Homage to the Godfathers of heavy metal

Fire and brimstone is not just the domain of Southern Baptist preachers. Before Rob Zombie, before Marilyn Manson, before the antics of all sorts of rockers, there was Black Sabbath. Sabbath is the origin of heavy metal. If James Brown is the Godfather of Soul, Sabbath is the Godfather of all of today's big metal bands, from Korn to Metallica to Def Leppard.\nToo bad the band is known today primarily for an MTV show that has everyone marveling about how normal Ozzy Osbourne (given name John) is. What do people think, that he is from Mars or something? Before MTV got its hands on him, Ozzy was the front man of Black Sabbath, the band that turned a simple thing like rock and roll into an onslaught of metal, the band your parents were afraid to admit they liked.\nThe double CD release of Past Lives, a live greatest hits album, takes the band back to the days before MTV. It takes us to the era of the rock festival -- an era of rebellion. There is no new material, just a very rare version of "Megalomania," but how many of the MTV generations of Osbourne fans know the songs that shocked the '70s at its roots? \nBecause it is a live album, Past Lives has a strange power. It has the power that comes from playing in front of supporting fans, the power of a band on top, the power and ferocity of music. \nThe riffs throughout the CD are breakneck. What else would you expect from a band that once promoted its tours by saying it was "louder than Zeppelin?" Past Lives captures Sabbath at its inglorious height.