     technical ecstasy is the seventh studio album by english rock band black sabbath, produced by guitarist tony iommi and released in september 1976. the album was certified gold on 19 june 1997 and peaked at number 51 on the billboard 200 album chart. ==recording== after the frustrating legal battles that accompanied the recording of their 1975 album sabotage, black sabbath chose miami's criteria studios for the making of technical ecstasy, which continued the band's separation from its signature doom and darkness that had been a trademark of the sound of their earlier albums. writing in the july 2001 issue of guitar world dan epstein noted, "the sessions proved extremely relaxing for everyone except iommi, who was left to oversee the production while the others sunned themselves on the beach." iommi explained to guitar world in 1992, "we recorded the album in miami, and nobody would take responsibility for the production. no one wanted to bring in an outside person for help, and no one wanted the whole band to produce it. so they left it all to me!" in the liner notes to the band's 1998 live album reunion, phil alexander writes that while the band were struggling to finish the album "rock had spawned a new set of iconoclasts as the sex pistols, the clash and the damned led the uk rock explosion. suddenly sabbath found themselves both unsure of their musical direction and labeled as has-beens.&q
1976_albums Albums_certified_gold_by_the_Recording_Industry_Association_of_America Albums_with_cover_art_by_Hipgnosis Black_Sabbath_albums Vertigo_Records_albums Warner_Bros._Records_albums