Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler to Publish ‘Into the Void’ Memoir
Geezer Butler, the bassist who cofounded Black Sabbath and wrote the majority of the band’s lyrics on their classic albums, will release his autobiography this summer. Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath — and Beyond will chronicle his childhood in post-war Birmingham, England, the formation of Black Sabbath, and the stories behind “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” and several other of the band’s biggest hits. The book arrives on June 6.
“After spending my entire life creating memories, to eventually set aside how reserved I am, I have put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard),” Butler wrote on Instagram. “The recollection of my life (thus far) is coming out 6/6/23. Yes, I know that 2×3=6. Although unintentional, having that as a release date suits me fine.”
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The book will include his account of how he and the three other heavy-metal trailblazers first came together as the Polka Tulk Blues Band in 1968 and transitioned their sound from blues and jazz to the audio equivalent of a horror film. The book’s publisher promises cameos by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and the Who, as well as an accounting of Butler’s story through the band’s final concert in 2017. It will also feature 30 photos from Butler’s archives, including some pictures that have never previously been published.
Butler’s book follows Ozzy Osbourne’s 2011 memoir, I Am Ozzy, and Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi’s Iron Man, which came out in 2012. The only original Sabbath member who hasn’t yet written a memoir is drummer Bill Ward.
Butler reflected on his and Sabbath’s legacy in a 2016 Rolling Stone interview. “We stuck to what we wanted to do instead of listening to other people, all the press slagging us and the record companies that wouldn’t sign us — that’s what I’m most proud of,” he said. “We overcame a lot of negative stuff and stuck to our music and never sold out.”
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