APOCALYPTICA, PRONG, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY To Pay Tribute To BLACK SABBATH

APOCALYPTICA, PRONG, ELECTRIC WIZARD, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and ORANGE GOBLIN are among the artists who will reportedly be featured on a new Metal Hammer compilation album paying homage to the masters of heavy metal, BLACK SABBATH. More details will be made available soon.

BLACK SABBATH commemorated the 40th anniversary of its debut album in February with an interview at the U.K.'s Times Online. The self-titled disc was issued on February 13, 1970, and arguably set the tone, style and template for what became modern heavy metal. The heavy, crashing guitars, wailing vocals, thunderous rhythms and eerie, occult-drenched lyrics would become influential to untold numbers of bands over the next four decades.

Original SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne told The Pulse of Radio that the band had no idea at the time it was launching a new genre of music. "I mean, when you're in the eye of the storm, you never know what's really going on, you know," he said. "So it's like, we didn't go, 'I know, let's just all of us sit down and make this stuff called heavy metal.' It just happened, and up the road, I mean, when I started doing the Ozzfest and kids would come up to me and go, 'You know, Ozz, you guys in SABBATH were the reason why we wanted to play,' that's a big bonus."

Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward recorded "Black Sabbath" in just 12 hours.

The album contains such classic metal tracks as "The Wizard", "N.I.B." and the song "Black Sabbath".

Critics were not receptive to the album, with then-influential rock critic Lester Bangs called the group "unskilled laborers." Nevertheless, the record sold a million copies by the end of 1970.

The original lineup of SABBATH made seven more albums before Ozzy left the band in 1978. Iommi continued with various lineups and Ozzy pursued a solo career until they reunited in the late '90s for a succession of tours. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.