When I think about professional sports and which player and/or position seems to be the most intimidating, I always conclude that hands down, ice hockey goalies are the most intimidating players. They literally look like monsters with their giant pads and fiercely decorated masks. Fear plays a big role in maximizing their game. Getting into the opponent's head can and does create an advantage for the goalie. So it's only normal that more and more we are seeing intricate goalie masks being designed, and when looking to be intimidating as fuck the only natural choice is to have a Black Sabbath mask!
I am surprised it took this long to be created but after similar masks started popping up including, Audioslave and Iron Maiden, recreational hockey goaltender Liz Conner decided to take her goalie mask to the next level. Ingoal Magazine reports that Liz turned to Headstrong Grafx to whip up the Black Sabbath mask.
Liz Conner, who plays in Massachusetts, commented on the design saying,
"I asked specifically for the picture of Henry (the flying devil logo) on the forehead, based on alternative CD art for ‘The Devil You Know’ and the band name on the chin. My only other stipulation was that the mask not focus 100% on Ozzy. Tony Iommi’s riffs are what drew me to Sabbath, and I wanted to make sure he was included somewhere. The rest was all Headstrong."
The final product looks pretty wicked hardcore. (as the locals up in Massachusetts would say) The guys at Headstrong Grafx knocked the design out of the park. It looks great and I am sure it cost Liz Conner a pretty penny. Liz said, "some women spend their money on purses and shoes…I spend mine on cool custom painted goalie masks."
So what do you think? Did Headstrong Grafx do Black Sabbath justice?
