To celebrate the release of the new Black Sabbath 2CD Set The Ultimate Collecton, I Like Your Old Stuff takes a look at a handful of Aussie bands who’ve been clearly influenced by Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill over the years. Yes, we could probably include every Australian heavy metal band ever, such is the band’s influence in that field, but we’ll try to be a bit more particular about it. Black Sabbath were never just a metal band. Indeed they started out as a heavy blues band – there was a lot of that in Australia at the time too as we all know - and early on their were seen as a heavy progressive band, and that’s the spirit which comes through in all of the following, more or less. Sabbath’s breakthrough second album Paranoid was released in September of 1970 and it made quite an impression down under. As you’ll see we were very quick to pick up on Sabbath down under, even our pop stars…

The Zoot - The Freak (1971)

Yes, they wore pink, were brazenly bubblegum and featured future Aussie pop star and kids TV host Daryl Cotton and international pop and soapie sensation Rick Springfield, but Zoot were massively influenced by Sabbath. What is their biggest hit ‘Eleanor Rigby’ but the beatles’ classic done up Sabb’s style? The follow-up single ‘The Freak’ was in exactly the same style, and you can check it out here. Dig Rick cranking out that Gibson SG. He’s a lot prettier than Tony. And dig the upside cross on Rick’s top -  Sabbath didn’t even do the upside down bit. To completely make a mockery of their Black Sabbath stylings, bass-player Beeb Birtles would go on to join the Little River Band.

And speaking of Beatles covers…

Blackfeather - Tomorrow Never Knows

The ponderous and psychedelic ’Tomorrow Never Knows’ lends itself well to a heavy treatment, although it takes Blackfeather a while to get loud with this. Blackfeather started out as one of Australia’s greatest progressive rock bands, best known for the moody classic ‘Seasons of Change’, but before long they were a piano led good time boogie band, booping the blues all the way to the top of the chartd.. Go figure.  ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ was recorded for ABC TV’s great GTK program and never released until Aztec’s reissue of Blackfeather’s classic debut album ‘At The Mountains of Madness’, on which it was included as a bonus track.

Bakery - Dying in the Dark (1971)

Bakery were Perth’s progressive heavy specialists in the early ‘70s. They released two albums and gained plenty of attention out East; they appeared at Sunbury ’73. Guitarist Peter Walker later became a producer (most famously producing Cold Chisel’s under-rated first album), whilst keyboardist Mel Logan followed fellow student of Sabbath, Beeb Birtles of the Zoot, into LRB after stints with Carson, Healing Force and Renee Geyer.

Ash - Midnight Witch (1971)

Unfortunately we have to name a third band member of an early Sabbath-ispired outfit - Ash’s drummer Derek Pellicci – who ended up in the Little River Band. Did these guys feel that LRB’s breezy and harmony-drenched sounds would somehow undo the damage done to their souls by playing in heavy bands or something? Is there a conspiracy going on…? Anyway, Ash were from Melbourne, and "Midnight Witch", written by Doug Ford of The Masters Apprentices and produced by Havoc house engineer Gil Matthews (of Havoc artists The Aztecs), was their second single.

Fanny Adams - Ain’t No Loving Left

Featuring great Bee Gees guitarist Vince Maloney, later-Aztec rhythm section of Johnny Dick and Teddy Toi, and, perhaps surprisingly, massively-voiced singer Doug Parkinson (better known for his smoother soul stylings later in the ‘70s), Fanny Adams formed in the UK after Vince left the Bee Gees and self-destructed almost immediately upon their return to Australia, leaving behind one highly-regarded but not often-heard album.

Coloured Balls – Human Being (1973)

By ’73, courtesy of his bands the Purple Hearts, the Wild Cherries and a stint in the Aztecs, Lobby Loyde was Australia’s genuine guitar hero, and the Coloured Balls were Australia’s rock’n’roll saviours. More influenced perhaps by primal early rock’n’roll and developments in modern amplification than anything overtly dark and heavy, the Balls could still crank out killer progressive hard rock at the drop of a hat, and "Human Being", for the first 2:30 at least, could be "Paranoid"'s short-haired Antipodean half-brother.

Buffalo – Sunrise (1974)

Sydney’s Buffalo actually got to support Black Sabbath in their mid-‘70s prime. Despite that – and this (yes, it’s the Sabbath classic)...

...the band at some point bizarrely claimed to not be particularly influenced by Sabbath, which was brazenly bonkers. Of course they did eventually turn into more or less a pub boogie-type band, but in their prime, with John Baxter on guitar, Buffalo threw about massive slabs of heaviosity with ease, and added a darker element to the burgeoning Oz rock scene in the mid-‘70s. It’s no surprise that their albums have long been sort out by European collectors. Key member Peter Wells traded his bass for slide guitar and formed Rose Tattoo; singer Dave Tice ended up in the UK fronting popular pub R&B band the Count Bishops. Here’s one of their heaviest tracks, the mighty "Sunrise" from their classic Volcanic Rock album. Oh and Dave Tice is back playing around with Buffalo Revisited, doing all the old classics....and he’s still in great voice!

Supernaut – I Like It Both Ways (1976)

Okay, so they don’t really sound that much like Sabbath, but they were named after a track on the great Black Sabbath, Volume 4, and they were a great and glammy hard rock band, and "I Like It both Ways" is a killer track. Close enough.

Hoss - Too Much Sugar (1991)

Melbourne band Hoss were, and still are, 25+ years later in fact, the band formed by Joel Silbersher – the writer and singer of the band God’s iconic 1987 alterative hit "My Pal". Hoss pull together all strands of hard rock and punk into a super versatile style that emphasised riffs and energy. "Too Much Sugar" features one of the GREAT Sabbath-inspired riffs, and still features in the band’s rare sets today. This particular writer reckons that Hoss are still about the best rock’n’roll band in the country, so check ‘em out if you get the chance. Oh, and Hoss-aligned bands including Bored (from Geelong) and fellow Melbournites the Powder Monkeys are also worth consideration in a Sabbath context  - both bands performed and recorded the odd Sabbath cover back in their day in the late '80s and early ‘90s.

Tumbleweed - Daddy Long Legs (1993)

Sydney’s Tumbleweed originally came out of Wollongong. Heavily influenced by Seattle grunge bands include the Screaming Trees and Nirvana as well as earlier heavy sounds from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, they presaged later stoner rock bands like Kyuss and had a string of great singles that were JJJ faves at the time. "Daddy Long Legs" is one of their most Sabbath-inspired efforts, riff-wise especially. The band has released 5 albums plus a collection of early singles which came out on Aztec (appropriately making them label mates with Buffalo, Coloured Balls and other Aussie greats from the ‘70s) in 2010.

Wolfmother - Gypsy Caravan (2016)

Jumping forward into the 21st Century, Sydney’s Wolfmother formed in 2000 and got things together just in time to catch a ride on the tail of all the ‘new rock’ fuss, a fact perhaps helped by vocal similarities between the vocal tones of Andrew Stockdale and Jack White. But Wolfmother were the complete package for a new generation keen to explore the classic heavy sounds of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s – they had some great songs, looked great, and utilised stunning artwork. "Gypsy Caravan" is a great track from their fourth album Victorious which was released this year. Older fans of the great early ‘70s Australian heavy sounds could do worse things with their time than giving these guys a listen.

- DL