Sabotage (Black Sabbath album)

Sabotage, the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, was released on 28 July 1975. The recording took place while the band was locked in a legal fight with their former manager, Patrick Meehan. That stress shaped the album’s title: the band felt they were being sabotaged at every turn. Guitarist Tony Iommi co-produced the record with Mike Butcher.

The album continues the experimental direction of the previous two releases, blending Black Sabbath’s signature heaviness with acoustic guitar and choral elements. Like its predecessor, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, it earned positive reviews and sold well initially. However, it became the band’s first album not to achieve platinum certification in the United States. Over time, it has been regarded as a classic in their catalog.

Work began in February 1975 at Morgan Studios in Willesden, London. The title Sabotage came from the band’s ongoing lawsuit with their former management. Iommi said they felt “sabotaged all the way along the line and getting punched from all sides.” Drummer Bill Ward noted, “It was probably the only album ever made with lawyers in the studio.”

Iommi credits the legal troubles for the album’s angry, heavier sound. Bassist Geezer Butler later explained that during the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath period, they discovered they were being cheated by management and their record company, so much of their time was spent in lawyers’ offices. “We were literally in the studio, trying to record, and we’d be signing all these affidavits,” he said. Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography confirms that writs were delivered to them at the mixing desk. Butler later admitted that after ten months of legal cases, music felt irrelevant.

On the recording process, Iommi said they wanted to make a rock album rather than continue with orchestras. Sessions often ran late into the night, with Iommi and co-producer Mike Butcher focusing on guitar sounds, and Ward experimenting with effects like the backwards cymbal. Osbourne, however, grew frustrated with the lengthy recording, writing that Sabotage “took about four thousand years.”

A legendary jam session between Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin reportedly occurred during these sessions, though Iommi’s recollection may be off—records show Zeppelin were touring the US at the time.