Black Sabbath didn’t just make a great heavy record with Paranoid. They helped establish the vocabulary of heavy metal itself. Released in 1970, the band’s second album is darker, heavier and more focused than their debut, driven by Tony Iommi’s monumental riffs, Geezer Butler’s bass, Bill Ward’s thunderous drumming and Ozzy Osbourne’s unmistakable voice.
The opening War Pigs is an eight-minute anti-war juggernaut before the title track delivers one of rock’s most instantly recognisable riffs in under three minutes. Planet Caravan drifts into eerie psychedelic territory, Iron Man lumbers forward with prehistoric force, while Electric Funeral, Hand Of Doom and Fairies Wear Boots keep pushing the album deeper into doom, menace and groove.
What makes Paranoid remarkable is how little excess there is. Eight songs, each contributing something essential, and a sound whose influence can be heard across generations of metal, doom, stoner rock and hard rock. More than half a century later, it still sounds genuinely dangerous.
TRACKS:
Side A
War Pigs
Paranoid
Planet Caravan
Iron Man
Side B
Electric Funeral
Hand Of Doom
Rat Salad
Fairies Wear Boots
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