Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970) REVIEW

By Patrick Baker

Requested by my Year 6 teacher, Michael Simpson, aka Simmo

Genre/s - Heavy metal, Hard rock, Doom metal

Other Albums/EP's/Compilations:

• Black Sabbath (1970)
• Master Of Reality (1971)
• Vol. 4 (1972)
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
• Sabotage (1975)
• We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n 'Roll (1975) *Compilation*
• Technical Ecstasy (1976)
• Never Say Die! (1978)
• Heaven and Hell (1980)
• Live at Last (1980) *Live Album*
• Mob Rules (1981)
• Live Evil (1982) *Live Album*
• Born Again (1983)
• Seventh Star (1986)
• The Eternal Idol (1987)
• Blackest Sabbath (1988) *Compilation*
• Headless Cross (1989)
• Tyr (1990)
• Dehumanizer (1992)
• Cross Purposes (1994)
• Forbidden (1995)
• Cross Purposes Live (1995) *Live Album*
• The Sabbath Stones (1996) *Compilation*
• Reunion (1998) *Live Album*
• The Best of Black Sabbath (2000) *Compilation*
• Past Lives (2002) *Live Album*
• Symptom of The Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 (2002) *Compilation*
• Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 (2004) *Compilation*
• Greatest Hits 1970-1978 (2006) *Compilation*
• Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007) *Live Album*
• Black Sabbath - The Dio Years (2007) *Compilation*
• The Rules of Hell (2008) *Compilation*
• Greatest Hits (2009) *Compilation*
• Iron Man: The Best of Black Sabbath (2012) *Compilation
• 13 (2013)
• Live... Gathered In Their Masses (2013) *Live Album*
• The Ultimate Collection (2016) *Compilation*
• The End (2016) *Extended Play*
• The Ten Year War (2017) *Compilation*
• The End: Live in Birmingham (2017) *Live Album*

Similar Artists - Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead, Dio, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden

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OVERALL SCORE //
9/10

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Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler) were an English heavy metal band formed in 1968 in Birmingham. The band is considered to be a major pioneering force within the creation of Heavy Metal, a genre characterised by compact bass-and-drum sound, loud distorted guitars, vehement rhythms and robust vocals. Black Sabbath was ranked as 'The Greatest Metal Band Of All Time' by MTV, placed second in VH1's '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock', ranked 85th on Rolling Stone on their '100 Greatest Artists of All Time' and have sold over 70 million records world wide. After the global commercial success of their first self titled album months before, Black Sabbath would release their second studio album, Paranoid, their most critically acclaimed work today. Paranoid is regarded by many as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time, through the albums thick, distorted electric guitars, hypnotic, thumping vocals provided by the 'Prince of Darkness' himself, Ozzy Osbourne, some politically charged themes as well as reflections of the experiences of members of the band. Paranoid was originally titled War Pigs, but was changed last minute by the record company out of fear that the title would spark backlash among supporters of the ongoing Vietnam war, which still remains a component of Paranoid's lyrical subject matter.

From Left to Right: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne

I will admit I'm not totally up to speed with Black Sabbath's enormous discography, but Paranoid struck me as a stand out album from what I have heard from the bands numerous albums as I conducted my research. I can vividly remember the first time hearing a Black Sabbath track, it was 2013 and I was sitting in my Year 6 class next to my best friend (still one of my best friends), studying the 1968 novel, The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. My teacher, Mr Simpson (mentioned above) would proceed to play the track 'Iron Man' off the album I am reviewing right now. It struck me as powerful and narcotic, but I didn't quite grasp the subject matter other than it had something to do with the book (it is debated as to whether Black Sabbath actually based the track on the book, comic, or neither). When I actually properly analyse and research the lyrics, I can see a story about a man who is turned to iron from being exposed to a 'magnetic storm' (He was turned to steel, In the great magnetic field), in his return to the present to warn Earth of the impending end of the world he witnessed in the future (Where he travelled time, For the future of mankind). However, when the Iron Man tries to warn everyone of the worlds fate, no one believes him which enrages him (Nobody wants him, He just stares at the world, Planning his vengeance, That he will soon unfold). The Iron Man proceeds to unleashes chaos onto the world, and ironically brings on the end of the world that he sought to warn people about. And completing story telling isn't the only thing that Paranoid has to offer, such as the opening track of the album, 'War Pigs', an rousing anti-war anthem critical of the perceived nonchalant attitudes of a lot of politicians behind conflicts such as the Vietnam War, which was raging on at the time of release. 

The slow, roaring guitars that greet listeners on the opening track, 'War Pigs' sets the scene for a bleak, dismal and angrily charged album, which is exactly what you'll get from the majority of Paranoid, which in no way is a bad thing. The whole album is just story after story, for example, the track 'Paranoid' tells us of a deeply paranoid man, hence the title. The nervous energy experienced by many experiencing paranoia is represented through the driving guitars and bass as well as Osbournes' distressed vocal performance. According to bassist Geezer Butler, the song was inspired by the occasional paranoia felt after consuming marijuana. In an interview with Mojo magazine in 2013, he states 'It's a drug thing; when your smoking a joint you get totally paranoid about people, you can't relate to people. There's that crossover between the paranoia you get when your smoking dope and the depression afterwards'. Funnily enough, 'Paranoid' was initially intended as a three minute filler track, where Tony Iommi wrote the riff, Butler wrote the lyrics and Osbourne would read them as he sang, and is actually one of my favourite tracks on the album. The album also has a mellow point, in the track 'Planet Caravan', which is about floating through the universe with your significant other, and is almost reminiscent of a stripped back and less grandiose version of Pink Floyd. However, a personal small flaw on Paranoid is the track, 'Electric Funeral', which just seems to drone on a bit much for my liking, but is in now way a bad song. The definite admirable feature of the album is Osbourne's fitting vocal performance, which is consistent on every track of the album. If the apocalypse were to have a soundtrack, Paranoid IS that soundtrack, as nearly every track roars, rages and provides for some great heavy metal tracks (I ended up giving myself a headache after the almost involuntary headbanging I did while listening, even though I no longer have long hair). To put simply, Paranoid is just so much of an extremely fantastic listening experience that it's difficult to describe the emotions and thoughts that rushed through my head while listening, so I think it's better to listen to the album for yourself and just feel the tracks as they blast out of whatever you're listening on.

To wrap this up, Paranoid is an essential in the genre of heavy metal, a genre which I have personally overlooked myself. But I can say that after listening to Paranoid, my thoughts have changed completely and I will most definitely be listening to more of what Black Sabbath has to offer. Even if you are not a fan of heavy metal, this album is still most definitely worth a spin and makes for a seriously good time

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Favourite Tracks
- War Pigs
- Paranoid
- Planet Caravan
- Iron Man

Least Favourite Tracks
- Electric Funeral

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Related Videos from Black Sabbath

BLACK SABBATH - "Paranoid" (Official Video)

BLACK SABBATH - "Iron Man" (Official Video)