The Time Black Sabbath Was Cursed By Satanists

Rock 'n' roll has been chastised as "the devil's music" by superstitiously swayed onlookers, but it would appear that even the devil himself can disapprove at times. When Black Sabbath first appeared on the world's music radar in 1970 with the release of their self-titled album (via Discogs), listeners were shaken by the demonic mystique that defined their brand. The artwork was spooky, the band members were rugged and ominous-looking, and the songs were dripping with black tones of diabolical pandemonium that spoke of Satan and bleak doom. Naturally, devoted occultists found asylum in the music.

However, knights of the Dark Realm were puzzled when the members of Black Sabbath didn't embrace them as infernal compatriots. The band admittedly wasn't too concerned with performing séances and rituals, but rather entertained devilish aesthetics that were equal parts seductive and marketable simply for branding purposes. One particular sect of their unholy constituency didn't take well to this fact and decided that the only way to return the cold shoulder was with a red-hot curse summoned from the depths of Hell (per Far Out).

Enticed by the band's seemingly evident devotion to the Dark Lord, occultists invited them to play a show at the famously cryptic Stonehenge. However, their invitation was unpleasantly revoked by the members of Sabbath. "At one point we were invited by a group of Satanists to play at Stonehenge," recalled Ozzy Osbourne. "We told them to f*** off, so they said they'd put a curse on us" (per Far Out).

However, the group had their own otherworldly solution to the problem at hand. Shortly after the alleged curse was cast, they started wearing their iconic crosses by means of warding it off. "The head of the white witches call our management and said he knew we had a curse put on us, and we should wear crosses, and he'd do a ritual thing. It all sounds so hokey," bassist Geezer Butler shared. "That's why we started wearing crosses! Ozzy's father made them for us. He used to work at a metal factory making car parts, so he made us these great big crosses out of spare metal" (per Ultimate Classic Rock).