Review:

on 2011-02-22 CharlesMartel Said:

Towards the end of the 1960's and more so in the seventies, what was known as hard rock began to experience a new stimulus for its form away from the traditional base of delta blues and its electric Chicago successor. This shift would eventually give rise to a new genre of music known as heavy metal. Black Sabbath marked both the start and the initial turning point. More than anyone else, they caused that shift. The band brought with them the sounds and images of the oppressive industrial atmosphere of their native Birmingham and found in the repetitive throbbing sounds of heavy industrial machinery an ideal platform on which to create a new sound for a new decade and beyond. Heavy metal as a term may derive from a line in Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild", but Black Sabbath were heavy metal in the truest sense of the word.

For that reason, this album is an essential one for anyone who is interested in what is now generally termed metal. Yet it now sounds dated, horribly dated. The production on "Paranoid" is so bad it sounds like it was recorded in an aircraft hanger. Metal, as a genre, may have become a money spinner, but the original heavy metal albums were not going to be the source of considerable expenditure on the part of the record companies.

Then there was the album cover itself. This had been designed for when the album was going to be called "War Pigs" and only the title was changed after the success of "Paranoid" as a single required the linking of the single to the album itself. The picture remained exactly the same. Obviously the record company was not going to spend more money than it absolutely had to. Heavy metal was an unproven genre and remained something of a quirk to be tolerated but not nurtured.

Having said the negative stuff, the title track is a classic and always will be so. Driving guitars with an epic, head-banging riff, the true essence of heavy metal. Ozzy's vocals seemed to have been recorded in a seashell, and contain one of the best one-liners I have ever heard in a song -

"Finished with my woman
'cos she couldn't help me with my mind."

Brilliant. Sadly, the rest of the album does not live up to the standard set by the title track. "Paranoid" as a track worked because the driving power of the music covered up the deficiencies in production. The rest of the album did not drive along in the same way and as a result, the songs come across as laboured and heavy going, sparse in sound. "War Pigs" is a classic example of that problem. Only "Fairies Wear Boots" escapes from that dull and lifeless feel which permeates some of the other tracks, as epitomised on the laboured "Iron Man" with its ridiculous comic book opening words.

In some way this assessment of the album may be considered to be a bit unfair. In their day I have no doubt that many of the other songs were great too, and sounded as much. Certainly, Black Sabbath set themselves apart from many other bands of their time with their sound and "Paranoid" established them as a band (and metal a genre) which really did have something to say. But come on, this album is 40 years old so we cannot expect too much from it.
Rating: 7/10

on 2009-03-20 Sinist3r Punk Said:

I have to agree with Brian
Something about Phil Anselmo singing Planet Caravan sends chills down my spine
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-03-20 SolitaryMan Said:

I'd say just as well. ;)
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-03-20 hstisgod Said:

Great review Kevin, Definitely worth vault status. But I still say Pantera did Planet Caravan a bit better!
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-03-20 Meisho_san Said:

I have heard more bands mention this album in their influences than any other. I think that speaks for itself.
Rating: 9/10

on 2008-09-26 Macavennie Said:

still have an unplayed vinyl copy of this album. a prized posession. One of 70s metal's high points. love it
Not Rated

Review:

on 2008-09-25 Sinist3r Punk Said:

A personal favorite of every metal head and rock lover, Paranoid holds a special place in everyones heart as the album that formally introduced Black Sabbath to the world. Their previous release, "Black Sabbath" had garnered attention in the U.K, but Paranoid gave Black Sabbath worldly recognition. Sabbath's perennial 2nd album focused heavily on the horrors of drug use and war. The title track Paranoid is considerably fast paced for some of Sabbath's early work and was intentionally a filler track that was written in the studio in 20 minutes. Low and behold Ozzy's shouting lyrics and Iommi's simplistic yet time honored riffs were molded into a a rock classic. War Pigs is 8 minutes of government and war bashing that should be the theme song for the United States Armed Forces. Iron Man is a classic sludgy, driven through the sleet and mud heavy track that nearly defines the bands greatness. If you dont believe me, go on google and look up "Iron Man covers." Hand of Doom is another epic song that delivers a nice jazz drum beat by Bill Ward to follow Geezer's bass lines. I tell you, there is something about Ozzy's voice on this song that is just hauntingly beautiful. Fairies Wear Boots is a melodic melody about the horrors of hallucinogens, even though they sound fun. This album is one incredible song after another. For a sophomore album, especially for a breakthrough new revolutionary genre in the early 70's, is freaking incredible.
Rating: 10/10