Black Sabbath

According to the publishers, Symptom of the Universe is, “The final word on the only name synonymous with heavy metal.” And they may be right.

Sabbath got together at the tail end of the 1960's. They became one of the biggest groups in the world by '74 then split in '79. The following year they came back with a new singer and then fragmented into an Iommi project until the mid-1990s.

This was the third Black Sabbath book that I read in quick succession. Symptom of the Universe is definitely the most rigorous. The first was I Am Ozzy, then Iron Man: the memoirs of Tony Iommi and now this, Symptom of the Universe. Former Sabbath PR man, music journalist and biographer Mick Wall's book helps to fill in the blanks present in the first two autobiographies.

Wall presents a detached third-party perspective of the band and its history. All three books chart follow the same arc:

- four working class people come together to follow a dream,

- struggle, get an increasing amount of success,

- develop massive egos,

- take too many drugs and booze,

- go bonkers,

- fall out,

- get lawyers involved,

- then, start to play music together again.

Wall does a nice job of piecing together massive amounts of information: various interviews, archival material, thoughts and reminiscences from his own personal experience with the band and parts from other autobiographies and books. This is all linked together in a coherent and readable narrative. Wall also sits on the fence maintaining an air of neutrality and disinterest. By not taking sides this helps to guide the reader through the fragmented drug addled story of the band.

Symptom of the Universe benefits from not relying on just the memories or opinions of one person. This makes it more rounded and interesting. Wall portrays each player as a real person, not just a caricature. Everyone has their positive points which contrast against their more negative aspects too.

Ozzy comes across as a junkie clown, living in fear of Iommi, who is unfairly portrayed as an egotistical, coke-addled taskmaster; Geezer Butler the intelligent lyricist, with Bill Ward and Geoff Nicholls as the fall guys for all the jokes.

Of course, the main focus is on the band's crazy antics as opposed to musical analysis or thoughts about tracks and albums. I guess these are the things which people want to read about as most of them are amusing. Wall does provide his own opinion of music, but that's what it is: an opinion. So, you can agree or not and often I didn't. He also, correctly in my view, bypasses most of Ozzys solo career. Also skipped over are the details behind every single member of Black Sabbath.

So in summary, Wall gives us a well written book. A real page turner enhanced with insights unavailable to other authors. Rich in detail it is an essential read for any fan of the band or heavy metal. A fascinating, captivating and thought-provoking account of the four men who invented a musical genre. I just hope Wall decides to write a biography about Dio next.