Ryan Reviews: Paranoid (1970) by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are not often grouped into the same category as other popular British bands of the time, such as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd or Queen. Based on their reputation, one would assume this was the case at the time of their rise to prominence in the 1970s, and it appears to be the same today. Whether 50 years ago or as we speak, it’s a tremendous mistake to overlook the influence and magnitude of Birmingham, England’s Black Sabbath. And though they’ve achieved a ton of retrospective clout, they are still not heralded the same way as the aforementioned bands.
Frankly, Sabbath could, in some ways, be considered more influential than the bands mentioned above. They essentially paved the way for the rise of heavy metal music, and were one of the genre’s pioneers, though Zeppelin and The Who arguably had a hand in this as well. In the metal community they have forever been seen as gods; outside of it, they are sometimes looked at as a band that had a few catchy songs back in an extremely saturated era and are often overlooked, or they’re considered too dark and heavy.
One thing is for certain: Black Sabbath must be respected as much as any of the big bands from that era. Consisting of vocalist and metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, Sabbath was a working-class band from central England. Their early discography is nearly flawless, with a six-album run between 1970 and 1975 going down as one of the more impressive runs in music history. This period is anchored by their second and most popular studio album, 1970’s Paranoid.
Many think Paranoid is where it all started for Sabbath, but earlier in 1970, they dropped their fantastic self-titled debut. Black Sabbath turned out to be a commercial success, and the band was immediately given the resources to record their follow-up. After spending just a five-day period in the studio in June 1970, Paranoid was turned around quickly, released to the world in September 1970 on Vertigo Records in the United Kingdom, and on Warner Bros. in the United States.
If you are a fan of metal and hard rock, there are zero skips on this album. It is essentially one legendary track after another. The album kicks off with “War Pigs”, an 8-minute, anti-Vietnam War anthem that is often regarded as one of the best heavy metal songs of all-time. The influence of “War Pigs” alone is undeniable, and is retroactively celebrated as one of their best. It’s immediately followed by another one of their best, “Paranoid”. The title track is a catchy, energetic hard rock ballad with ominous lyrics, some of which have been gravely misinterpreted through the years. The song keeps a fast tempo and was perhaps the most commercially successful single off the record.
The album offers a change in mood with “Planet Caravan”, which is a peaceful passage with quiet, clean guitar and hypnotic congas courtesy of Bill Ward, punctuated by subtle vocals from Osbourne featuring interstellar lyrics. “Iron Man” almost catches the listener off-guard as it’s easy to be in a bit of a trance coming out of “Planet Caravan”. Over one of the most iconic metal riffs in existence compliments of Tony Iommi, Ozzy tells a dystopian tale of time travel before the song wraps up in dramatic fashion, ending an absolutely amazing A-side.
“Electric Funeral” kicks off the second half of the record. Possibly the first example of stoner metal, there are some extremely tasty and memorable riffs throughout the track’s five minutes, which leads seamlessly into another anti-war anthem, “Hand of Doom”. Here, there’s a distinct quiet/loud dynamic, which would become a major characteristic of grunge music some 20 years later. While “Hand of Doom” features some memorable and morbid lyrics, it also displays some of the best guitar work from Iommi on the record.
“Rat Salad” is a nice interlude to set up the album’s closer. After some noodling around by the band, Ward explodes into a robust drum solo towards the track’s end. This leads right into “Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots”, which showcases some of the best riffing on the album, with notable lyrics from Ozzy that indirectly address the band’s LSD and drug use. The track fades out with an iconic guitar arpeggio from Iommi, bringing this undeniable classic to a close.
While Sabbath had already established themselves in the UK and Europe in 1970 with their debut, Paranoid was the record that took the world by storm. Its dark subject matter, catchy-yet-heavy guitar work, and sometimes-gloomy tempo were things the world had just not heard much of to that point, considering doo-wop and Elvis were all the rage just ten years earlier. The album capitalized on its predecessor, and effectively broke Sabbath off into a faction of its own, separating them from the more accessible and “acceptable” sound of its early 1970s counterparts.
It’s no secret that Sabbath came from a darker realm than any of these other bands, and they were not afraid to express it. This newfound noir-rock, as I’ll call it, would single-handedly influence a myriad of bands later in the 1970s and 1980s, and would pave the way for bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and later, Metallica — bands that revolutionized and defined heavy metal.
Thinking critically, it’s hard not to realize that none of it would have been possible without Black Sabbath and Paranoid, the most influential and successful album in their extremely distinguished catalog. This record took Sabbath to new heights, and, perhaps accidentally, made them pioneers of the entire metal genre, a unique trait that few other bands from that era can claim.
