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.

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

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

“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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Nope.

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

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

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

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

Perfection

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

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

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.

Strong first half, weaker second half

I cannot objectively rate this album. It was one of the first secular albums I ever listened to after trading a playset of Magic cards (Craw Wurm, specifically) to borrow a friend’s CD copy of it so I could tape it. I thought it would be impossible for music to ever be faster or harder than Electric Funeral. My grandmother cried when she heard it. 5 stars.

This album is pretty much flawless - great musicianship, lyrics on point, clean but organic production and amazing songwriting. These songs are timeless and sound as fresh as ever. Sabbath just sound effortlessly cool on this one. This isn't my personal favorite of theirs but there's undeniable hits on this album and I can't find a reason not to label this record perfect, front to back.

I'm not a big heavy metal fan, but to me, Paranoid is the pinnacle of the genre. It's the best heavy metal album I've ever heard, and I’d bet it's one of the most influential too. The guitar riffs and instrumentals are phenomenal, and the vocals are both unique and powerful. This is the kind of album you’ll want to play on repeat. Favorite songs: Paranoid and War Pigs Least favorite: There isn’t a bad track on the album. Album artwork: A cool and memorable cover that fits the vibe perfectly.

Easy 5 star. Wall to wall bangers. An absolute classic!!

Sounds really fun to play live

Killer riffs. Every band member is embellishing, but never overplaying, and never coming out of sync. Ozzy’s voice is so unique and fits the music perfectly.

Duh.

A quintessential album from the pioneers of sludge and metal.

"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!

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!

A monumental album, like this album essentially invented a genre. Pretty much all of Black Sabbath's massive hits are on this album. I can. totally see why so many would say this is one of the greatest of all time. While I definitely think this is an incredible album its just not something I think to listen to that often. Still though, this album kicks ass Favorite track: Paranoid 4.5/5

7/10. Car music. Long drive music

Wow I have been missing out, this is quite solid stuff. 4/5, I enjoy the instrumental songs as well

Right on!

War pigs is such a banger start to an album. The rest keeps up the energy

👍

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!

As good as it gets for Sabbath. Not my jam but a good album.

It's a miracle that Ozzy Osbourne is still alive

Epic 😎

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

9/10

The greatest metal album ever recorded period. One of the greatest albums of any genre ever. A masterpiece in every facet.

One of the reasons why I'm such a music fanatic - beyond that, really- music is one of the great joys in life for me up there with kinky sex & pizza. Cute kittens (they are all cute) and puppies too. It will always blow my mind how four humans created something so magnificent & humbling. This goes well beyond being a beast of a record (it is that) but a life changer, released during the very early days of my favorite genre of music HEAVY METAL one of my earliest concerts back in 2013 (I was 11 & already lost to the cause) was Black Sabbath's farewell tour with my dad who got us very near the front of the stage tickets- I was in heaven- Tony Iommi was mesmerizing to watch that late summer night -he stood there like a shadow, a Rock God mere feet away from me EVERYTHING after that concert was BBS (Before Black Sabbath) and ABS (After Black Sabbath) the fire had been lit. You NEED this album if you love Rock music to any degree but careful there as there might be no coming back.

It is a milestone album, so therefore I give a 5, but it is a weak 5. Planet Caravan and Rat Salad is the weakest points of the album.

More variety in the album then the three songs I know so well

Lets start with WHAT AN AMAZING DRUM SOLO...... This is Black Sabbath I was always going to give this a great score, I have owned this album in most forms and many times, this is one of those albums that plays so well from start to finish and it's one that everyone will know at lest one track on. Classic album

This is just an undisputed One Of The Greatest Ever. All tracks are awesome and the musicianship is off the charts. How anyone can not appreciate snarling Ozzy, the wicked drumming by Ward, the slapping bass by Geezer, the fingers of Iommi, and especially the mix of them all together is beyond me. Five stars without question.

I feel like I’ve listened to this record in its entirety on my own lately. So I could probably skip it and give it 5 stars. But the drum groove on war pigs alone is worth it. I love the bass on “Planet Caravan”. I really love this record. Love this album.

My review last week in my other “project”: “Not much to say on top of all the other reviews. It's a colossal, classic. 5 stars without listening, 6 because I listened to it anyway. No? Ok, 5 is it.”

Classic/5 One of the greatest metal albums of all time. Filled with absolute bangers with a sprinkling of psych rock and blues. The guitar tones throughout this album are perfect and nostalgic. Will continue to be in rotation.

Not my favorite Black Sabbath album, but probably their most popular / catchiest. It slaps. 9/10

Man, good couple of days for album recs 10/10, no notes... Ok, one note: Ozzy has got to be one of the laziest vocalists of all time on this one, lol. Still fucks tho

An album so good, so perfect, you quickly learn all the words and sing along....50 years after its release. Genre defining. I doubt there are any criticisms by people with ears.

Très bon album, une référence

War Pigs is nearly a 5 by itself, what an album 🤘

All time great album. Damn near every song on this is an absolute classic.

Three of the first four songs are absolute classics. You can't listen to this without a little head banging! Liked Songs Added: War Pigs/Luke's Wall Paranoid Iron Man Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots

Not much to say on top of all the other reviews. It's a colossal, classic. 5 stars without listening, 6 because I listened to it anyway. No? Ok, 5 is it.

rat salad drum solo you are so beloved to ME! This rocked so hard. RAHHH

This album is for you who finish with your woman cause she couldn't help you with your mind. For you who agrees that politicians hide themselves away after started the war. For you, living in the crimson eye of Great God Mars. For you, that just stares at the world. For you, living in a dying world of radiation. For you, who knows what to do when time's caught up with you. For you, banging your head at the Rat Salad. For you, who believes that fairies wear boots. It's a day to dust off the old LP or CD, or even type the album's name in that green app, and let loose! IRON MAN LIVES AGAIN!

Another all-time banger. This is actually my fouth favorite Black Sabbath album after the debut, Heaven & Hell, and Mob Rules. I still say one of the RJD Sabbath albums should have been included. Still, this is one of Ozzy's finest moments... War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man, Electric Funeral, Hand of Doom, and Fairies Wear Boots are all killer classic Sabbath to me, it seems to be the third song on each side that slightly dips it for me. Rat Salad is utter filler. 9.8/10 ★★★★½

My favourite Black Sabbath album. Solid from start to finish. 5 stars

1053 albums in, and I am still amazed that Black Sabbath came out with this sound in 1970. A lot of the 1001 albums have helped me learn about the evolution of different genres and styles, and a lot of it makes sense. But for Sabbath to come out with “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” and “Iron Man” at that point in the evolution of rock and roll was so far ahead of their time. This was Sabbath’s second album (both in 1970!), but I like it much more than the debut. Looking back on all my metal reviews as we near the end of the list, and although I still need to go back and review a couple of Metallica albums, I think “Paranoid” may be my favorite heavy metal album. (I don’t actually count Zeppelin as metal.)

It’s hard to believe that this album came out in 1970. The sound is as classic as it gets, as fresh today as 55 years ago. This is the defining heavy metal sound to me. I prefer The Cardigans’ cover of Iron Man over the original, but that is neither here nor there.

One of the most influential metal album of all time - an absolute game-changer. It is astonishing what these musicians created in the late '60s and early '70s, redefining the genre in a truly revolutionary way. Personally, Paranoid was one of the first track that introduced me to metal - the opening riff is just something unforgettable

Butler and ward, so underrated.

The album that started my journey into metal. Easy 5.

killer

We need to stop pretending and just admit this is a psychedelic rock album

Iron Man, top Song, Avenger and Kids' book

Side A has to be in contention for “greatest first four songs on an album.” Second half is a slight let down, but anything would be. Another pivotal childhood album. My friend who grew up to be a gigging bassist got into the Dead, this album, the Doors, and Blue Oyster Cult in junior high, and introduced me to all of them. (I don’t *think* he was getting stoned in junior high, I just think his parents were, and they introduced him to this music.) BOC, meh. The Doors, meh. GD is hit or miss. But this album stuck and has never gone away. Odds are extremely high I’ll practice Paranoid, Iron Man, or War Pigs on the guitar later. And I don’t think it’s a hot take to trace back all my favorite sub genres of metal to this album, “Planet Caravan” in particular. The band Sleep doesn’t exist without that song, I’m convinced. (I now see the top review for this album credits “Electric Funeral” for sludge metal. The review’s not wrong. The real marvel is the diversity of sound among these songs, and the credible claim several of them would have on later subgenres. It’s a little like hearing a foundational document of a religion that later had all kinds of schisms.)

I knew it would only be a matter of time before I got one of my all time favorite albums. This, along with the self titled album, Master of Reality, Vol 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and Sabotage are all 5-star perfect albums. Fun fact about Paranoid- it was the last album with guitars tuned to E standard. Starting with the next album (Master of Reality) Tony Iommi started de-tuning 3 steps to c# and Sabbath became the heaviest thing in the known universe.

Classic album by a classic band, this is prob the album but most everyone knows because of the fact it has three of their biggest songs on it!