Our Secret Cover of Black Sabbath's iconic track Iron Man, out April 28, 2023, takes the heavy metal classic into acoustic territory that is perhaps even more haunting than the original.
This "Mack Sabbath" version was recorded a few years ago using a very modest, lo-fi setup. I'm pretty sure I did not play to a click and the only percussion is a tambourine I had on the floor that I occasionally tapped. It made me think of chains that might have been dragging behind this iron man.
While putting together these Secret Covers, I could not find my original workfile so this mix is the only one we will ever have. It was just meant to be like this.
My first exposure to this song was from Ozzy's Speak of the Devil album, which is a whole set of live Black Sabbath songs with Brad Gillis on guitar. For a while when I was in the first grade, we were living with my grandparents and I shared a room with one of my uncles who was not much older than me. He would sometimes play this before bed. All these years later, I'm still listening to Ozzy and Sabbath.
As time wore on, I learned quite a few of Tony Iommi's masterful riffs that form the bedrock of heavy music. I remember playing Sweet Leaf at a marijuana legalization rally in university and all these Rastafarian guys joined in on bongos and whatnot. It was a total trip!
And of course, I've seen Ozzy numerous times -in Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Toronto and with Black Sabbath once in Hamilton (their last tour). I even saw Heaven and Hell one time (Black Sabbath with Dio on vocals) opening for Judas Priest in Toronto.
When I was in university, my roommates urged me to call my future music publishing company Blizzard of Mack after Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz album (which is already a play on The Wizard of Oz). I think I still might!
I'm sure you can tell that I'm a total fan so it is with great humility that I offer up my tribute to the Godfathers of Heavy Music, Black Sabbath's Iron Man.
Play it loud and let me know what you think.
LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!!!
-Mack Sabbath, Blizzard of Mack Productions