Paranoid

Easiest 5 stars I've ever given. Before even listening I know - but this is one of the first albums I became attached to as a kid. Every track is perfect. Other bands paved the way, but Sabbath actively invented heavy metal. I think it could also be argued the song "Electric Funeral" alone also spawned an entire sub-genre of 'sludge' bands and eventually made the term 'Sabbath Clone' its own descriptor as bands tried to re-create it. || I've always loved the bass in this album, and obviously Iommi and Ozzy do great guitar/vocals - but on this listen, it was the first time I realized how truly incredible the drums are! Bill Ward always felt like a Sabbath afterthought to me, but listening more intently to the drums throughout, especially on the back half of the album, it's clear he's just as important a part of Sabbath's success. Perfect from top to bottom.

“Paranoid” by Black Sabbath (1970) When I listened to this as a teenager, my moral superiors were scandalized that I was sinfully indulging an embrace of the satanic. They were ignorant. This is not evil proudly standing as evil. This is evil as a genre pointing to the good, in the classic, gothic sense. “War Pigs” excoriates the fomenters of mass destruction, likening them to workers of the dark arts (It is Satan, not God, who laughs at their vain appeals for mercy before divine judgment). “Paranoid” is the empathy-evoking lament of a man losing his mind. “Planet Caravan” is morally neutral pagan sci-fi. “Iron Man”, also sci-fi, is a morality tale about the deadly potential of technology turned against us. “Electric Funeral” is simply apocalypse. “Hand of Doom” and “Fairies Wear Boots” are poetic sermons warning against the use of drugs (Would that he had heeded his own message). What’s not to like? You uninformed cultural moralists need to get off your high horse. While the prophetic voice in this message is rather too simplified, it’s not nearly as graphic as some portions of Sacred Scripture (slowly read Deuteronomy 28:47-57 before proceeding to The Lamentations of Jeremiah and the Revelation of St. John). Call me if you need counseling. The aesthetic question here is whether the mood of the message properly harmonizes with the mood of the music. Boy, does it. It is dark. It is heavy. It is horror harnessed in sound. Tony Iommi is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. If you want to play guitar like Iommi, all you have to do is cut off the ends of the first two fingers of your fretboard hand, and use homemade prosthetics and banjo strings in order to compensate. Simple. The pain of that horrible experience might just give you a sense of what a guitar can accomplish as a conveyor of human passion. Feedback and sustain on power chords (“War Pigs”, “Iron Man”) provide space and invite reflection, and exquisitely colorful lead riffs and solos amaze the listener. Jazz solo lines in the outro of “Planet Caravan” are exemplary for dynamic fluctuation and improvisation. Anybody can play the groove chords on “Iron Man”. But nobody can play them like Tony Iommi. Ozzy Osbourne has precisely the right voice for conveying these lyrics and melodies. He has a strong, snarly voice, and pitch control is a secondary concern. He understands the power of the emphatic consonant. Bill Ward’s heavy drums, with masterfully synchronized fills, provide fearsome rhythms and a fine solo break (in “Rat Salad”). And Geezer Butler’s virtuosity on electric bass set a standard for metal music, mastering the art of ‘pairing’ bass and electric rhythm without simple aping. Listen to how Butler’s pulsing bass vibrates the rattle wires of Ward’s snare drum on the intro to “Hand of Doom”. The engineers intentionally didn’t correct it. Masterful. Listen to this album. Today. Remove your hat; you’re in the presence of rock nobility. 5/5

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is one of the greatest album ever recorded.

The Beatles are widely considered to be the greatest band of all time, yet the Beatles did not write “Hand of Doom”. Curious.

Put me in a time machine and let me go back to 1970 and hear this for the first time and see others reactions. What a time that must have been. An absolute heavy metal and rock classic from start to finish.

I don't expect anything I have to say is fresh, partly because this is well-trodden ground and partly because there's not much to talk about. That's not as negative as it sounds, just recognition that one of Sabbath's main virtues is recapitualating proof of concept that rock music can be chunked and stacked into songs like cheese cubes on a toothpick. I really like that bit of their music. They're very good at it. Riffs atops drum rolls atop looming bass atop screeching vocals. If they weren't, I wouldn't recognise so many of these (Kanye borrows the Iron Man riff for Hell of a Life, huh?) without ever having heard the album. My issues are (I warned you this wouldn't be original) that while all they want to do is rock (so far so good) they don't have much to rock around. A robin, a jailhouse, a clock--music is stuffed to the gunnels with things around which one can orbit. They've supposedly got weirdness, paranoia, satanism or whatever. But do they? Because despite their image, there's nothing especially evocative or atmospheric going on here. They could just as easily be singing about the best time to zest an orange (once it's hardened, I'm told, as that means the juice has moved from the innards to the outards) without causing much dissonance. Of course, ideas aren't a requirement in great music. I can listen to Franco Luamba or James Brown all day without giving too many shits about what they're saying. But that brings us to my other issue, which is that those guys have got rhythm, groove, funk and soul that's ass-bustingly transcendent, while Sabbath only have their cheese on a stick, and that can only get you so far.

SHAAARRONNNN. Three obvious big fat classic riffs in War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man but pretty sick how they can also pull off Planet Caravan in the middle of it all. I think Electric Funeral is my highlight though, can hear heaps of gizz and ORB.

Probably the most influential metal album of them all, and arguably the greatest collection of metal songs on a single record. War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron man and that’s just the opening three tracks. More focused and cohesive than its predecessor Toni Iommi’s ability to write a riff is unrivalled and Ozzy’s vocals are so simple but so incredibly effective, while the inimitable Bill Ward and Geezer Butler show why they are as under-appreciated as they are accomplished.

So this was the first album I ever bought at 13. To say my mother was disappointed that I stopped binge-listening her Tom Jones and Sadler & Young albums to binge-listen Black Sabbath is an understatement. I first hear it when an older brother of a friend played it for us. So heavy, dark & riff-centric. For me, all hard rock that came after paled by comparison. I read a review of this album about 10 years ago and the guy said just ignore Ozzy (happily) and the heavy guitar and listen to nothing but the bass and drums and you will get a better idea of what a great band they were. I see this is the 7th highest ranked 1001 album so I will not resist.

This is easily both the best heavy metal album of all time and the most influential heavy metal album of all time. War Pigs, Paranoid, and Iron Man are obviously beyond legendary tracks, but tracks like Electric Funeral still absolutely rip and I’m still surprised by how they got away with putting a mellow track like Planet Caravan between Paranoid and Iron Man while still maintaining a coherent sound. The music and vocals are top fucking tier coupled with the genre defining sound and aesthetic that kicked off a whole generation of metal. Not to mention the ironclad tearing down of pro-war sentiments. This is truly one of the most perfect albums of all time for me. 4.8 stars

War Pigs is a huge opening track and sets the tone for a genre defining album. Rifftastic Iommi with the unchained brilliance of Ozzie. A match made in metal heaven.

Quoting Rob’s mix-tape rules from the movie Hi Fidelity: “You gotta kick it off with a killer to take attention, and then you gotta kick it up a notch. But you don’t wanna blow your wad, so then you gotta cool it down a notch. There are a lotta rules.” - even though ‘Paranoid’ is not a mix, it nails that form spot on - ‘War Pigs’ is the best song on the album, and then it gets better with ‘Paranoid’. ‘Planet Caravan’ is still a closet favorite which I love playing to the Metal uninformed - “This is Back Sabbath?”. It all works - galloping, locomotive bass and drums, ominous guitars and Ozzy. They convey the emotions of the disillusioned industrial youth that they are. Love the lyrics throughout. ‘War Pigs’ could have been written 3000 years ago. This album and their eponymous debut album were released within six months of each other, which still amazes me. These albums changed Rock music forever. Doesn’t get much better. 5+ stars

Classic metal album, unexpected jazziness on some songs, others are well known

I found myself not knowing when a song began and ended, a lot of the songs blended together, which isn't really for me. I like the genre of music and some of the songs are pretty iconic, however the blending is too much for me

An obvious metal masterpiece. Dark, intense, slow, ambient. Everything that a good stoner metal album could be

More of a blues rock album than I expected. Some really great technique on display. The compositions are simple but effective, and the repetitiveness serves the themes of the album well. The instrumentalists are super together all the time, they play well with one another. Bill Ward especially kills it on this album.

10/15 Raw as all hell. Standout Tracks: Planet Caravan, Iron Man, Electric Funeral, Hand of Doom

Possibly the best early heavy metal albums. 10/10

How I wish I'd gone to that Black Sabbath concert on May 5, 1982. I guess it only took 40 years to realize that. I was scared away at the time. How was I to know with everyone freaking out at the time? Good grief, this review will be more obscene than the album is. How can you not go, "Fuck yeah!" through this whole album? It's the "War Pigs" that are satanic! Fuck, yeah! What is this freaky, spacey, awesome sound in "Planet Caravan"? Fuck, yeah! Oh my God, that riff in "Iron Man" is so epic that we're going to play it and sing to it over and over for five and half minutes and never get tired of it. (When you look up "Riff" in Wikipedia, this is the riff that illustrates what a riff is. Fuck, yeah!) I went batshit when that voice that kind of sounds like Animal from the Muppets chanted "Electric Funeral! Electric Funeral" Fuck, yeah! When "Hand of Doom" slowly, creepily builds and builds to "Now you're gonna die!" Fuck, yeah! (Well, maybe not "yeah" except that it's definitely not glamorizing drug abuse, so, okay, fuck, yeah!) I will never get tired of the title "Rat Salad." Fuck, yeah. The album so far has dealt with war, depression, the end of the world (twice), and drug abuse, and ends with "Fairy with boots and dancing with a dwarf." Fuck. Yeah. (Granted it might have had to do with the "smokin' and trippin'" but as the album ends, "Yeah!") I had to giggle a few times when the lyrics really struggled to fit the rhythm "Ca-an he-e see-e, or is he blind?" and then I laughed again when I realized it sounded like Jack Black was singing, but I felt like a goddamn badass pulling up to work with it blaring on my car stereo and now I finally get it all.

Nope.

"War Pigs", Paranoid" and "Iron Man" in the first 4 tracks! I guess they threw "Planet Caravan" in there just so we wouldn't spontaneously combust from all the rocking. Outside of "Planet Caravan" I was surprised by how overall rocking they kept it going on all the songs. I really liked this one! The drumming, the sound of the drumming, and the production on the drumming just sounds so unique and cool on this album. I really like the drumming and it is so distinctive. Rock on Sabbath!

Perfection

This freakin rocked. I had heard more of the songs than I expected, fun ride all the way through

Black Sabbath's Paranoid is a landmark metal album, brimming with heavy riffs, gloomy atmospheres, and Ozzy Osbourne's iconic vocals. Songs like "Paranoid" and "War Pigs" are undeniable classics, while tracks like "Planet Caravan" showcase the band's versatility. Pioneering and influential, Paranoid remains a must-listen for any metal fan. 5 out of 5 stars

This album is perfect. Banger after banger after banger after banger. And those changes in the song are just godly. One of the best ever

Super hårdt OG super catchy, lyder virkelig som et mission statement for hele genren. Jeg tror egentlig marginalt bedre jeg kan lide debuten, men den her fortjener stadig at joine Ágætis Byrjun på Claus-Rasmus-Sandra Five Star Hall of Fame™

I may be Paranoid, but not an Android. I. AM. IRON MAAAAAAAAAN Incredible work!

Out of all albums that I love this is one of the most pesimistic when it comes to lyrics. Great, dynamic, atmospheric music with hypnotizing Ozzy's vocals make perfect match. Depressing lyrics make this whole experience hit different. One moment You want to jump to great riff, couple of seconds later you are dragged to the bottom with apocaliptic visions. One of my favourites. 6/5

Anthony, Andrew, and I took some mushrooms and tripped hard to an early Sabbath concert where Ozzy still had youth in his face that he hadn't destroyed with drugs yet. Then we turned on a Tom Jones record, and watched a industrial crusher destroy a bunch of toys on YouTube. We laughed our heads off. This record is still one of the most imitated, but never duplicated. Lightning stuck hard with this one. Favorite tracks: "Iron Man", "Faeries Wear Boots", "Electric Funeral"

Grandma Died On This Day. Allh Yar7em El Fey9a

Never considered myself a fan of metal but I can appreciate the genre because of albums such as this. Going through the lyrics of some of these songs shows them talking about generational topics (such as war pigs with them referencing, I’m assuming, Vietnam), to having an abstract story (Iron Man). Musically, everything from the guitars to the vocals made this album an absolute banger. The simple replay-ability of this album gives it a 5, no contest.

5/5 While metal wasn’t invented by a single artist or band, Black Sabbath did bring together a blueprint that is referenced to this day. This album is fun to listen to and full of that dark energy you are looking for when listening to metal, without feeling obscene or “evil” just for the sake of sounding that way. The Heavy and distorted riffs and Ozzie’s iconic voice are of course great but listening to the drums and bass specifically show that they help support the band just as much as everything else. Of course the big three hits are amazing but the rest of the tracks are great listens as well. I enjoyed “Planet Caravans” slow paced spacey feeling (the traveling bongos are fun), “Electric Funeral” has intense imagery in the lyrics and really brings forward the bass and drums, and “Rat Salad” is a fun jam session and drum solo. I guess I’d say that “Fairies Wear Boots” is the weak point of the album for me but that’s not saying much as it isn’t a bad listen. Fav Tracks: No point in choosing

A stone cold classic. I actually like it BECAUSE the guitar relys more on tone than on histrionics. The first half is incredible from War Pigs through Iron Man its one classic after another. I especially the moody Planet Caravan. The second half can get a little heavy handed, but not enough to dim the status as an all time metal classic; 5 stars.

What's to say about this album that hasn't already been said? A great trip from start to finish. I think when I was younger I wasn't a big fan of Planet Caravan but I love the trippy groove of that track now and it makes a good bridge from Paranoid to Iron Man. On side two It feel like Electric Funeral pays an homage to early Pink Floyd with the vocal melody at the beginning.

This album is great because it also contains the 1001 greatest guitar riffs you must listen to

Ох, это же Блэк Сабат Гитары звучат сочно. Слышно каждую ноту, плотно. War Pigs - ох какой соляк! У баса интересная партия тоже. Теперь я понимаю, за что любят Томи Айоми. У него просто ахерительные рифы и вкусные соляки. Paranoid - тут всё понятно Planet Caravan - вау, вот это перкуссия! Раньше я слушал только кавер Пантеры на эту песню, оригинал вообще другой. Бас всё так же творит чудо, гитара потихоньку подыгрывает, дополняя атмосферу. Интересно звучат соло Томми (уже в трех песнях подряд), они звучат сухо, практически без эффектов. Слышно лишь короткую реверберацию. Но эта реверберация создает невероятную глубину в песне. Iron Man - классика хэви метала) Опять же гитара звучит очень собранно и хрустяще. Есть непопадания, когда после паузы все немного играют мимо, но почему-то это не звучит как что-то прям очень плохое. Типа трушно, что-ли. Хм, концовка очень интересная, только сейчас обратил внимание на неё. Electric Funeral - Оззи снова не парится и поёт в унисон с гитарой Томми) КАК ЖЕ ОФИГИТЕЛЬНО ЗВУЧАТ ЭТИ ГИТАРЫ! Во всех песнях! Hand of Doom - барабаны очень панчевые, слышится каждая атака. Rat Salad - похоже на импровизацию. Барабанное соло драйвовое. Fairies Wear Boots - как всегда крутые рифы Томми Айоми. Интересно меняется ритм на протяжении всей песни. Хорошее закрытие альбома. ---- Буду ли я переслушивать этот альбом? ДА.

Such a great album. These guys were ahead of their time. You can see where so many future bands got their influences from.

ground breaking stunning album.

So fucking tight. Riffs for days. Can’t wait to drink a few rockshores and drift away to planet caravan.

When I first met Luke in a crowded Bot garden. Sandwiched between Laura and Jenny and opposite himself, I accidentally made out I was a massive metal head by talking to him solely about Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. That man was no liar. 8 tracks of pure godly tunes.

Legendary!

Classic

Amazing!

It's Sabbath, and I'm a metal head. Having said that, it's not a brilliant album, and you can tell its the birth of metal as a genre. There are some excellent tracks, but it could use some refinement. It us still a good album, just not one of the very best.

Staple thrash metal infused with riveting use of stylistic bar variations and impactful guitar riffs. Ozzy Osbourne's immediacy in his vocals create intangible catharsis for the record. Cohesive and a CHB, 'Paranoid' (album) is instantly recognizable to many listeners alike regardless of genre.

Rockin album!

It's a miracle that Ozzy Osbourne is still alive

Epic 😎

Strong first half, weaker second half

Short and sweet. The guitar sound >>> Ozzy’s vocals. Of course this album is on this list, no problem saying that even though they’re not my favorite band.

Disappointing! War Pigs and Paranoid together made a tremendously strong, energetic start from out the outset, but all my enthusiasm was lost by the time Iron Man came on—at which point the album descended into lyrics that were edgy but shallow, and settled into that unfortunate aimless, rambly guitar/drum combo that seems to have dominated rock in the years prior. An easy five stars if the momentum had carried through, but as it stands, three is being generous. Recommended season: Winter

- better than seeing them live (saw them live in Wacken and they are just too old for this) - still old man metal, not mine

Banger

Heavy metal was never as fun as on this record. All killer no filler. Is one of those few albums in which each song gave birth to a whole sub-genre.

Hand of Doom and especially Rat Salad are a bit weaker than the rest, but overall an absolute classic.

What a romp. I love every song on this album!

One of the all time metal greats, and definitely deserving of its status as a GOAT. This album is immensely top-heavy, but there's a whole lot of substance once you get past the first 4 or so songs. War Pigs, Iron Man, etc. have all been done to death, so I'll take a deep dive into the lesser known 4 songs on the album. Electric Funeral is hands down the worst song on this album. Ozzy is a real let down with his vocals I adore every song on this album, except for this one. This song is genuinely a bit of a miss for me. It picks up nicely at the end, but the start of the song really wigs me out. Hand of Doom is probably the most exciting song on the album. It is really similar to Paranoid, but I think it plays better on the ears. Rat Salad is a nice solo, with some great drumming in between. It's a great song, but I think it would have gone really well placed further up the album to break up some of the similar sounding songs like near Iron Man. The drum fill definitely does drag on, and it does show when you compare streaming rates of this song to the others. Fairies Wear Boots is another pretty good song, that seems to combine pieces of all the previous songs into one. I enjoyed this song, and it's a nice way to top off the album. Genuinely an incredible album, and deserving of a 5. Well worth its spot in the top 10 of all time on this list.

It feels kinda stupid to write something about a universally loved album that I don't really have any issues with. What the fuck do you want me to say 'ooohhh the melody is so rich' yeah we all know the album is cool I guess my take away is start feeding the kids in the music industry today some live bats and see if we can activate the same kind of shit that caused these guys to drop Paranoid and their Self Titled Album in the same year

That bat had it coming.

Hands down, one of the most significant albums created. From start to finish, I can listen to this entire album over and over. A true progenitor for so many flavors of rock and metal.

One of the best opening tracks ever? Paired with one of the best closing tracks ever? A regret I have in life is not really getting deep into Sabbath until much later in life. So many wasted years!

I loved this album when I first heard it in the early 70s and it still sounds fresh today. Probably the best album Sabbath ever recorded IMHO. Pure heavy metal bliss!

With their first album Black Sabbath basically invented heavy metal. With their second album Black Sabbath perfected heavy metal. This very well may be the top of the mountain. It’s not even my favorite Sabbath album (Master Of Reality), but the timelessness is undeniable. I love how Planet Caravan is a brief reprieve from the super iconic moments on the first side that feels like you are listening underwater. Electric Funeral is my favorite kind of metal song with the slow tempo and chunky guitar riff. Rat Salad is the Sabbath equivalent to Moby Dick. Everything is great here.

Amazing album from start to finish.

Heilt king Kong. Kanskje beste så langt

I don't think there's anything to be said.

Paranoid is an interesting album. From one point of view, it doesn't feel complex, I'd even call it a bit basic. But that's maybe because it's a precursor to all the other ones, and then... being a bit basic doesn't mean it's not good. It employs the tools it has effectively. I knew some songs off of it, but the ones I didn't, I was vibing to them. Feels like the delivery of it is perfect for what it wants to achieve. Well, maybe, for an album called *Paranoid* I'd expect to hear something that makes me feel paranoid, but no. This is my biggest problem with the album, it sells you on the vibe, but not so much emotion. I'm a bit hesitant to call it a masterpiece, it'd be a 5/6 for me, but it's pretty good and solid. A bit hesitant 5.

No matter how dubious the credentials of selectivity are of this list, there's one thing that is beyond doubt when it comes to music: that Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' belongs on a far more exclusive list of album's that can truly be described as 'seismic'. This record is a hulking behemoth of sound, and it remains an utterly astonishing listen today. Curiously, the band weren't rated much by contemporary criticism. To these naysayers back in 1970, their music wasn't quite the revolutionary yardstick for heavy metal that its eventual canonisation would have you believe. In fact, the first two Sabbath records were derided as subpar attempts at some bluesy space rock. The reason why it holds up so well today is that it doesn't fall into the well-worn science fiction tropes that have dated so much of that scene. The song structures are elaborate, but they're purposeful and never overstay their welcome. Tony Iommi's playing is deliberate and offensively catchy - here, he demonstrates why he's the undisputed king of the riff. His playing presages an entire spectrum of sound that would follow in the monumental trail he blazed on this record for the next forty years (without even coming close to the ear worms he hammers out on this album). Paranoid is one of the few 'classic albums' that more than deserve that accolade. A record that delivers its groundbreaking gut punch with as much force today as it did back then.

This album is easily one of the best I've heard so far and I've already heard a fifth of the album's! It cemented metal as a genre to be taken seriously. There are eight be songs on this album and somehow they're all 8/10 or higher. Other than the obvious highlights (War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man), I really enjoyed Rat Salad, Hand of Doom, and Planet Caravan. As someone who listens for the drums in songs, this album blew me away with one of the best drum performances in an album. The guitar is also incredible and those solos are otherworldly they're so good. Everything about this album is peak metal and a permanent member of not only the top 1001, but top 50 albums of all time!

Seminal

One of my favorite albums of all time. The godfathers of heavy metal at there best.

About 100 albums in now and a handful of metal albums have come up - stuff from Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, and a few others - but Paranoid is the clear frontrunner. This album rules. It kind of nails exactly what I want out of the genre, lyrically and... uh... guitarically. Never heard "War Pigs" before but it's perfect.

Amazing album from beginning to end!

Obviously the greatest album of all time and not-surprised it came first.

Can’t argue with the massive impact this album had on so many that came after it. Still holds up.

Heavy.

CLASSIC. Just one of those albums that is completely necessary for all music listeners. As a metalhead, this is one of the most well-written and well-aged records to ever be made. War Pigs <33 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)

The one-two punch of "War Pigs" and "Paranoid" is hard to beat in this era for hard rock power and mastery. Suddenly, though, with track 3 we are a bunch of hippies ("The Earth, a purple blaze / Of sapphire haze ... While down below the trees / Bathed in cool breeze / Silver starlight breaks down the night") before "Iron Man" melts our face again. Side two tells us "Dying world of radiation / Victims of man's frustration / Burning globe of obscene fire / Like electric funeral pyre"... now THAT'S the Sabbath we know and love. Ozzy tells us how doomed we all are then in "Hand of Doom" tells us how ridiculous we are for doing drugs to escape the pain of our destruction. We end with "Fairies Wear Boots" and our singer hallucinating, not heeding his own advice... it's a chaotic mess in the Sabbath brain, but the simplistic sludge riffs are epic and have been copied for 50+ years now.

Was it my favorite style? No but it was enjoyable and solid overall. I already like Ozzy though. The guitar was remarkable.

Loved this. First Sabbath album I’ve ever listened to. The hard guitar riffs combined with great bass playing, and incredible drums to tie it all together. The vocals are great as expected. Lyrics were surprisingly really mature and very interesting. Loved the variety on the album too, not many metal bands can do that well. Superb

easy five stars. i was -22 years old in 1970, but it would've been wild to hear this album for the first time when it released (and to see everyone else's reactions to it). this album is chock full of classic sabbath tunes and really feels like their magnum opus. war pigs is one of the best album openers i can imagine, paranoid is straightforward but powerful, planet caravan shows another side of sabbath's musicality, iron man is another powerful track with an iconic riff... and that's just side A. maybe the best rock/metal side A of that generation. the back half is pretty good too, definitely takes a turn for the weird but i enjoy it. anyway i don't have anything terribly new or groundbreaking to say about this album but the wikipedia article was a fascinating read. oh, i also wish rat salad were a better song because it has the best name imaginable. that's all. favorites: war pigs, paranoid, planet caravan, iron man, electric funeral, faeries wear boots

🤘

All bangers, great fun!

10/10 THE Black Sabbath album. Favourite Song=War Pigs Least Favourite Song=

This was awesome. I knew War Pigs, Iron Man and Paranoid, but the rest of the tracks were new to me. Such an awesome proto-metal sound, even all these years later. Totally hummable and grooving. I listened to it twice -- five stars easily.

I mean, how can you not like it?

Oh hail thee Prince of Darkness! I probably set a world record with war pigs and getting stoned. One of my favs of all time. The kings of dark metal rising to power. If you listen to this record backwards it tells you to worship Satan, but it might screw up your turntable and needle, so don't try it! 🤘🏻 😈

Seriously solid first half, drops off a bit at the end but still loved alot of this

Hail Iommi

War Pigs, Paranoid, and Iron Man on one album is insane

What a treat!!

No skips

No notes.

You know, this sophomore Black Sabbath record has always been one of THOSE classics, the one where, maybe, on a purely conceptual level, its slow and sludgy presentation always turned me off of it ever-so-slightly, it's just never been MY style. But when it comes time to sit down and listen to the thing, I can just fucking hear it, I can hear all of why this album is so beloved. I'd say it usually clicks on that faster switch-up on 'Electric Funeral' with those squawking guitar hits right before the song, once again, muddies itself in that swampy riff that evokes this lethargic and almost comatose-inducing feeling within my gut. 'Paranoid' is just flat-out catchy, like a banger rock tune with some of the most haunting Ozzy lyrics out of ANY Sabbath song. The other huge song, 'Iron Man', I'm maybe more indifferent towards as a standalone track, I've never been a fan of that lead guitar and synched vocal melody, though in the track listing here it works really well in reigniting the album's momentum after the slower 'Planet Caravan'. And I do like 'Planet Caravan'...it's a much-needed, Black Sabbath-standard, slow switch-up - it's ethereal and warm, something the rest of this album is very much not. Case in point, 'Rat Salad', which if the name isn't raw enough for you, its short instrumental run-time sounds like an atonal punk track trying its hardest to squeeze its way onto a large radio station's queue, all while its ugly personality can't help but rear its head. The two undoubted highlights for me though are the two "two-part" songs here. First is 'Jack the Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots', which may have my favorite intro on the whole thing with that reverb guitar and tribal drum pattern. More than anything though I love how well it works with Ozzy's fantastical and dream-like imagery, especially as the song comes to its explosive closing and his insane ramblings come to a head. Then there's the opener 'War Pigs / Luke's Wall' which may be one of the greatest songs of all time. I just love everything about it. The ominous opening with those atomic sirens, the lyrics painting the destructive nature of the world's governments, as the ones who pull the strings hide behind the ones pulling the triggers. And maybe the most horrifying part is how many of these pigs will die peacefully, likely of old age, with no charges brought against them - but Ozzy almost seeks solace in the fact that they will pay their dues come Judgement Day. And when I call the music on this album dramatic, I reference moments like this song's opening 2 minutes with that effective tension-building and unpredictable song structure, right before it bursts into that sharp groove. I haven't listened to this album enough to dub it "memorable", but every time I do put it on it's just so much fun to get through. Well maybe not "fun", if there's one thing this album is, it's unabashedly dark and troubled. But it's a familiar kind of darkness, one that takes the shape of this addictive classic rock album. Like Iommi's constant riff switch-ups, those fat, melodic basslines, Ozzy's wailing vocals, and those staccato, stuttering, dramatic, and fill-heavy drums are like fucking crack. 'Paranoid' lands perfectly between those late '60s hard-rock sounds, and the sounds of '70s metal to come...a sweet spot very few other bands (and even albums) have ever found themselves in. This is what rock music was always meant to be.

Forging together elements of the blues, jazz, and classical music, Black Sabbath created one of the finest examples of early heavy metal with 1970's Paranoid. Building off of their pivotal self-titled debut released just 7 months prior, the band brings their songwriting skills to new heights with several all-time classic compositions, including apocalyptic war protest War Pigs and the instantly catchy and anthemic Iron Man. Even the "afterthought" title track purportedly written in 5 minutes became an enduring staple of the heavy metal canon. Vastly underappreciated by music critics of their time, Black Sabbath's influence cannot be overstated. Ozzy Osbourne's eerie vocals, Tony Iommi's dark blues riffs, Bill Ward's masterful drum fills, and Geezer Butler's melodic basslines and imaginative lyrics all come together to make a truly unforgettable record. Highlights: -War Pigs/Luke's Wall -Iron Man -Electric Funeral -Hand of Doom -Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots Lowlights: -Planet Caravan

Oh man, such a great album. Every single track is killer. Truly a foundational album for any metal fan. The sludgy guitar, the funky bass, the driving beats, and Ozzy's singular voice, all come together to form a monster.

Pretty iconic, not much else to say that hasn't been said already by my peers.

Very good like it very very much

Probably the best metal album out there, they got it down on lock by the second album, incredible, back to back classics on this. It’s like if Led Zeppelin had Black Dog, Rock and Roll, and Stairway to Heaven on the same album. Not my personal favourite from them but hard to argue that it isn’t their best output

An absolute staple in music history, if crazy train was on here it very well could be a top 10 album personally. Rat salad isn’t up there with something like Moby Dick, but the kits tone is beyond supreme and Bill ward has the moves of Muhammad Ali on war pigs.