Black Sabbath-Paranoid

Post #88-Poll winner: Favorite Ozzy-Era Sabbath Album
Black Sabbath are often credited as being the first true heavy metal band. Regardless of when and where 'heavy metal' began, Black Sabbath were certainly the heaviest band of their era. And they were certainly the first band to write songs as dark and demonic as 'Black Sabbath' or 'War Pigs'.

Rising from seemingly nowhere, their sound, tone, and doom-themed lyrics caught on surprisingly quickly. Shortly after they were signed to a record label they began to crank out albums year after year, following the simplest of formulas: heavy riff, dark or psychadelic lyrics, drums, bass, and a catchy vocal melody. It may not sound like much, but they mastered it quickly.

So adept they became at their new-found style of heavy-blues rock that their 2nd album, Paranoid, has become know as their Masterpiece, and a cornerstone in the foundation of the roots of the entire heavy metal genre. The title track/single was almost an accidental success. After they recorded their track-list for their second album, the producer barged in and said the album was too short on minutes. They needed one more song...

Brainstorming, and improvising on the spot, the four guys went to work. Starting with Tony Iommi's catchy guitar riff and flowing from there, they had the track cut less than 12 hours later. They called it 'Paranoid', and the record company liked it so much they changed the name of the album to match! Today it's often called their best song, and always used as a concert encore, whether you're seeing Black Sabbath or Ozzy.

Other highlights from this classic album:

-War Pigs

-Planet Caravan

-Iron Man

-Hand of Doom

-Fairies Wear Boots