Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has said that “heavy metal” started off as a “sarcastic” term before it was coined as a name for a musical genre.

Speaking in a new interview with Eddie Trunk, which you can listen to below, Butler said  the term was used derogatorily at first, with Sabbath being “stuck with it” in the early 1970s.

“When we were on tour in America – I think it was the second tour in the [United] States – I read this review, and the guy said, ‘This isn’t music; it sounds like a bunch of heavy metal being smashed together,’” Geezer recalled.

“Somehow that got over to England, and from then on it was like the sarcastic thing they used to apply to us – ‘this isn’t music, it’s a load of heavy metal being smashed together.’ And for some reason we got stuck with it.”

Listen to the full interview here:

Ozzy Osbourne‘s wife Sharon recently confirmed that the Black Sabbath legend will be releasing a new album this September.

She delivered the news during an appearance on The Graham Norton Radio Show which was recorded in April.

“He’s good. He’s really, really good.” Sharon said of Ozzy, noting his recent bout with COVID. “He’s finished another album which is coming out in September. And there we are.

“He’s busy in the studio. He still does all his writing and singing, and it keeps him really happy… He’ll never stop singing and writing. We’ve built him a big studio here [at the house in the UK], so he can do it all at home. And he can’t wait to come back, to be honest with you.”

Earlier this week, in a new interview, Ozzy revealed that he “can’t walk properly these days” and that he’s waiting to have neck surgery.

Speaking to Classic Rock for their 300th issue, Ozzy revealed that he’s still dealing with some lasting damage from a quad bike accident he had in 2003.

“I’m just waiting on some more surgery on my neck,” he said. “I can’t walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Ozzy said one of his goals for his seventies is to earn himself a Number One solo album.

He also revealed that he’s moving back to England this year. “I’ve had enough of living out here [America] now,” he explained. “My intention was never to stay out here.”