Nativity In Black - A Tribute To Black Sabbath

Where does the time go? I was spinning this disc in the car this morning and discovered that it's 20 years old this month (Oc.t 3rd, 1994 to be exact).

This tribute album holds a special place for me as it was my introduction to the deeper cuts and lesser known Sabbath tracks. Along with the "hits", some of the performances went a little deeper for tunes to cover. Even the liner notes got me interested in more Sabbath. It also introduced me to some other bands that performed on it that I wasn't familiar with at the time. Up to that point, I think the only Sabbath I owned was We Sold Our Soul For Rock n Roll, which is a pretty decent greatest hits comp of early Sab material in it's own right.

After hearing this album (and to a lesser extent, the NIB II follow-up), I got more intrigued to dig deeper into the Sabbath catalog, both with Ozzy and the Dio years. While some might argue over the individual performances on both albums (the less said about Buster Rhymes, the better), it succeeded tremendously on the very concept of tribute albums. It made me more curious of the original material and introduced me to new bands.

And since I know this thread will inevitably turn into one of those "Here's MY favorite Sabbath cover that noone knows" anyway, here's your assignment...

Using the same format, create your own Sabbath tribute tracklist. The only parameters:
- it's got to be Ozzy-era only
- keep it to 12 tracks (13 for our European/Japanese friends that always get cool bonus tunes).

YouTube embeds are ok, but not necessary. Just list your 12 favorite Black Sabbath covers. They don't even have to be metal covers, although you will be mocked if you list The Cardigans version of 'Iron Man'. GO!!

When did The Cardigans cover "Iron Man?"

But seriously, folks... that album is 20 years old? Damn. I am not 100 percent sure but "N.I.B." may have been the first-ever "tribute album" that I ever bought.

Like MG, it introduced me to a number of Sab tracks that I was unfamiliar with (I believe the only Sabbath album I owned at that time may have been Born Again, so obviously I was WAY behind the eight ball on them) and it encouraged me to start digging deeper into their catalog (a project that is still going on for me to this day)...

I don't have the time or patience to come up with 12 Sabbath covers so I'll just post my personal favorite, Deliverance's take on "After Forever" from their What a Joke album. I like Biohazard's take on the same track on the "N.I.B." album as well, but prefer Deliverance's version overall because A:) They sneak in the riff to "Symptom of the Universe" in the middle, which is bad-ass and B:) Deliverance don't feel the need to drop random "motherf*cker's" every 30 seconds to prove how "down" they are.

CAUTION!! Listening to this version of Iron Man thru to the end will cause your penis to spontaneously turn into a vagina.

^^ Good Lord. I thought you were just making that up.

White Zombie's "Children of the Grave" cover is so badass!

Eyesore wrote:

White Zombie's "Children of the Grave" cover is so badass!

Yea, that was definitely one of those, "Hey, maybe I should check out this White Zombie band" type moments.

This was definitely the first tribute album I ever bought. I think I purchased "Kiss My Ass" shortly after this one.

Here's some Black Sabbath covers I like:

1. Pantera - Planet Caravan
2. Pantera - Hole In The Sky
3. Pantera - Electric Funeral
4. Exhorder - Into the Void
5. Slayer - Hand of Doom
6. Orange Goblin - Hand of Doom
7. Orange Goblin - Symptom of the Universe
8. Megadeth - Paranoid
9. White Zombie - Children of the Grave
10. C.O.C. - Lord of This World
11. Anthrax - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
12. Metallica - Sabbra Cadabra

Still one of my favorite cover/tribute albums! I remember having it on tape.

Yeah that was a good one; ordered it through Columbia House or BMG, whichever I was doing at the time. One of the best 90's moments in music.

I was a Sabbath and Dio fan already when I got this back in 98 or 99. Not a huge fan, or intimately familiar with all their material though. For instance, I didn't know "Symptom of the Universe" because I never heard Sabotage.

But this album didn't do too much for me. A lot of the versions I didn't like, nor do I like them even now. A lot of the artists just don't do much for me. White Zombie, Biohazard, Ugly Kid Joe? Please. I think that Dickinson and pals version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the highlight for me. And Solitude by Cathedral. I haven't heard either in a long time. I should spin the album (but watch out, skip button!).

Orange Goblin - Hand of Doom
Dresden Dolls - War Pigs
Mercury Rev - Planet Caravan
sHeavy - Tomorrows Dream
Megadeth - Never Say Die
Soft Cell - Paranoid
Cathedral - Wheels of Confusion
Spirit Caravan - Wicked World
C.o.C - Lord of this World
Pantera - Electric Funeral
Turisas - Supernaut
Cave In - NIB

Bonus track would be

Voivod - War & Pain

Fat Freddy wrote:

I'll just post my personal favorite, Deliverance's take on "After Forever" from their What a Joke album. I like Biohazard's take on the same track on the "N.I.B." album as well, but prefer Deliverance's version overall because A:) They sneak in the riff to "Symptom of the Universe" in the middle, which is bad-ass and B:) Deliverance don't feel the need to drop random "motherf*cker's" every 30 seconds to prove how "down" they are.

I do not know who Deliverance are but that was cool +"Symptom of the Universe" is my favorite iommi riff.   I watched "Weapons of Our Warfare" video from them excellent song.

I love the Ugly Kid Joe cover of Sweet Leaf,and Bruce Dickinson with Godspeed.
Anthrax-Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has been a long time favorite for me as well.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Anthrax-Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has been a long time favorite for me as well.

Love that one. I knew the Anthrax version well before I ever heard the original.

Here's a few Sabbath covers I really dig.





Really love the unique take on "Snowblind," and like their cover of Maiden's "Hallowed Be Thy Name," Solitude's cover of "Heaven And Hell" rivals the original (the quality of the video isn't as good as the album version). I actually think their cover of "Hallowed" is better than the original.

This band has done some pretty good covers.

I like The Cardigans quite a bit in general. I really dig their covers of "Iron Man", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and Ozzy's "Mr. Crowley." I also dig on their cover of "Boys Are Back In Town."

In addition to some already mentioned by others, my own tribute would include Sacred Reich's "Sweet Leaf" and Faith No More's "War Pigs", which is the first version of the song I was familiar with--the one on The Real Thing, not the live version on the tribute.

Goatsnake - Who Are You?

This track from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is synth-driven, here Goatsnake covers it with guitars...and cello!

Quote :

17 FULL volumes of music (at least 2 hours per volume).

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!