Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond [9780063242500]

Overview

A rollicking, effusive, and candid rock and roll memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of Black Sabbath, covering his years as the band’s bassist and main lyricist through his later-career projects, and detailing how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed.

With over 70 million records sold, Black Sabbath, dubbed by Rolling Stone “the Beatles of heavy metal,” helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band’s renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it.

In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story, a behind-the-scenes music memoir that starts from the band’s beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet in Birmingham through the struggles leading to the many well-documented lineup changes while touring around London’s gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Who makes notable appearances!), and the band’s important later years. He writes honestly of his childhood in working-class Birmingham in a family of seven, his almost-life as an accountant, and how his disillusionment with organized religion and class systems would spawn the lyrics and artistic themes that would resonate so powerfully with fans around the world.

Into the Void reveals the softer side of the heavy metal legend and the formation of one of rock’s most exciting 1970s rock bands, while holding nothing back. Like Geezer’s bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising.

• The Origins of Heavy Metal: Discover how Geezer’s fascination with horror, religion, and the occult became the lyrical foundation for a sound that defined a new genre.
• A Black Sabbath Biography: Get the untold story from the band’s founding bassist, from their beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet to global phenomenon, with appearances by rock royalty like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
• Heavy Metal History: An honest, no-holds-barred look at the band’s rise, from gritty London clubs to sold-out arenas, detailing the music, the mayhem, and the well-documented lineup changes.
• Rock Musician Autobiography: More than just rock clichés, this is a candid look at a working-class kid from Aston, his almost-life as an accountant, and the journey to becoming a legend.