If you want an awesome visual of Ward (and the rest of the band) on this song and multiple others search for the Paris 1970 concert. It will blow you away, the energy is incredible.
Some information about N.I.B. The lyrics are about a woman who seduced Satan, and changed him with a power of love, that was the intended meaning of the song, but people took it as a devil worshipping song. The name has no meaning at all, boys were just having some fun laughing at Bill Wards beards "nib", specifically how pointy it is, and then they randomly decided to name a song as a tribute to Bill Wards beard, and they put dots in between letters to confuse people, so people took it as Nativity In Black, yet again with their devil worshipping shenanigans, while it's just a funky song about how love can change even the worst of us, named after a silly facial hair
I always heard it differently.. It's about the devil seducing a woman and not telling her he's the devil until after he knows she's in love with him. Either way it's still a great song and out of all the Sabbath songs this is my favorite.
In an recorded interview, Butler explained that the idea is that the devil falls in love with a human woman and it changes him to become a good person. Do I think you’re about right.
Pretty good interpretation! At all. I always interpret N.I.B like, the devil fell in love a human and he "self humillation" to have something with that human. Showing how devil is "low" or "I want you at any cost".
My interpretation is it is about Satan, who is impersonating God, he tells her the sun, the moon the stars all bear MY seal. Seduces a mortal woman and he eventually reveals his true self, telling her to look into his eyes and see who he really is, and promises her that she will not regret the sinful life she has lead prior to their meetin and falling in love . Love this music, its great to read others interpretations of this classic music.
This song is the "big bang" of metal for me... 3rd grade... Sitting on an old rusty tractor hanging with the older neighbor kid... He's smoking cigs and being all cool... Plays this song...the guitar riff mesmerized me... When the "my name is Lucifer, please take my hand" part came... Goosebumps immediately... And Metalbuddhahead was born... 🤘🤘🤘🤘
The band was high on opium and thought it was hilarious how Bill Ward's beard looked like a pen nib so they named the song after it. A lot of people (incorrectly) assumed it meant Nativity in Black but the band has always refuted that explanation.
Great! The noise/distortion on the bass is actually organic real, live distortion. Butler wanted it to sound like this, so he started playing it, and the engineers said, "No, play it clean, and we'll add distortion on to it." Butler, refused, and said he wanted it to sound this way "for real" coming out of the amps like that. I see that other people here mentioned correctly (and I think I did on a previous reaction) that "Nib" was a reference by Butler to Bill Ward's beard shape, which looked like a pen nib. Zeppelin was not an influence on Sabbath (although they were friends). At one point early on, Osbourne mentioned to Iommi, "Have you heard how heavy the Led Zeppelin album is?", to which Iommi blankly replied, "We'll be heavier." :) Iommi has always cited The Shadows, a British instrumental band with a big hit in 1960, as being a big influence on him. By the time of the super heavy the Master of Reality album in 1971, metal had been well and truly created by Iommi, which is still the template for all heavy music. James Hetfield, referred to listening to his older brother's vinyls of Sabbath as a kid, which had an influence on Metallica in later years.
The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib.[3] According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was "Nib", which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'." Though "Nativity in Black" is a disputed title, it was later used for a pair of Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000 respectively.
Having lived with the early Sabbath albums as the basis of my musical adventure since the 70's, it's actually fascinating listening to someone coming to them fresh. You've made me listen again with fresh ears, and I'm loving rediscovering the albums and hearing things I had not noticed before (just been too used to the overall sound, I guess) :)
Geoff, we hear new things because if you remember, we used to play these on 8-track's, crappy turntables with 5 inch speakers and cassette tapes that used to get chewed up all the time....LOL. I once saved all my money to buy an 8-track to cassette converter from Radio Shack. Every time my pop went over a bump, it would skip.....the struggle was real brother!!!!
I tried for a bit to learn and play an instrument when i was young, but patience and dicipline, was never an attribute of mine. But i always had a good ear, and when i discovered Black Sabbath 21 years ago when i was 11 years old, Geezer Buttler became my favorite bass player, even thought i didn't knew nothing about music theory that time. I still don't know, if compared to someone, who studies the subject, but i think i know enough to say, when someone kicks ass. And not only because he solo on a song, i always hear the song as a whole. From base to apex.
Before Dio joined Sabbath, the lyrics were written by Geezer. A lifelong Catholic, Geezer often explored Christian themes ("After Forever" and "Lord of This World" are probably the most obvious examples). In "N.I.B." Geezer tells the story of Satan falling in love with a mortal woman and he becomes a good angel again.
This shows how loud Sabbath really was. Tony was great at tuning his guitar to get that loud iconic distortion and Bill Ward just brings so much intensity but matches the finesse of Butler too
Geezer Butler bass solo with wah wah pedal the using distortion pedal in this song itself is awesome. Love Geezer his lyrics to these Sabbath songs mostly makes him an icon. He just retired lads sad to say.
The drums... Bill Ward's work behind the kit is legendary. The melodic 16s off the ride. The thickness of how much clean kick drum he sneaks in every measure.
Oh yeah! I love the look on your face hearing these songs . It makes so happy to see your intrigue and shear delight! It feels like handing a family heirloom to the next generation. Only it's not my song or band to hand down. But I still feel like I own it , a treasure from my youth to be shared only with like minded friends . Peace and love ✌ 💚
N.I.B. was thought by many to mean Nativity In Black - and a lot of people still do, but it actually stood for “nib”, as in the nib of a fountain pen. It was a nickname for Bill Ward’s beard, which was (at the time) shaped like a fountain pen nib.
@@AndrewRooneyDrums I love to see the look on the face of somebody who discovers Black Sabbath and recognizes their amazing talent. If I may suggest a couple of tunes…. Rat Salad (drum solo) and Fairies Wear Boots from the Paranoid album. They’ll blow your mind, brother! I’ve been a fan for close to 50 years now.
Andrew does this video and song melt your brain??? Each of these men were super, super good at their craft. I think they were in their early 20's at the time of this song and video... Bill was a great drummer. As was Geezer and Tony. They created a whole new style of music.... Take care man!
POV watching someone become a big Black Sabbath fan. Tbt, if youre a fan of any 90s alt rock ( ie, soundgarden,AIC, etc) then youre a Sabbath fan. You juat dont know it yet.
Been listening to this for 40 years or more, and it keeps being so weird and fresh and original; and then to think by the time I first heard it, it was old, over a decade, played by people from my parents' generation, and yet, where my parents were a couple of ultimate squares, these guys blew my mind, and continue to do when I'm older than my parents were back then.
Hi Andrew,I’m loving you breaking down bills style and grooves , I joined sabbath bloody sabbath the uks first black sabbath tribute in 2016 and basically had to learn the drums all over again (I’ve been playing since 1976) he truly is a phenomenal drummer
Sabbath weren't the first "Shock Rock" group...but they were one of the best...and certainly the biggest of their time. Screamin' Jay Hawkins has that title, with "I Put a Spell on You" back in 1956.
My favorite drummer is Barriemore Barlow from Tull but I had the first Black Sabbath album before I got into Tull and I loved it,but didn’t pay much attention to the drumming because it was a complete package of music. But later on I grew to appreciate Bill Ward’s drumming ability and ironically my 49 year old son is the drummer for a Black Sabbath tribute band called Bit of Finger and they knock it out ! My son has all the drums and talent to pull it off and it allowed me to hear the drums in all of the songs and realize how great Bill Ward’s drumming was. And as you mentioned how he was an underrated artist
N.I.B. is an acronym that stands for Nativity In Black. Ozzy said they wanted a balanced view of religion by representing god and the devil equally. They really had something there, not just with the theme and with the story telling but as a band, musically, they really did create something new... they created HEAVY METAL.😎
If you ever decide to do Jimi Hendrix week find the song Nine to the Universe it's a recorded live not sure if there's a video but it's one of the greatest sessions of Mitch Mitchell drumming you'll ever hear it's like 20 minutes long
The first Black Sabbath track I heard was Paranoid in 1970,just completely opened my eyes to a form of music I've listened to ever since & I'm 70 next year. It was like a switch going on in my head & has remained on ever since.
"N.I.B." is a song released by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's 1970 debut album, Black Sabbath. The lyrics are in the first person from the point of view of Lucifer. Bassist Geezer Butler, who composed the song's lyrics, has said that "the song was about the devil falling in love and totally changing, becoming a good person. The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib.[3] According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was "Nib", which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'.
I'm 54 and not a musician. The drums have always been my fave instrument. When i was a little kid i grew up hearing mostly Soul/R&B and a mix of pop.. When i was 11 i moved cities and the next door neighbor kid played me Kiss Detroit Rock City and i was floored. Then he played Sabbath and AC/DC and it was OVER! I've been a metal/hard rock fan since. I love seeing and hearing your reactions to SlipKnot/Joey and Sabbath/Bill Ward. Your technical take on the art of drumming is like a foreign language to me but your enthusiasm is super infectious! Ever do reviews on Phil Rudd of AC/DC? I'm unsure where he ranks in the pantheon of all-time greats, but, he's pretty great IMO. Thank you for your time and work!
For those interested in Sabbaff covers, me, I have rarely heard a cover that brings anything new to the table with this band, but the Pitchshifter NIB cover really does do it justice and is well worth a check out on you tube etc.
I'm loving this first album it reminds me of when I was 12 the year it came out your parents would let you leave the house and go to your friends and tell you you better not be listening to Black Sabbath while you're over there I don't know maybe you just had to live through it ✌️
@@AndrewRooneyDrums oh yes!!! Our parents thought Sabbath was the devil 😈 Unholy Trinity.... Zeppelin...Deep Purple....Sabbath name given by the media😂😂😂
NIB basically is named that because bills beard used to look like a pen nib... it does not stand for nativity in black . Although some people will say that
IT has been said before --- ward is beating those drums like they owe him money. What a drummer???!!!! Andy take care and rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........
anyone heard the primus cover of this with ozzy singing? this was back in the limewire/kazaa days so im not sure if iut was actually primus, but it was definitely les playing bass. soo sweet
Andrew, I love your reaction to this classic band. Its exactly the reaction I wanted all my mates to have when I played it for them. One thing people gloss over is their unique melodiousness. Particularly for a supposed "heavy metal' band (incidentally a term I don't subscribe too).
Black Sabbath was the first hard rock that got into when I was 11, in 1975. I paid 2.99 for this album and I played it so much dude, I think I bought 4 needles for my turntable that year, ha. The next year I bought Styx, Grand Illusion, it was not as hard but I am a big Styx fan also.
its crazy how much sabbath can resemble jazz, and i definitely attribute a lot of it to bill wards style and influences. tony iommi is also very jazzy at times
You probably know by now but nib stands for nativity in black, wich was the original title, but I the time you can imagine it didn't pass with sensors...a black sabbath fan from Montreal Canada
I subscribed and am really enjoying your reactions to Black Sabbath. I saw them live a number of times starting in the 1970's, and they were my number 1 band for much of the period 1970-2000. A NOTE: I am having difficulty thinking of recommendations for further reviews, i.e. that could focus on drumming. You did the famous Godsmack "Drum Battle" review, and I really enjoyed watching that. I did a WORD search of a total of 1,012 of your videos to date, going back 5 years, and I did find only one "Nightwish" video. You reviewed the highly thought of Kai Hahto and "Wishmaster" a year ago, which has received 72K views as of today. But nothing since then. The problem is that many people, including myself, consider their PRIOR drummer, *Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen* , to have actually been the better drummer, and he would still be there, except for his having severe incurable insomnia problems, that made him medically unable to continue with the band (Kai was his hand-picked successor). Their song "Ghost Love Score" is one of their most popular requests (the band itself recently posted an Instagram message saying it had been found the most heavily "reacted to" video of all music videos on the internet), and (speaking solely as an amateur here of course) I think Jukka's drumming in "Ghost Love Score" is really exceptional ! If you were to review it, perhaps you could offer some more specialized insight into the drumming aspects of the song that are not often commented upon in other video reactions? The link is at ua-cam.com/video/JYjIlHWBAVo/v-deo.html. Hope you can have a chance to get to this !! Keep well ...
I know this is a drummer channel, I also know that Zakk Wylde was not apart of Black Sabbath, but there's a video out there of Zakk Wylde playing NIB on a Hello Kitty guitar. I just love that video for some reason.
Speaking of Jimi Hendrix. I would love you to make a Jimi Hendrix week :-) For me, "Hey Joe" is a masterpiece. the drumming is outstanding and listening the track up and down concentrating on the different guitars is mindblowing.
I am so excited for when you get to Warning, it is a jazz improvised classic between Tony Iommi and Bill Ward during Tony's insane improvised guitar solos.
I love your enthusiasm. It’s like discovering this music all over again. If you’re unfamiliar with music from the late 60’s and 70’s, check out Ian Paice and Mitch Mitchell
You still can't beat the old quadraphonic sound put the album on the turntable and listen to the true version of the song, it's not the same sound in digital audio, but it's a whole lot more convenient. :-) :-)
Black Sabbath were the perfect combination. Remove anyone of the four and they wouldn't have been the same.. They originated the style. They took their name from the title of a horror film showing in a cinema near where they rehearsed, they decided to diversify from blues to 'scary' music.
N.I.B was just a nickname for Bill Ward. One night whilst high on Opium Ozzy made the observation that Bill’s beard looked like a pen nib, & they then called him “nibby”. They didn’t have a name for the song, so just called it Nib… then Someone during production put dots between the letters, & people started speculating that it meant “Nativity In Black”, hence the name of two Sabbath tribute albums from the 90s with some huge bands on them. I do hope you’re doing the version of the first album that includes the song “Wicked World”, as it was their first song written, & recorded. Only song that Tony played his strat on. Then you need to check out the 17 minute line version
The first black sabbath album was basicly the set they played at gigs paranoid came out not much after and the tital track of thst was writen in 20 minutes cause the studio needed a few more minutes on the album
Andy , NIB was used because Bill Ward's beard came to a point like a pin NIB, Bill's nick name was Nibby so Geezer shortened it to NIB. Always enjoy your insight on the drumming.
You're right, in some ways musically they are like LZ. They too were influenced by Mississippi Delta Blues. It's also true that Robert Plant and Ozzy, as well as Bob Dylan play harmonica and vocals. No consensus on what N.I.B. was supposed to stand for. Most common thoughts are in the comments already
If you want to explore some of the really heavy bands that were clearly influenced, in part, by Black Sabbath, I suggest 2 bands (out of many). The 1st is obvious: Sepultura, a Brazilian band who recorded and often played live a version of Symptom of the Universe. The 2nd is an Austrian band called Pungent Stench. For a very heavy band, they have some groovy and bluesy songs. Check out the breaks in Happy Re-Birthday and Games of Humiliation for clear Sabbath influences.
Side one is over. Next is Wicked World Jazz meets Metal I remember my friend Peter and me both drummers listening to Wicked World and mesmerized at a new genre Heavy Metal , Just from 3 notes from title track transformed you to a whole different world 🌎 Bill Ward first metal drummer the one and only Sabbath Rules
Black Sabbath Week day 4 ! "OH YEAH" (to quote Andrew !) All roads of rock lead back to Black Sabbath. Their DNA is everywhere. There's not a SINGLE rock band that was not influenced by the Four Horsemen. (I just made that last part up. I've never heard them called that, but they are !)
To me this is an example of what should be called "groove metal," like Sweet Leaf and many of their songs. Kids these days mean something different when they say groove metal. Instead, Sabbath is now considered "doom metal," which refers to the slow grinding heavy riffs that YOU (and I) associate with "grunge" like Soundgarden on Badmotorfinger.
Your right to be blown away, in the years to come, when these songs will become somewhat "yours", try to find many songs like the title song, in Wich in so minimal notes , presenting such overpacked essence, and the gaps between the notes are full full not empty at all, I think that says it all
I watch a lot of Sabbath reaction videos and there is a tendency to relate their sound to a wide variety of other genre's when in fact, most of them didn't exist until Sabbath inspired them. Instead of saying "This sounds like Grunge" you might consider saying "So this is where Grunge came from."
We played this in our band at School back in the year it was first released. Our bass player, John Rollo had this intr down to a T though I think my vocals left a bit to be desired!
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You are going to love this tune, its funky.
please reaction ua-cam.com/video/oCHCBbcW48Q/v-deo.html
If you want an awesome visual of Ward (and the rest of the band) on this song and multiple others search for the Paris 1970 concert. It will blow you away, the energy is incredible.
Some information about N.I.B. The lyrics are about a woman who seduced Satan, and changed him with a power of love, that was the intended meaning of the song, but people took it as a devil worshipping song. The name has no meaning at all, boys were just having some fun laughing at Bill Wards beards "nib", specifically how pointy it is, and then they randomly decided to name a song as a tribute to Bill Wards beard, and they put dots in between letters to confuse people, so people took it as Nativity In Black, yet again with their devil worshipping shenanigans, while it's just a funky song about how love can change even the worst of us, named after a silly facial hair
I always heard it differently.. It's about the devil seducing a woman and not telling her he's the devil until after he knows she's in love with him. Either way it's still a great song and out of all the Sabbath songs this is my favorite.
In an recorded interview, Butler explained that the idea is that the devil falls in love with a human woman and it changes him to become a good person. Do I think you’re about right.
I read that too but it's Sabbath and all loons get on board.
Pretty good interpretation! At all. I always interpret N.I.B like, the devil fell in love a human and he "self humillation" to have something with that human. Showing how devil is "low" or "I want you at any cost".
My interpretation is it is about Satan, who is impersonating God, he tells her the sun, the moon the stars all bear MY seal. Seduces a mortal woman and he eventually reveals his true self, telling her to look into his eyes and see who he really is, and promises her that she will not regret the sinful life she has lead prior to their meetin and falling in love . Love this music, its great to read others interpretations of this classic music.
The genre "Metal" was born with this ablum. Influenced practically every band since and still one of the best albums ever (imo)
Agree
Hell yea Ozzy is the god of metal and the symbol of the start of metal
I was at the Paranoid tour at the Albert Hall in London- Wild Turkey supporting if I remember correctly.
@@jtocst iomi
More like hard rock.
This song is the "big bang" of metal for me...
3rd grade... Sitting on an old rusty tractor hanging with the older neighbor kid... He's smoking cigs and being all cool... Plays this song...the guitar riff mesmerized me... When the "my name is Lucifer, please take my hand" part came... Goosebumps immediately... And Metalbuddhahead was born... 🤘🤘🤘🤘
Beautiful
@@AndrewRooneyDrums please reaction ua-cam.com/video/oCHCBbcW48Q/v-deo.html
beautiful memory.
The band was high on opium and thought it was hilarious how Bill Ward's beard looked like a pen nib so they named the song after it. A lot of people (incorrectly) assumed it meant Nativity in Black but the band has always refuted that explanation.
Great! The noise/distortion on the bass is actually organic real, live distortion. Butler wanted it to sound like this, so he started playing it, and the engineers said, "No, play it clean, and we'll add distortion on to it." Butler, refused, and said he wanted it to sound this way "for real" coming out of the amps like that. I see that other people here mentioned correctly (and I think I did on a previous reaction) that "Nib" was a reference by Butler to Bill Ward's beard shape, which looked like a pen nib. Zeppelin was not an influence on Sabbath (although they were friends). At one point early on, Osbourne mentioned to Iommi, "Have you heard how heavy the Led Zeppelin album is?", to which Iommi blankly replied, "We'll be heavier." :) Iommi has always cited The Shadows, a British instrumental band with a big hit in 1960, as being a big influence on him. By the time of the super heavy the Master of Reality album in 1971, metal had been well and truly created by Iommi, which is still the template for all heavy music. James Hetfield, referred to listening to his older brother's vinyls of Sabbath as a kid, which had an influence on Metallica in later years.
Great comments as always Mike.
Yup I can feel the volume. And the engineers struggling to cope with it.
I love hearing things on the edge like this
Black Sabbath was the first hard rock band ever. Nobody had heard anything that hard before. Geezer is a badass bass player for sure dude.
Finally, someone who also sees them as hard rock. ❤ I don't hear metal in any of this album.
The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib.[3] According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was "Nib", which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'."
Though "Nativity in Black" is a disputed title, it was later used for a pair of Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000 respectively.
Loved it when you nailed the "oh yeah" and did a little cheer for yourself 😂
HAHA!!!
Me too ! I loved that part.
Having lived with the early Sabbath albums as the basis of my musical adventure since the 70's, it's actually fascinating listening to someone coming to them fresh. You've made me listen again with fresh ears, and I'm loving rediscovering the albums and hearing things I had not noticed before (just been too used to the overall sound, I guess) :)
This makes me so happy Geoff. Thank you!
Geoff, we hear new things because if you remember, we used to play these on 8-track's, crappy turntables with 5 inch speakers and cassette tapes that used to get chewed up all the time....LOL. I once saved all my money to buy an 8-track to cassette converter from Radio Shack. Every time my pop went over a bump, it would skip.....the struggle was real brother!!!!
bill's bass drum work on this song is amazing!
I tried for a bit to learn and play an instrument when i was young, but patience and dicipline, was never an attribute of mine. But i always had a good ear, and when i discovered Black Sabbath 21 years ago when i was 11 years old, Geezer Buttler became my favorite bass player, even thought i didn't knew nothing about music theory that time. I still don't know, if compared to someone, who studies the subject, but i think i know enough to say, when someone kicks ass. And not only because he solo on a song, i always hear the song as a whole. From base to apex.
Before Dio joined Sabbath, the lyrics were written by Geezer. A lifelong Catholic, Geezer often explored Christian themes ("After Forever" and "Lord of This World" are probably the most obvious examples). In "N.I.B." Geezer tells the story of Satan falling in love with a mortal woman and he becomes a good angel again.
Thanks for the info David!
After Forever was Geezer’s response to them being categorized as a Satanic band. They explored darker themes, but they were not satanic.
Satan is the great deceiver. He's lying to the woman with all the promises he's making just to claim her soul
This shows how loud Sabbath really was. Tony was great at tuning his guitar to get that loud iconic distortion and Bill Ward just brings so much intensity but matches the finesse of Butler too
I've been binge watching on your Black Sabbath videos. Great stuff, man!
Yo thanks!
Geezer Butler bass solo with wah wah pedal the using distortion pedal in this song itself is awesome. Love Geezer his lyrics to these Sabbath songs mostly makes him an icon. He just retired lads sad to say.
Geezer's "solo" albums are well worth a listen. I'm currently enjoying "Black Science" :D
@@The_Original_Geoff_B cool going to check it out. Rock on 🤘
Best group ever
This and the Wizard are my two favourite tracks, with this just ahead by an inch. It's just too good. Great reaction.
The drums... Bill Ward's work behind the kit is legendary. The melodic 16s off the ride. The thickness of how much clean kick drum he sneaks in every measure.
Good to see you loving the "Oh yeah's"; such a catchy tune with some incredible groove and great snare rolls from Mr. Ward.
Oh I love it Todd
great comment at 4:45: "classic Bill Ward, that little single stroke 4"
as Andrew discovers Sabbath... encounters the lyric
"Follow me now and you will not regret
"leaving the life you had, before we met...."
🙏
Oh yeah!
I love the look on your face hearing these songs . It makes so happy to see your intrigue and shear delight!
It feels like handing a family heirloom to the next generation. Only it's not my song or band to hand down. But I still feel like I own it , a treasure from my youth to be shared only with like minded friends .
Peace and love ✌ 💚
YES!!!!
Yup !!!!
NIB: The song that invented headbanging. The riff just makes you want to.
Loving the Sabbathon!
SABBAAAAAAAATH!!!
13 years old in 1971... standing in front of the store record rack...Black Sabbath or Santana Abraxas?? The rest is history.
I got both. But I was 15.
N.I.B. was thought by many to mean Nativity In Black - and a lot of people still do, but it actually stood for “nib”, as in the nib of a fountain pen. It was a nickname for Bill Ward’s beard, which was (at the time) shaped like a fountain pen nib.
Thank you!
@@AndrewRooneyDrums I love to see the look on the face of somebody who discovers Black Sabbath and recognizes their amazing talent. If I may suggest a couple of tunes…. Rat Salad (drum solo) and Fairies Wear Boots from the Paranoid album. They’ll blow your mind, brother! I’ve been a fan for close to 50 years now.
Andrew does this video and song melt your brain??? Each of these men were super, super good at their craft. I think they were in their early 20's at the time of this song and video... Bill was a great drummer. As was Geezer and Tony. They created a whole new style of music.... Take care man!
POV watching someone become a big Black Sabbath fan.
Tbt, if youre a fan of any 90s alt rock ( ie, soundgarden,AIC, etc) then youre a Sabbath fan. You juat dont know it yet.
Black Sabbath War Pigs 1970 live in Paris,Bill Ward is the athlete of the band
One of the most iconic riffs of all time without a doubt
Been listening to this for 40 years or more, and it keeps being so weird and fresh and original; and then to think by the time I first heard it, it was old, over a decade, played by people from my parents' generation, and yet, where my parents were a couple of ultimate squares, these guys blew my mind, and continue to do when I'm older than my parents were back then.
LOVE IT
Hi Andrew,I’m loving you breaking down bills style and grooves , I joined sabbath bloody sabbath the uks first black sabbath tribute in 2016 and basically had to learn the drums all over again (I’ve been playing since 1976) he truly is a phenomenal drummer
At the time there was no metal, this is pre-metal. It was just called heavy rock.
Incredible isn't it. To create like this
That is spot on
Sabbath weren't the first "Shock Rock" group...but they were one of the best...and certainly the biggest of their time. Screamin' Jay Hawkins has that title, with "I Put a Spell on You" back in 1956.
My favorite drummer is Barriemore Barlow from Tull but I had the first Black Sabbath album before I got into Tull and I loved it,but didn’t pay much attention to the drumming because it was a complete package of music. But later on I grew to appreciate Bill Ward’s drumming ability and ironically my 49 year old son is the drummer for a Black Sabbath tribute band called Bit of Finger and they knock it out ! My son has all the drums and talent to pull it off and it allowed me to hear the drums in all of the songs and realize how great Bill Ward’s drumming was. And as you mentioned how he was an underrated artist
One of my childhood friends married
a lady from Rotorua, and moved there, 35 years ago. I hope to visit someday. Great channel. Enjoy your POV.
N.I.B. is an acronym that stands for Nativity In Black. Ozzy said they wanted a balanced view of religion by representing god and the devil equally. They really had something there, not just with the theme and with the story telling but as a band, musically, they really did create something new... they created HEAVY METAL.😎
If you ever decide to do Jimi Hendrix week find the song Nine to the Universe it's a recorded live not sure if there's a video but it's one of the greatest sessions of Mitch Mitchell drumming you'll ever hear it's like 20 minutes long
It's good to see you enjoying what I've enjoyed for a half a century!
There it is. This intro/solo is the reason i play bass.
WOW!
I'm so happy you're digging into all of there work
The first Black Sabbath track I heard was Paranoid in 1970,just completely opened my eyes to a form of music I've listened to ever since & I'm 70 next year. It was like a switch going on in my head & has remained on ever since.
"N.I.B." is a song released by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's 1970 debut album, Black Sabbath. The lyrics are in the first person from the point of view of Lucifer. Bassist Geezer Butler, who composed the song's lyrics, has said that "the song was about the devil falling in love and totally changing, becoming a good person.
The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib.[3] According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was "Nib", which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'.
The press thought they were infernal but that rhythm section is divine.
8:08 "hell yeah" it's what I say after I blast Sabbath, every time!
I visited the mill on the first album cover. Still in operation since the 15th century
I've watched vids of people visiting it. I'M OBSESSED!
Bonham, Ward, Paice. My Big 3 Classic Rock drummers.
100% Jesse!
I'm 54 and not a musician. The drums have always been my fave instrument. When i was a little kid i grew up hearing mostly Soul/R&B and a mix of pop.. When i was 11 i moved cities and the next door neighbor kid played me Kiss Detroit Rock City and i was floored. Then he played Sabbath and AC/DC and it was OVER! I've been a metal/hard rock fan since. I love seeing and hearing your reactions to SlipKnot/Joey and Sabbath/Bill Ward. Your technical take on the art of drumming is like a foreign language to me but your enthusiasm is super infectious!
Ever do reviews on Phil Rudd of AC/DC? I'm unsure where he ranks in the pantheon of all-time greats, but, he's pretty great IMO.
Thank you for your time and work!
Nothing better than Black Sabbath from bed!
Can't wait for your feeling! Let's see this video.
For those interested in Sabbaff covers, me, I have rarely heard a cover that brings anything new to the table with this band, but the Pitchshifter NIB cover really does do it justice and is well worth a check out on you tube etc.
Thanks John!
Have you seen my covers? I tried to go note for note to dig deep into the Bill Ward style
Oh ya!
OH YEAH!
I'm loving this first album it reminds me of when I was 12 the year it came out your parents would let you leave the house and go to your friends and tell you you better not be listening to Black Sabbath while you're over there I don't know maybe you just had to live through it ✌️
Oh wow!!!
Really Susanne? Black Sabbath was THAT controversial!? AMAZING
@@AndrewRooneyDrums oh yes!!! Our parents thought Sabbath was the devil 😈 Unholy Trinity.... Zeppelin...Deep Purple....Sabbath name given by the media😂😂😂
@@susannebass5503...So glad your a fan...when I was growing up...the girls i knew didn't like this music...
@@jazzyboy7784 well us Chicago girls loved them💗
@@susannebass5503 Badass...lol.
I know this is a yr old but the live in Paris 1970 is my favorite for N.I.B. The whole concert is incredible!
Check out Black Sabbath on California Jam 1974; Ward is a monster!
NIB basically is named that because bills beard used to look like a pen nib... it does not stand for nativity in black . Although some people will say that
Hey, it's Sabbath. Enjoy the ride my brother!
YES CHRIS!
And.... It looks like you aren't subbed!? Help me hit 100K!
ua-cam.com/users/RooneyDrums
IT has been said before ---
ward is beating those drums like they owe him money. What a drummer???!!!! Andy take care and rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........
Thanks Mike. Right back at ya!
anyone heard the primus cover of this with ozzy singing? this was back in the limewire/kazaa days so im not sure if iut was actually primus, but it was definitely les playing bass. soo sweet
Oh wow! Thanks for the info
Don’t know if you found out the name, but I believe I read that N.I.B. is n acronym for Nativity In Black. Love the show. Bill Ward is the best.
Andrew, I love your reaction to this classic band. Its exactly the reaction I wanted all my mates to have when I played it for them. One thing people gloss over is their unique melodiousness. Particularly for a supposed "heavy metal' band (incidentally a term I don't subscribe too).
Band-Maid are the only current band that I know who start a few songs with a bass solo.
Right on!
Black Sabbath was the first hard rock that got into when I was 11, in 1975. I paid 2.99 for this album and I played it so much dude, I think I bought 4 needles for my turntable that year, ha. The next year I bought Styx, Grand Illusion, it was not as hard but I am a big Styx fan also.
Yes..."hard rock. 👍
Another amazing song Andrew by the mighty Sabbath I'm absolutely loving your reactions are great to bringing Bill Ward into the spot light 👍👍
Another brilliant journey from Sabbath what a band
cant wait the next one Wicked world, one of my favorites
That one will have to be at a later date sorry!
its crazy how much sabbath can resemble jazz, and i definitely attribute a lot of it to bill wards style and influences. tony iommi is also very jazzy at times
Yup. He provides a lot of that style.
You probably know by now but nib stands for nativity in black, wich was the original title, but I the time you can imagine it didn't pass with sensors...a black sabbath fan from Montreal Canada
I subscribed and am really enjoying your reactions to Black Sabbath. I saw them live a number of times starting in the 1970's, and they were my number 1 band for much of the period 1970-2000.
A NOTE: I am having difficulty thinking of recommendations for further reviews, i.e. that could focus on drumming. You did the famous Godsmack "Drum Battle" review, and I really enjoyed watching that.
I did a WORD search of a total of 1,012 of your videos to date, going back 5 years, and I did find only one "Nightwish" video. You reviewed the highly thought of Kai Hahto and "Wishmaster" a year ago, which has received 72K views as of today. But nothing since then.
The problem is that many people, including myself, consider their PRIOR drummer, *Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen* , to have actually been the better drummer, and he would still be there, except for his having severe incurable insomnia problems, that made him medically unable to continue with the band (Kai was his hand-picked successor).
Their song "Ghost Love Score" is one of their most popular requests (the band itself recently posted an Instagram message saying it had been found the most heavily "reacted to" video of all music videos on the internet), and (speaking solely as an amateur here of course) I think Jukka's drumming in "Ghost Love Score" is really exceptional ! If you were to review it, perhaps you could offer some more specialized insight into the drumming aspects of the song that are not often commented upon in other video reactions?
The link is at ua-cam.com/video/JYjIlHWBAVo/v-deo.html. Hope you can have a chance to get to this !! Keep well ...
Ozzy loved using this song to end the show during his 70s tours.
I know this is a drummer channel, I also know that Zakk Wylde was not apart of Black Sabbath, but there's a video out there of Zakk Wylde playing NIB on a Hello Kitty guitar. I just love that video for some reason.
NIB is Neon in Black.
Sabbath fan since 71.
Speaking of Jimi Hendrix. I would love you to make a Jimi Hendrix week :-) For me, "Hey Joe" is a masterpiece. the drumming is outstanding and listening the track up and down concentrating on the different guitars is mindblowing.
Yes!!!!!!!!
Very very good call.
Speaking of Hendrix, The álbum paranoid was realeased in The same day he died
I am so excited for when you get to Warning, it is a jazz improvised classic between Tony Iommi and Bill Ward during Tony's insane improvised guitar solos.
N.I.B. as told by Sabbath is a Pen Nib or gotee beard and or Nativity In Black.
The bass solo at the beginning is called, “ Bassically “.
Is good to see normal People react to Sabbath, but is much better to see a expert! Great job!!!
great song, great album, legendary band.
I love your enthusiasm. It’s like discovering this music all over again.
If you’re unfamiliar with music from the late 60’s and 70’s, check out Ian Paice and Mitch Mitchell
Yes John. Got some more Ian Paice on the way next week!
2nd fave Sabbath song right here
The Paris 1970 version will blow your mind. Bill's camera time is brief but powerful!
Yes i comletely understand the Connection to certain Grunge and also Jimi Hendrix
You still can't beat the old quadraphonic sound put the album on the turntable and listen to the true version of the song, it's not the same sound in digital audio, but it's a whole lot more convenient. :-) :-)
Black Sabbath were the perfect combination. Remove anyone of the four and they wouldn't have been the same..
They originated the style. They took their name from the title of a horror film showing in a cinema near where they rehearsed, they decided to diversify from blues to 'scary' music.
Brilliant
N.I.B was just a nickname for Bill Ward. One night whilst high on Opium Ozzy made the observation that Bill’s beard looked like a pen nib, & they then called him “nibby”.
They didn’t have a name for the song, so just called it Nib… then Someone during production put dots between the letters, & people started speculating that it meant “Nativity In Black”, hence the name of two Sabbath tribute albums from the 90s with some huge bands on them.
I do hope you’re doing the version of the first album that includes the song “Wicked World”, as it was their first song written, & recorded. Only song that Tony played his strat on.
Then you need to check out the 17 minute line version
The first black sabbath album was basicly the set they played at gigs paranoid came out not much after and the tital track of thst was writen in 20 minutes cause the studio needed a few more minutes on the album
Over time you’ll get to the other albums. Can’t wait once you get to their Master of Reality album!
I can't wait either
Andy , NIB was used because Bill Ward's beard came to a point like a pin NIB, Bill's nick name was Nibby so Geezer shortened it to NIB. Always enjoy your insight on the drumming.
You're right, in some ways musically they are like LZ. They too were influenced by Mississippi Delta Blues. It's also true that Robert Plant and Ozzy, as well as Bob Dylan play harmonica and vocals. No consensus on what N.I.B. was supposed to stand for. Most common thoughts are in the comments already
For God and The King!
🙌
Geezer was one if no the first to use a wha with the bass.
🤯
If you want to explore some of the really heavy bands that were clearly influenced, in part, by Black Sabbath, I suggest 2 bands (out of many). The 1st is obvious: Sepultura, a Brazilian band who recorded and often played live a version of Symptom of the Universe. The 2nd is an Austrian band called Pungent Stench. For a very heavy band, they have some groovy and bluesy songs. Check out the breaks in Happy Re-Birthday and Games of Humiliation for clear Sabbath influences.
Side one is over. Next is Wicked World Jazz meets Metal I remember my friend Peter and me both drummers listening to Wicked World and mesmerized at a new genre Heavy Metal , Just from 3 notes from title track transformed you to a whole different world 🌎 Bill Ward first metal drummer the one and only Sabbath Rules
Black Sabbath Week day 4 ! "OH YEAH" (to quote Andrew !) All roads of rock lead back to Black Sabbath. Their DNA is everywhere. There's not a SINGLE rock band that was not influenced by the Four Horsemen. (I just made that last part up. I've never heard them called that, but they are !)
I'm gonna start calling them that Michael! HAHA
@@AndrewRooneyDrums Right on, buddy !
To me this is an example of what should be called "groove metal," like Sweet Leaf and many of their songs. Kids these days mean something different when they say groove metal. Instead, Sabbath is now considered "doom metal," which refers to the slow grinding heavy riffs that YOU (and I) associate with "grunge" like Soundgarden on Badmotorfinger.
Oh dear Andrew seems you fell into the Rabbit hole of black sabbath good luck finding you way out been stuck in here for 50 plus year's enjoy it
Your right to be blown away, in the years to come, when these songs will become somewhat "yours", try to find many songs like the title song, in Wich in so minimal notes , presenting such overpacked essence, and the gaps between the notes are full full not empty at all, I think that says it all
Yup it's intensity
I watch a lot of Sabbath reaction videos and there is a tendency to relate their sound to a wide variety of other genre's when in fact, most of them didn't exist until Sabbath inspired them. Instead of saying "This sounds like Grunge" you might consider saying "So this is where Grunge came from."
Of course.
It's 20 years prior so there's no doubt on that
I've probably heard this song 30x and never once knew the name. Haha!
We played this in our band at School back in the year it was first released. Our bass player, John Rollo had this intr down to a T though I think my vocals left a bit to be desired!