A Nice Pair: Black Sabbath

It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for A Nice Pair – book and music pairings that go together like long weekends and Canadians’ proclivity for calling things “two-four”. Today we’re pairing the book “Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath and Beyond” by Geezer Butler with the Black Sabbath album Paranoid.

Into the Void is a candid memoir by Geezer Butler, the legendary bassist and lyricist of Black Sabbath. It chronicles the band’s rise from a struggling blues quartet in Birmingham to heavy metal pioneers, while also exploring Butler’s personal journey, including his strict Catholic upbringing, fascination with the occult, and disillusionment with societal norms. Through vivid storytelling, he shares encounters with rock icons and reflects on the creative and tumultuous forces that shaped Black Sabbath’s legacy.

Paranoid is the second studio album by Black Sabbath. Originally released in 1970 in the UK and 1971 in the US, it features some of the band’s most iconic tracks, including War Pigs, Iron Man, and the title track Paranoid. The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time, helping to define the genre.