Following the poor commercial performance of The Eternal Idol , Black Sabbath were dropped by both Vertigo Records and Warner Bros. Records, and signed with I.R.S. Records . The band took time off in 1988, returning in August to begin work on their next album. As a result of the…
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The final demo, completed in 1988, was named The Treehouse Tapes and found its way to music managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver , who also managed the Seattle-based band Soundgarden .
After nearly a year in production, The Eternal Idol was released in November 1987 and ignored by contemporary reviewers. On-line internet era reviews were mixed. AllMusic said that “Martin’s powerful voice added new fire” to the band, and the album contained “some of Iommi’s heaviest riffs in years”. Blender gave…
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Staley met guitarist Jerry Cantrell at a party in Seattle around August 1987. A few months prior, Cantrell had watched a concert of Alice N’ Chains in his hometown at the Tacoma Little Theatre , and was impressed by Staley’s voice. Cantrell was homeless after being kicked out of his…
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Bacolas liked the name “Alice in Chains” and brought it up to his bandmates; they agreed and decided to change the band’s name. Due to concerns over the reference to female bondage , the group ultimately chose to spell it differently as Alice N’ Chains to allay any parental concerns,…
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The duo had been working together in some capacity since 1987
After problems with second producer Coppersmith-Heaven, the band returned to Morgan Studios in England in January 1987 to work with new producer Chris Tsangarides .
Staley’s funk band also required a guitarist at the time, and Staley asked Cantrell to join as a sideman . Cantrell agreed on condition that Staley join his band. Because Cantrell, Starr and Kinney wanted Staley to be their lead singer, they started auditioning terrible lead singers in front of…
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Black Sabbath began work on new material in October 1986 at AIR Studios in Montserrat with producer Jeff Glixman .
The band spent the remainder of the year in the studio, recording what would become Seventh Star (1986). Warner Bros. refused to release the album as a Tony Iommi solo release, instead insisting on using the name Black Sabbath. Pressured by the band’s manager, Don Arden , the two compromised…
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