Top Five Black Sabbath covers on YouTube (Part I and II)

Top Five Black Sabbath covers on YouTube
Part 1

Black Sabbath invented heavy metal and influenced tons of different bands everywhere. That’s common knowledge. Over the years, a bunch of killer bands have created their own cover versions that kick ass as much as the originals. There are some that flat out kill and some that are just unique and scary sounding even.

Thanks to YouTube for hosting this Top Ten special report. In no particular order:

Corrosion of Conformity (“Lord of This World”)
The Southern rock stoner doom metal feel of their 1994 album “Deliverance” heavily influenced their same-era Sabbath cover, and they cranked it our perfectly just like they wrote this song. It has a 70’s era Sabbath-ian production,  a cool, jammy riff guitar worship style of playing, and great vocals by Pepper Keenan. CoC just rules hard on this one that it instantly warrants a replay after listening and a follow-up bonghit. RIP Reed Mullin.

Type O Negative (“Black Sabbath”)
Gothic Doom titans Type O contribute the creepiest cover transformation of Sabbath’s title track like no other: by bringing them to the pitch black and neon green world of Type O’s DOOMED-out green moat cave-sounding atmosphere, leading your lost minds to nothingness, before bringing you back to some heavy rocking doom to finish their epic Sabbath trip. They also did a cool cover of Paranoid. RIP Peter Steele.


SLEEP (“Snowblind”)
Stoner Doom Metal Kings Sleep are a shoo-in on this list just because, and just because they’re killer like fat Oakland California green buds. Their cover of the ultimate coke inspirational, “Snowblind” remains one of the best, with the production sounding like 70’s era doom metal recorded on old analogue boards. They also have a killer cover of Into the Void (search on YT). It’s been said that Ozzy complimented the band for sounding closest to the Sabbath sound and aesthetics, and this cover proves it. TOKE it.


Primitive Man (“Sweet Leaf”)
Probably the heaviest and duly pissed off death doom sludge you can nuclear bomb your ears with. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know how it is to be crushed by falling granite blocks and flattened like a 666-ton steamroller. They turn “Sweet Leaf” into pure dab oil direct-cooked onto some magic brownies, and eaten while plastered on the couch of your dimly-lit hotboxed room full of bestial metal and war metal evil posters and banners, endlessly huffing that 4 foot bong to oblivion. Simply freaking great.


The Cardigans (“Changes”)
Sweden’s pride and joy turn their Sabbath appreciation into some of their own on some awesome covers: Iron Man, Changes, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and even Ozzy’s Mr. Crowley. But this country tinged acoustic mutation of Changes rules, without losing the sad, lonely feel of the original. Only that it’s with acoustic guitars, and drums, which is a 180° with a right turn and probably an evil smile from Ozzy once he heard it.

Top Five Black Sabbath covers on YouTube Part 2

“Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.”
– Ozzy

The Bullring Brummies & SCORN * TIED – The Wizard

The Bullring Brummies (“The Wizard”)
The Bullring Brummies is what you’ll get when you need to create an instant Sabbath when Iommi and Ozzy are on coke and alcohol break. Only that they’re a well, supergroup: Rob Halford, Wino, Brian Tilse, and of course Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. What a perfect way to hear them than this stone cold riff monster classic that could give them two – Ozzy and Iommi – a run for their money. Rob Halford is already an honorary member of Sabbath, having performed that last two Ozzy “No More Tours” Costa Mesa shows in 1992 when Dio refused to open for Ozzy, and when he covered for a sick Ozzy in a 2004 Ozzfest date. Halford saved Black Sabbath twice. Too bad he didn’t collaborate on an album with them, but this cover gives you a pretty good glimpse if he ever did.

(disposableunderground.tumblr.com)

SCORN (“The Wizard”)
The then duo lineup of Scorn featuring Nik Bullen and Mick Harris produced an incredible ambient space dub version of this classic. Turning the hard edged doom rock riffage and hard hitting drums of the original into spaced out celestial psychedub beats, the vocals are given extra heavy dosage to float above like electric purple and yellow thunder and clouds. There are also far out trip diversions into electronic industrial tinged layers as it spirals “Into the Void”.


Monster Magnet (“Into the Void”)
Speaking of which. We need to include stoner rock heavyweight captains Monster Magnet and their backwards arranged acid cover of this track right here. Applying the sonic excess fuzzed double guitars and Dave Wyndorf’s punk and heavy rock hybrid strains and effects injected vocalisings, the cover wins, and always will.

Cannibal Corpse & Godflesh  (“Zero the Hero”) * TIED


Cannibal Corpse
This is the only Ian Gillan era Sabbath cover we can fit in, and it is something truly special. Legendary death metal heavyweights C.Corpse reprazents Florida classic 90’s death metal featuring OG vocalist Chris Barnes in his best death metal version of Ian featuring those stoney doom groove riffs but done Corpse gore DM style, taken from the infamous Hammer Smashed Face CDEP.


Godflesh
Meanwhile, over in the UK, Industrial Metal crushers and pioneers Godflesh provide a bleak, grim, cold, mechanised take on the same track that speaks the vibe of their classic album, 1992’s “Pure” as this was recorded also at the same era.


Deiphago (“Black Sabbath”)
True Filipino Black Metal pioneers since 1989. The roots of the once Tondo, Manila based experimental hyper speed Satanic bestial metal power trio includes Black Sabbath, and they do a super doomed black metal blood infusion of their chilling title track song.

This is from a 3-song set live performance in downtown Manila digitised from a Betamax video cassette, which adds even more kvltness directly on analogue from 1993. They are surrounded by numerous punks and other show attendees being iced the fuck out with Satanik invokations that will have lethal effects to them later on.
DEIPHAGO at HELLS HEADBANGERS

(newyorker.com)

Charles Bradley (“Changes”)
Cool doom blues acoustic ballad here from the great Charles Bradley.  This is an example of something outside the metal and rock band format and into soul / R&B / blues without taking away the original feel. Ozzy, Iommi, Butler and Ward would love this.
RIP Charles.

EYEHATEGOD – (“Sabbath Jam“)
*live version – EYEHATEGOD Sabbath Jam live at Saint Vitus Bar, Feb. 7th, 2015

NOLA’s Masters of Legalised Confusion turn a few Sabbath songs into their own. It becomes a killer jam with bonghit and pill smoothness, jamming out a collection of their most doomed out riffs and rearranging them into the definitve EHG jam + injecting more bluesy southern swing and hardcore doom blues all throughout. We have two versions: a vinyl rip from the In These Black Days 7″ split series, and the killer live version at St. Vitus Bar. Either way, they both bring the rock. Take a 1-hit or a massive bonghit before proceeding either way.