remembers enormous fiberglass monoliths arriving only for much of the set to prove too large for the venues.
Studio albums
- Born Again (Sep 1983)
Formation 4 of 14
Aug 1980 – 1982
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsAug 1980 – Jan 1982
- Tony IommiGuitarAug 1980 – Jan 1982
- Geezer ButlerBassAug 1980 – Jan 1982
- Vinny AppiceDrumsAug 1980 – Jan 1982
Formation facts
- When Bill Ward abruptly left during the Heaven and Hell tour in 1980, Black Sabbath needed a drummer immediately. Vinny Appice says he was initially told he was only joining until Ward returned. Instead, he had roughly four days to learn about fifteen songs before taking the stage with Sabbath. Ward never returned to that tour, Appice became a permanent part of the Dio-era lineup and went on to record Mob Rules.
Studio albums
- Mob Rules (Nov 1981)
Formation 3 of 14
1979 – Aug 1980
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsJan 1979 – Aug 1980
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1979 – Aug 1980
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1979 – Aug 1980
- Bill WardDrumsJan 1979 – Aug 1980
Formation facts
- After Black Sabbath split with Ozzy in 1979, Tony Iommi initially discussed making a separate project with Ronnie James Dio. Then Dio sang over the unfinished "Children of the Sea." Iommi remembers everyone immediately realizing something special was happening. Rather than looking for someone who sounded like Ozzy, Sabbath embraced Dio's completely different voice, which Iommi says gave him a new perspective on songwriting and helped the band prove it could survive losing its original frontman.
Studio albums
- Heaven and Hell (Apr 1980)
Formation 2 of 14
Jan 1978 – Apr 1979
Members
- Ozzy OsbourneLead VocalsJan 1978 – Apr 1979
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1978 – Apr 1979
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1978 – Apr 1979
- Bill WardDrumsJan 1978 – Apr 1979
Formation facts
- Ozzy actually left Black Sabbath once before his famous 1979 dismissal. In late 1977, former Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker joined Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, wrote with them and even fronted Sabbath on BBC television in January 1978. Ozzy then returned before Never Say Die! was completed, and the band had to rework material created during Walker's brief tenure.
Studio albums
- Never Say Die! (Sep 1978)
Formation 1 of 14
1968 – Oct 1977
Members
- Ozzy OsbourneLead VocalsJan 1968 – Oct 1977
- Tony IommiGuitarJan 1968 – Oct 1977
- Geezer ButlerBassJan 1968 – Oct 1977
- Bill WardDrumsJan 1968 – Oct 1977
Formation facts
- Tony Iommi was 17 when, on his last day at a sheet-metal factory before turning professional, he lost the tips of two fingers on his fretting hand. After being told he might never play again, he fashioned homemade fingertips, experimented with lighter strings and tuned his guitar lower to reduce the tension. The adaptation made playing possible again, but it also helped produce the darker, heavier guitar sound that became inseparable from Black Sabbath.
- Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward formed Earth in 1968. After Butler's fascination with occult imagery inspired the band to create "Black Sabbath," audiences reacted to the ominous new song unlike anything else in their blues-based set. When they discovered another band was already using the name Earth, they adopted the title of the song that had shown them a new musical direction: Black Sabbath.
- Black Sabbath entered Regent Sound with songs they had already played repeatedly onstage and recorded their debut on an eight-track machine in roughly eight hours. Tony Iommi says there was neither the budget nor the studio experience for elaborate production. They essentially set up and played as they would live. The resulting album became one of heavy metal's foundational records despite being completed in less time than many later bands would spend getting a drum sound.
- Black Sabbath thought its second album was essentially finished when they discovered they needed another short track. Geezer Butler remembers Tony Iommi producing a riff on the spot, Butler rapidly writing lyrics, and Ozzy singing them while reading from the page. "Paranoid" was intended as a three-minute filler. Instead, the afterthought became the album's title track, Black Sabbath's breakthrough single and one of the songs most closely identified with the band.
- While trying to make Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Tony Iommi suddenly found himself unable to come up with new material. The band escaped to Clearwell Castle and set up its equipment in the dungeon. Iommi says the atmosphere immediately unlocked something: the riff for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" was the first idea that emerged. Once that song appeared, the creative block disappeared and the rest of the album began to take shape.
Studio albums
- Technical Ecstasy (Sep 1976)
- Sabotage (Jul 1975)
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Dec 1973)
- Vol. 4 (Sep 1972)
- Master of Reality (Jul 1971)
- Paranoid (Sep 1970)
- Black Sabbath (Feb 1970)