Like its namesake, the song ‘Paranoid’ is also the album’s most intense. Politically charged, Tony Iommi showcases flashes of brilliance, using his famous ‘The Monkey’ Gibson SG, while Bill Ward works the kit with a ferocious edge, to say the least. One can see clearly from the beginning, that this Sabbath album was meant to be different. Picking up in crescendo, Osborne narrates: ‘Politicians hide themselves away, they only start the war, why should they go out to fight? They leave that role for the poor’. Black Sabbath then begin to fully unleash, with the four members battling out to show off their inimitable chops.
In every way possible, Paranoid is horrifically beautiful, realistically reflecting the ugliness of our world in eight magnificent songs.īeginning with the wailing guitars of ‘War Pigs’ and a distant alarm that hauntingly cuts in through the mix, the opening track begins slowly, before being suddenly exploding into its pulverising guitar refrain, pacing hi-hats and Ozzy Osbourne’s hypnotising voice, bellowing out from below. An album for the everyday man, with songs about the working class struggles the band were only too familiar with seeing in their native Birmingham, as well as the problems of depression addiction in the years that followed the devastating effects of World War Two upon the UK. Sabbath’s magnum opus is exhilarating and powerful: obliterating in every sense. Rightfully ignoring this, the band stuck to their guns and only honed their sound further, in turn producing the template for genres like heavy metal, grunge, thrash and stoner rock. Read up on all the latest interviews, features and columns here. Their first album had been slammed by critics as being too raw-some even stating that they were a rip off of Cream. The album helped elevate heavy metal to new heights, showcasing the fluidity of the genre and pioneered a formidable sound that has laid the foundations for many other movements to come.Īfter releasing their eponymous debut album only four months prior, Black Sabbath wanted to capitalise on their recent creative streak. Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Words by Dillon South Looking back at one of the most influential records of the '70s.