Post by Cerpin Taxt on Jun 25, 2006 10:22:52 GMT -1
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Released: January 1971
Label: Warner Bros
1. War Pigs - 7:55
2. Paranoid - 2:50
3. Planet Caravan - 4:30
4. Iron Man - 6:00
5. Electric Funeral - 4:50
6. Hand of Doom - 7:10
7. Rat Salad - 2:30
8. Fairies Wear Boots - 6:15
Black Sabbath's album, Paranoid, is a land mark recording in the making heavy metal what it is today. It is considered by many to be the most influential and just plain best heavy metal recording of all time. Paranoid was a smash hit in the UK, and the singles 'Paranoid' and 'Iron Man' both made it into the US charts. This album's consistently impressive song roster have churned out more utterly memorable riffs than any other metal album so far. The songs on Paranoid, unlike Sabbath's debut, have now been given both focus and direction, making songs, 'War Pigs' and 'Iron Man' into epic dramas instead of just aimless jams. The subject matter of Paranoid is pretty unrelentlessly dark, going over both supernatural/sci-fi horrors and the real life dramas of war, death, nuclear annihilation, drug hallucinations, mental illness and substance abuse.
Yet, unlike many other bands, Sabbath actually makes this convincing, mainly due to the muddled bleakness and bad-trip depression brought out so well by their music. The qualities that made critics hate their album, and the group, for years now improve the overall effect - the technical simplicity of Ozzy's vocals and Tony Iommi's lead guitar range.
Dark and powerful, Paranoid defined the style and sound of heavy metal music more than any other recording in rock history.
My Rating - 10/10
Band members at this stage:
Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
Tony Iommi - Lead guitar
Terry "Geezer" Butler - Bass guitar
Bill Ward - Drums
