Album: Paranoid
Artist: Black Sabbath
Born: Aston, Birmingham
Released: September 1970
Genre: Heavy Metal
Influenced: Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees, Foo Fighters
Like Steve Winwood and John Bonham, Black Sabbath emerged from the primordial blues rock soup of 1960s Birmingham. Their originality was combining horror with hard rock, starting with the title track of their first album, Black Sabbath (which is hilariously camp). I guess this is my problem with heavy metal generally, posturing men pumped full of testosterone using music and the occult as an outlet for their suppressed emotions. Ozzy Osbourne is now a slight joke figure, but listening to the band's second album Paranoid is an important reminder of Black Sabbath's serious intent, especially the innovative guitar work of Tony Iommi. What's most original to my ears is that any trace of the blues has all but disappeared in Black Sabbath's music, leaving behind a more primitive and heavy (uniquely British) rock sound. The success of the single, Paranoid, was the platform for the band to tour the US and export this highly influential new genre of heavy metal across the Atlantic.
War Pigs is perhaps the best illustration of the group's unique talents, especially Bill Ward's fierce drumming and Iommi's piledriving, distorted guitar sound. Iommi had to overcome serious injury to his guitar-playing left hand in his teenage years, and knowing this helps to explain his drive and unique approach to the guitar. Few have produced as many riffs as Iommi in the history of rock, and Paranoid is probably the most famous of them all. My only criticism of Paranoid is that it's not long enough. Two of my other favourite moments on the album are Iron Man and Hand Of Doom. The mayhem of Iron Man still sounds exciting to me now, over four decades later, so its influence would have been felt deeply at the time. Iommi's riffing and Ozzy's Spinal Tap lyrics make it a masterpiece of idiocy. Hand of Doom is another powerful anti-war song, though the band's attempt to highlight the dangers of heavy drugtaking is a little ironic given their later exploits. Paranoid was highly influential on metal and its myriad subcultures, but it's not to be taken too seriously. It's just great, escapist fun.
Like Steve Winwood and John Bonham, Black Sabbath emerged from the primordial blues rock soup of 1960s Birmingham. Their originality was combining horror with hard rock, starting with the title track of their first album, Black Sabbath (which is hilariously camp). I guess this is my problem with heavy metal generally, posturing men pumped full of testosterone using music and the occult as an outlet for their suppressed emotions. Ozzy Osbourne is now a slight joke figure, but listening to the band's second album Paranoid is an important reminder of Black Sabbath's serious intent, especially the innovative guitar work of Tony Iommi. What's most original to my ears is that any trace of the blues has all but disappeared in Black Sabbath's music, leaving behind a more primitive and heavy (uniquely British) rock sound. The success of the single, Paranoid, was the platform for the band to tour the US and export this highly influential new genre of heavy metal across the Atlantic.
War Pigs is perhaps the best illustration of the group's unique talents, especially Bill Ward's fierce drumming and Iommi's piledriving, distorted guitar sound. Iommi had to overcome serious injury to his guitar-playing left hand in his teenage years, and knowing this helps to explain his drive and unique approach to the guitar. Few have produced as many riffs as Iommi in the history of rock, and Paranoid is probably the most famous of them all. My only criticism of Paranoid is that it's not long enough. Two of my other favourite moments on the album are Iron Man and Hand Of Doom. The mayhem of Iron Man still sounds exciting to me now, over four decades later, so its influence would have been felt deeply at the time. Iommi's riffing and Ozzy's Spinal Tap lyrics make it a masterpiece of idiocy. Hand of Doom is another powerful anti-war song, though the band's attempt to highlight the dangers of heavy drugtaking is a little ironic given their later exploits. Paranoid was highly influential on metal and its myriad subcultures, but it's not to be taken too seriously. It's just great, escapist fun.
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