Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—and Beyond

While there have been numerous innovators in the world of rock and roll, there are few who can claim to have invented an entire genre. Butler, the bassist and primary lyricist for Black Sabbath, can count himself as one of those people. He and his three bandmates’—working-class boys from Birmingham, England—eponymous debut is the defining document of heavy metal music. This book demonstrates there was nothing like it before, and everything that came after owes it an enormous debt. Following memoirs from bandmates Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi, Butler’s book is full of honesty and humility. He recounts his early impoverished childhood in post-World War II Britain and the general gloom of Birmingham, a setting influential on the sound and spirit of the heavy music he came to write. The book also contains a lot of stories of rock-star misbehavior and use of illegal substances.