It's alive! ALIVE!!! After countless sleepless nights, endless droning days, and innumerable bottomless cups of coffee, Earpollution is at last online, in front of your eyes, and at your fingertips. With our inaugural issue we invite you inside to find out just what we're all about.

Of all the bands that have jumped on the reunion bandwagon, very few have made a lasting impression on the musical map; beyond even that, very few are still relevant today. Rightfully near the top of this short list is Black Sabbath. In our first issue, Steve Weatherholt takes an in-depth look at the band and their albums through the Ozzy years, and catches back up with them again in time for their latest release, Reunion.

While it may seem passé for many 'zines to publish their yearly "Top 10" lists, we thought it a good way to introduce the writers behind Earpollution - provide some insight into who we are and what we listen to by presenting you with the influential albums and bands that made it on our lists this year; the ones that didn't; the music we can't take stop talking about; and what we look forward to in the coming year.