BLACK SABBATH's Early Albums Get 'Deluxe' Reissue Treatment

The deluxe expanded editions of BLACK SABBATH's 1970 self-titled debut and 1971 third album "Master Of Reality" — both with alternate studio versions, demos and instrumentals of classic songs and in the case of the latter, previously released track "Weevil Woman" — were made available late last month via Sanctuary/Universal Music.

To celebrate this event, AngryApe has posted two BLACK SABBATH webisodes (see below) in which various musicians and journalists discuss what makes these LPs as important and influential as they are.

An essay on the SABBATH reissues and the birth of heavy metal can be found on The Quietus web site.

Ozzy Osbourne filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi in May, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.

Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.