Really intrested in hearing who you think has been the greatest vocalist in Black Sabbath.
In my opinion Osbourne is very overrated and i voted for Tony Martin

actually the best vocalist who ever performed with sabbath is without a doubt halford

Hehe, maybe, but i only count those who has been vocalist in a whole album

Hard one, technically Ozzy is by far the worst, and I reagrd Dio as technically the best (though IMO his voice doesn't fit Black Sabbath) Gillan was too high pitched for Sabbath imo, Hughes though a great vocalist also didn't do it for me (what a hoorible album Seventh Star was, and NOT regarded as a Sabbath album by me at all because only Iommi was on it from the Sabbath line-ups. It should have been released as an Iommi solo album.

Tony Martin I have always enjoyed in Sabbath and is the most underrated Sab vocalist of all time.

But I think that I will go with Ozzy for he really shaped the Sabbath sound with his vocals.

Ozzy then maybe Dio ... but just maybe.. xD

Im gonna say Dio. Ozzy has a mournful voice that was good for Sabbath, but I love Dio's voice. He is an amazing singer. Ive never heard any of the Sabbath stuff with Gillan Martin or Hughes. I would like to though. Ive heard Gillan sing with Deep Purple, and he is amazing.

I may sound very conservative here, but THE Black Sabbath album is "Black Sabbath". And therefor, THE Black Sabbath vocalist is Ozzy. Period.

Im a Dio man myself, as previously stated, seeing him with Sabbath live was incredible. That and just alot of the Dio-era material clicks alot more with me, im not sure why.

i for one liked the raw voice Martin had on "Forbidden", but Dio, from a technical point of view is the best. Ozzy though is a much bigger icon and showman.

I can't imagine Sabbath without Ozzy though so i'll vote for him.

Right now I'd probably say Dio. I've always admired the godfather's voice.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.12.2007 at 16:41

Hard one, technically Ozzy is by far the worst, and I reagrd Dio as technically the best (though IMO his voice doesn't fit Black Sabbath) Gillan was too high pitched for Sabbath imo, Hughes though a great vocalist also didn't do it for me (what a hoorible album Seventh Star was, and NOT regarded as a Sabbath album by me at all because only Iommi was on it from the Sabbath line-ups. It should have been released as an Iommi solo album.

Tony Martin I have always enjoyed in Sabbath and is the most underrated Sab vocalist of all time.

But I think that I will go with Ozzy for he really shaped the Sabbath sound with his vocals.

Wow. Talk about hitting the hammer dot on the nail! I wanted to type the exact same thing! Well, not the exact same thing, but ...yeah.

I really like Ton Martin, especially on Tyr, which has some gems stored away in it. Dio - yeah! Technically a real class act, no two ways about it. But he's far too, what's the word, 'uptempo' for the Sabbath. Nonetheless, I LOVE Dio era Sabbath.
And well Ozzy, is, sigh, Ozzy.

Ian Gillan was the personally the worst thing to happen to Black Sabbath...Born Again had some good musicality but Ian's voice really did not fit into Black Sabbath...some of the shrieks he did were just terrible...

My vote would go to both Ronnie James Dio and Ozzy Osbourne...both were extremely good vocalists and did a great favor to fronting Black Sabbath...

Ozzy Osbourne... he could be overated but... Black Sabbath isn't the same without him...

Written by Murder on 13.01.2008 at 07:24

Ozzy Osbourne... he could be overated but... Black Sabbath isn't the same without him...

Amen to that!

Written by Murder on 13.01.2008 at 07:24

Ozzy Osbourne... he could be overated but... Black Sabbath isn't the same without him...

Now you say it! They can be all so great but in the end Ozzy is Ozzy...

Dio is the best vocalist out of those. However, his voice would seem out of place on albums such as Vol. 4 and such, IMO

Vocal wise, I would probably have to say Dio.

But I want to say Ozzy due to Sabbath's best material was produced by him.

Ozzy all the way. He has teh voice that fits Sabbath the most

In my order
1. DIO (Heaven and hell is still their best album in my opinion)
2. GILLAN ("Disturbing the priest" made him a God)
3. MARTIN (very underrated singer)
4. OZZY
5. HUGHES

noweone beats ozzy for me when it comes to the older metal bands

Dio was the best.
I can't stand Ozzy and his whinny voice

after seeing "black Sabbath" (or heaven and hell, i hate how they had to change the name) in concert it pretty much sealed the deal that Ozzy was the best vocalist for them. dio's voice does little to compliment the music

Written by [user id=30725] on 06.03.2008 at 03:09

...or heaven and hell, i hate how they had to change the name...

The band chose to do so themselves, there is no legal reason behind it. And it does make sense since they only play songs recorded with Dio originally.

They all had their advantages and disadvantages.
The first four albums with Ozzy were their best MUSIC. Though the Dio period comes close.
Technically the best singing is probably Dio.
The others were really underrated.

I could go any way on this one. No vote.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.03.2008 at 16:34

Written by [user id=30725] on 06.03.2008 at 03:09

...or heaven and hell, i hate how they had to change the name...

The band chose to do so themselves, there is no legal reason behind it. And it does make sense since they only play songs recorded with Dio originally.

someone told tme they had to change the name cause ozzy bought all the rights to use black sabbath as a band name

Written by [user id=30725] on 08.03.2008 at 03:53

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.03.2008 at 16:34

Written by [user id=30725] on 06.03.2008 at 03:09

...or heaven and hell, i hate how they had to change the name...

The band chose to do so themselves, there is no legal reason behind it. And it does make sense since they only play songs recorded with Dio originally.

someone told tme they had to change the name cause ozzy bought all the rights to use black sabbath as a band name

Well, that rumour has been doing the rounds but isn't true. I think the rumour got spread because of the hatred of many people towards Ozzy's wife (and manager) Sharon.

The rights to the name Black Sabbath are still with the band.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.03.2008 at 03:56

Written by [user id=30725] on 08.03.2008 at 03:53

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.03.2008 at 16:34

Written by [user id=30725] on 06.03.2008 at 03:09

...or heaven and hell, i hate how they had to change the name...

The band chose to do so themselves, there is no legal reason behind it. And it does make sense since they only play songs recorded with Dio originally.

Thanks for the clarification
someone told tme they had to change the name cause ozzy bought all the rights to use black sabbath as a band name

Well, that rumour has been doing the rounds but isn't true. I think the rumour got spread because of the hatred of many people towards Ozzy's wife (and manager) Sharon.

The rights to the name Black Sabbath are still with the band.

I voted for Dio because my favorite Black Sabbath albums are with him on the line-up.

Well if it werent fort the oringinal Black Sabbath none of u would be here right now but i am going with Dio his voice range is amazing and everthing he has done in Sabbath is amazing.
Dio gets my vote

For me it's between Ozzy and Dio.. Because I haven't heard much Black Sabbath in other vocalists' era.
I like them both! Both are good in overall.. But my vote is Dio, because I think he's (one of) the best Heavy Metal vocalist.. I like his vocals more than Ozzy..