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BLACK SABBATH ANNOUNCE ‘THE TEN YEAR WAR’
A foreboding storm is gathering overhead. Bells toll, lighting cracks, rain
falls…something dark and sinister is heading this way. It’s 1970 and four
guys from Birmingham, with the release of their debut self-titled album,
have single-handedly created what would become known forever as heavy metal.
It was a singular moment of crushing heaviness that would define the genre
for years to come.
The sixties were over. Charles Manson and his knife-wielding followers had
put a violent end to peace and love and the optimism and hope of the decade
had vanished. As the seventies came down like a dark cloud, Ozzy Osbourne,
Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler welcomed these uncertain times with
open arms and riffs of thunder. And so The Ten Year War began.
Fresh from receiving the ‘Golden God’ Icon Award at this year’s Metal Hammer
Golden Gods, Black Sabbath are proud to announce ‘The Ten Year War’ – a
limited edition vinyl box set, released September 29th via BMG, that brings
together their eight Ozzy fronted albums, plus a swathe of other rarities,
all housed within exclusive artwork created by renowned street artist,
graphic designer and activist Shepard Fairey.
Despite Black Sabbath’s multi-million selling albums and rabid fan base
throughout the seventies, this adulation wasn’t always mirrored by the music
press at the time. The band received more than their fair share of
criticism, prompting them to publish ‘The Ten Year War’ brochure; a playful
dig at journalists with the witty tagline “more good press than most – more
bad press than any.” The brochure is reproduced in full for the box set and
is one of the many exclusive items held within that also includes:
8 x vinyl LPs meticulously reproduced in their original sleeves, re-mastered
by renowned mastering engineer Andy Pearce from the original tapes and
pressed on 180 gramme splatter-coloured vinyl, each LP with unique and
individual colouring.
• BLACK SABBATH
• PARANOID
• MASTER OF REALITY (including original fold-out colour poster)
• VOL. 4
• SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH
• SABOTAGE
• TECHNICAL ECSTASY
• NEVER SAY DIE!
2 x rare 7” singles, reproduced in their original sleeves:
Japanese version of Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)/Black Sabbath.
Chilean version of Paranoid/The Wizard (only 100 copies of the original radio promo were pressed).
Crucifix shaped Black Sabbath USB stick, exclusive to this box set, which
can be worn round the neck and contains MQA high definition audio of the
first eight Black Sabbath albums.
The extremely rare The Ten Year War brochure reproduced from the original
publication.
Hardback book, featuring accolades from the cream of rock royalty, coupled
with official and candid iconic photography of the band during their 1970s
tours, recording sessions and photo shoots.
Tenth Anniversary World Tour 1978 Official Programme, impeccably reproduced.
Reprinted tour poster from the 1972 Seattle Centre Arena show.
Box set is individually numbered.
It’s fair to say that ‘The Ten Year War’ is the definitive package from one
of the most important and influential artists the UK has ever produced.