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A foreboding storm is gathering overhead. Bells toll, lighting cracks, rain falls…something dark and sinister is heading this way. It’s 1970 and four guys from Birmingham, with the release of their debut self-titled album, have single-handedly created what would become known forever as heavy metal. It was a singular moment of crushing heaviness that would define the genre for years to come.  

The Sixties were over. Charles Manson and his knife wielding followers had put a violent end to peace and love and the optimism and hope of the decade had vanished. As the Seventies came down like a dark cloud, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler welcomed these uncertain times with open arms and riffs of thunder. And so The Ten Year War began.

Fresh from receiving the ‘Golden God’ Icon Award at this year’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods, the members of Black Sabbath have announced The Ten Year War—a limited edition vinyl box set slated for release September 29th via BMG. The set brings together the group's eight Ozzy-fronted albums, plus a swathe of other rarities, all housed within exclusive artwork created by renowned street artist, graphic designer, and activist Shepard Fairey.

Despite Black Sabbath’s multi-million selling albums and rabid fan base throughout the Seventies, this adulation wasn’t always mirrored by the music press at the time. The band received more than their fair share of criticism, prompting them to publish "The Ten Year War" brochure; a playful dig at journalists with the witty tagline, “More good press than most—more bad press than any.”

The brochure is reproduced in full for the box set and is one of the many exclusive items held within. The crown jewel, of course, is eight LPs meticulously reproduced in their original sleeves: Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, Never Say Die!, and two rare 7-inch singles—the Japanese version of Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)/Black Sabbath and the Chilean version of Paranoid/The Wizard (only 100 copies of the original radio promo were pressed).

Each album was remastered from the original tapes by renowned mastering engineer Andy Pearce and pressed on 180 gram splatter-colored vinyl, each LP with unique coloring.  

The set also includes a Crucifix-shaped Black Sabbath USB stick containing MQA-encoded versions of the first eight Black Sabbath albums; a hardcover book, featuring accolades from the cream of rock royalty, coupled with official and candid iconic photography of the band during their 1970s tours, recording sessions, and photo-shoots; the Tenth Anniversary World Tour 1978 Official Program, and a tour poster from the 1972 Seattle Center Arena show.

Each box set is individually numbered.

The box set is available for pre-order at tenyearwar.com.