Claim: Black Sabbath was an ensemble.

Black Sabbath were an English rock band , formed in Birmingham in 1968 , by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi , bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler , singer Ozzy Osbourne , and drummer Bill Ward . The band experienced multiple line-up changes , with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history . Originally formed as a blues rock band , the group soon adopted the Black Sabbath moniker and began incorporating occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and tuned-down guitars . They also composed songs about social instability , political corruption and drugs .   Osbourne 's regular use of alcohol and other drugs led to his dismissal from the band in 1979 . He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio . Following two albums with Dio , Black Sabbath endured many personnel changes in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan , Glenn Hughes , Ray Gillen and Tony Martin , as well as several drummers and bassists . In 1992 , Iommi and Butler rejoined Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer . The original line-up reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album Reunion . Black Sabbath 's final studio album and nineteenth overall , 13 -LRB- 2013 -RRB- , features all of the original members but Ward , who left the band prior to the recording sessions due to a contract dispute . A year after embarking on a farewell tour , the band played their final concert in their home city of Birmingham on 4 February 2017 , after which they broke up . Iommi has stated , however , that he has not ruled out the possibility of new material or one-off shows under the Black Sabbath name .   Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music . The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath -LRB- 1970 -RRB- , Paranoid -LRB- 1970 -RRB- and Master of Reality -LRB- 1971 -RRB- . They were ranked by MTV as the `` Greatest Metal Band '' of all time , and placed second in VH1 's `` 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock '' list . Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number 85 in their `` 100 Greatest Artists of All Time '' . They have sold over 70 million records worldwide . Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 . They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance .