“Nuts”: The reasons Black Sabbath felt bad about touring with Kiss
Go no farther than Black Sabbath if you’re searching for unadulterated sound and a musical intensity that is harsh and powerful like nothing else. Because they were so powerful and contagious, Sabbath created a whole new genre of music, inspiring musicians all around the world to try to harness the magic that they were so masterfully displaying.
Black Sabbath, the band’s debut album, was primarily recorded live over the course of two days, beautifully capturing the raw beauty of the group. The same was true of their second album, Paranoid, which catapulted the group into stardom due to its immense popularity. The most exciting up-and-comers in rock supported the musical pioneers as they went on to become headline performers for the remainder of their careers.
But for some reason, Sabbath could never seem to find the appropriate opening acts for their tours. It wasn’t that they had poor musicians supporting them; on the contrary, they had a few who would go on to become very well-known rock stars. Since Sabbath’s live performances were characterized by an unwavering raw energy, it was frequently difficult to keep up with the bands they had selected to open for them, despite their evident brilliance.
They had a problem with Van Halen because of their unique guitar playing style and ability to wow audiences. Tony Iommi once remarked, “Eddie was playing things I’d never seen before,” expressing his continued amazement at Eddie Van Halen and the music he created. We became friends back then, and we still are. Naturally, he sparked a whole new wave of players who started acting in that way, and some of them still amaze me. It’s not anything I can follow. Of course, I couldn’t succeed.
Kiss was another avant-garde rock group that backed Sabbath. Even though the band’s music was traditional stadium rock, Black Sabbath regretted booking them for a tour because of how difficult it was to follow them. This is because the band’s stage presentation was so amazing.
Recalling their tour with the band, Geezer Butler remarked, “Kiss was the first to use pyro.” “You have never observed that. The shock of that, really. They weren’t even the main attraction because they were helping us. I stepped outside to observe them. Everything was ablaze, with flames shooting out of the stage. “Oh my God, what’s going on here?” was how it felt.
Butler discussed how challenging it was to open for a band like Kiss when the audience wasn’t used to such lavish stage designs. “After Kiss, people had to start thinking about stage production,” he added. “It was a completely new direction for them.” It was hard to keep up with them. Everyone else was still gaping open after witnessing Kiss while we performed like any other band, complete with effects.
