Since 1995, Joe Siegler has taken up the task of providing one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date sources for Sabbath news and information for the fans. Since the band or it's record company has yet to create an 'official site' that is truly informative, Joe's site is about the closest you'll get to a definitive Sabbath site. While he is quick to remind us that it is truly an "unofficial page", it's close enough for rock 'n' roll! Since August 2002, he's been assisting me with gig research, not to mention simply being a good friend!
Alexander Rack has been researching Sabbath bootlegs for many years now. I can remember referencing his lists when I was still cutting my teeth on the rare shows! His site provides a detailed catalog listing of all known unofficial Black Sabbath releases, as well as some great FAQ's, lyrics transcriptions and reference materials.
In 2004, David Tangye and Graham Wright shared some of their personal memories of having worked for and travelled with Black Sabbath. Their book HOW BLACK WAS OUR SABBATH provides us with the most detailed accounting of Sabbath's early years to date. Many myths about the band history are succinctly debunked without any crowing or pretension from the authors. But what makes me truly fond of this book is the warmth and camaraderie that Graham and David's stories relay to their readers. It's refreshing to read a book about Black Sabbath that isn't just a 2nd or 3rd hand rehash of the same tired old myths. This one is the real deal! Click the book cover to read my complete review.
Without a doubt, Michael J. Alexander has done some of the most detailed and accurate guitar transcriptions of Tony Iommi's guitar work that I've seen anywhere on the Internet. I feel a little stupid about the fact that I hadn't seen this site until now (August 2002)! While this site is still very much a work in progress (who's isn't?), with Michael it's very much quality over quantity. Time to grab that guitar and bash out some Sabbath riffs!
Created by Tapio Keihanen of Finland, this site is one of the best sites out there dedicated to the life and work of Ronnie James Dio. Lots of great biographical information, picture galleries, tour dates and much more! If you're a fan of Dio, then this should be one of your first stops! Tapio has been a great help to me when it comes to researching Dio-era Sabbath trivia.
"Red Sabbath" [a.k.a. Eric Ericson] recently launched his site, which is dedicated to reviewing various Sabbath albums (official AND bootleg releases), as well as giving us his perspective on various Sabbath-related topics. He's done a fine job moderating for the Tony Iommi Message Board and I think he's from the Southeastern U.S. like myself. Y'all come visit us, you hear?
Realclassicrock.com was first launched in the fall of 2005 by Uriah-Heep.com webmaster, Dave White. Originally, the station was called Heepster Radio, as most of the DJ's had met through their mutual love of Uriah Heep. After a few months, it was quite evident that our playlists covered much more territory than just that one band. Each of us plays a pretty diverse blend of classic, progressive & hard rock favorites from our vast music collections. I used to do a program called SUNDAY MORNING SABBATH back in 2005-2006 every Sunday morning on this station and really enjoyed it!