Black Sabbath

An English band formed in 1968, credited with pioneering heavy metal by creating a darker, heavier sound with occult themes, downtuned guitars, and ominous lyrics, heavily influenced by their working-class Birmingham environment and industrial sounds, with the classic line-up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward defining the genre through albums like Paranoid before numerous lineup changes, though Iommi remained the constant member until their retirement.