This Latin Funk Band Brownout Made Two Black Sabbath Covers Albums
Black Sabbath is likely the most covered heavy metal act there's ever been. In summation, they're purely transcendental, catching the ears of even the most unassuming fans. Outside of the realm of heavy music, we've heard acts like The Cardigans and Charles Bradley give their interpretations of Sabbath and now it's time you get to know Brownout, the Latin funk band from Texas who love them some Sabbath too.
Formed in 2003, Brownout have had an interesting career, serving as the backing band for artists like Prince and GZA. After issuing their debut album, Oozy, in 2012, the band followed it up with two covers albums, each fully loaded with Black Sabbath staples like "Fairies Wear Boots," "NIB," and "The Wizard," which can all be heard in the videos below.
Brownout, also known as Brown Sabbath, stay true to the heavy riffing ethos laid down by Tony Iommi, but add their own flavor with stirring brass instrumentation and soulful, funky overtones. And the singer? Well, he does a pretty damn good Ozzy.
The Prince of Darkness himself was impressed with the group, telling the Boston Globe in 2014, “I was shown a video of them performing 'The Wizard' and it was a lot of fun hearing it with a horn section. It was great!”
Not keen on keeping it just in the metal realm, Brownout released a Public Enemy covers album, Fear of a Brown Planet, earlier this year.
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