BLACK SABBATH Heavy Metal Bench in Birmingham Refurbished

The city of Birmingham, England is getting ready for life post-lockdown by sprucing up some of the city's biggest and most famous tourist attractions: Black Sabbath, immortalized on the famous "heavy metal bench" that sits atop the Broad Street canal on "Black Sabbath Bridge."

The bench, which was unveiled by Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler in the summer of 2019, was an immediate hit with rock fans, who made the pilgrimage from around the world to celebrate the band in their hometown. The never-ending supply of metal-heads descending on the bench, as well as construction in the area, have all taken a decided toll. With the city in early stages of preparing for life post-pandemic, Birmingham as given the Sabbath bench an update for the next round of rockers.

"We are re-dressing all the faces because of the building work that's gone on with the dirt, muck and grease that's gone onto the bench, and people sitting on it," explained Stewart Francis of company Etch Components, who worked on the original project in a video. "We are re-cleaning it, re-setting it, ready for when Broad Street re-opens."

"Black Sabbath are arguably Birmingham's most famous band, so it's fitting that they continue to attract fans to the city through this bench," added Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID. "It's lost a bit of its gloss due to all the building work, and the thousands of fans wanting to sit on it, so we are cleaning it up ready for when we can re-open Broad Street's bars, clubs and restaurants."

Watch the video below.