I first remember listening to Black Sabbath back in the days when I had an LD featuring a list of so-called MTV video hits from the 60s-70s period. I remember watching Ozzy Osbourne banging his head and singing with the mike right in front of his mouth, while Tony Iommi is busy churning out chords from his guitar (despite missing the tip of one of his fingers on his right hand), Geezer Butler is plucking away at the bass strings and Bill Ward is thrashing the drums with that fierce aggression that is prevalent in the majority of Black Sabbath tunes. Therefore, it was only right for me (having been a huge fan of Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz) to purchase the album, Paranoid. This was their second album made after their self-titled album and was the album that led them to fame in the world of rock. I have to say that I have to agree with many of the critics who have said that this album was one of a few albums that had such an influence on rock and heavy metal and it is truly a masterpiece.

The album starts off literally with a bang with War Pigs. The guitar pounds out some really heavy chords at the beginning and alongside the guitar is the bass, which pumps out a bit of a melody before everything is reduced to the sounds of some high-hat tapping. The guitar and bass still throw in some chords before Ozzy's voice enters the fold. One of the great things about this song are the heartfelt lyrics written by Ozzy. This is an anti-war song and with lyrics such as "politicians hide themselves away/they only started the war/why should they go out to fight/they leave their role to the poor", it does ring true for many that are listening to the song. He delivers the lyrics with as much conviction as he can. It is a true anti-war anthem and it can only be sung with the amount of belief Ozzy has throughout the song. The guitar solos are particularly worth mentioning, since this features some of guitarist Tony Iommi's best solo work. Consisting of numerous pitch bends and some dazzling finger work, this solo perfectly defines what a classic rock guitar solo really is. I also love the bass line in the background, since this is what effectively carries the guitar and drums during the instrumental sections of the song. A great way to begin a fantastic album.

The next song, Paranoid, is probably the most popular Black Sabbath song out there and it will also be remembered for the fact it was written in 15 minutes. The song was probably one of the first songs to ever use palm muting on the guitar to such great effect. This creates the staccato riff, which carries the song. The song moves at a frenetic pace with the drums and bass helping to carry the fast rhythm throughout the song. Because it moves so quickly, this is the perfect song to headbang to. The song is effectively about...being paranoid! With lyrics such as "make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry/happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal", you can see that it is about a person's paranoia about their self and Ozzy's voice does suit the song well. It may be rather simple in terms of structure and riffs, but sometimes reducing a song to its basics can effectively create the best music for many bands (look at Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water and compare it to their more complex work; no doubting as to which is more popular to the fans). It works here for Black Sabbath and the song's simplicity is what makes it such a great song.

The next song, Planet Caravan, creates a rather dreamy, laid-back yet melancholy atmosphere with the slow pace of the guitar melody and bass line. The bongos in the background of this song show Ward's skills on other percussion instruments other than the drums and these quietly pound away in the background. The song is undoubtedly quite a strange song, which is somewhat due to the vocal effects used on Ozzy's voice. He sounds like he is gargling water, but I really think it creates a trippy effect that the song has. The song is clearly drug-related, scattered with obscure lyrics like "light of the night/the earth a purple blaze/of saffire haze in orbital ways". I guess this song shows some of Ozzy's weaker lyrics on the album, since these really do not make any sense at all. Ah well, I guess it ain't supposed to make sense. Anyway, the song does feature some fantastic bluesy guitar solo work from Tony Iommi, which is a great change from the full-on sound of his usually loud, distorted guitar. Not the best song on the album, but a good song nonetheless.

Iron Man probably has the reputation for being one of the most inspirational songs in heavy metal music, despite the fact that it is far from your typical heavy metal song. This is mainly due to the song's lethargic introduction. The lone pounding of a bass drum and it takes a while before the sound of distorted guitars hit a chord then slides down the guitar, leaving behind the distorted echo of an E-chord. This continues for a while, along with Ozzy's computerized voice saying "I am Iron Man", before the guitar places its authority in the song by playing out the song's memorable main riff. Once this is played once, Ward's drum come crashing in along with Butler's bass line, which more or less backs up the song's main riff. Ozzy's lyrics in this song are quite powerful since this is effectively a story about a forgotten war hero who seeks his revenge for being pushed away by society. What I particularly like about the song, however, are the variety of different riffs the band works from. It is testament to the songwriting talents of the band's bassist, Geezer Butler, the band's main songwriter. Iommi's guitar solo is also a solid performance, effectively changing the pace of the song by bringing in something played at a fast pace in a generally slow paced song. The song also builds up to a climax, which suits the song's lyrics brilliantly. The beginning is slow, since it portrays "iron man" being shunned and forgotten and the loud, bass-penetrating ending shows "iron man" seeking revenge on the people "he once saved". A great song and one that has probably been heard once too many by most people.

Electric Funeral is one of my favourites on this album, since this features Iommi's work on the wah-wah pedal. Because the song is done in a minor key, the wah-wah sound from the guitar immediately creates a rather discomforting feel to the song, which is further made more uncomfortable by the bass, which does not use any effects. Bill Ward's drums play away in the background completing the big, "Black Sabbath" sound before Ozzy enters the mix. Again, this song starts off at a relatively moderate pace at the beginning, then builds up with a pretty ferocious middle section where Iommi lets it rip with the fiery sound of full, fat guitar chords and the menacing bass and ear-bleeding drums playing in the background further adding to the loud sound created by the band. This is, however, perfect for the song, since this song is about mass destruction caused by nuclear warfare. It starts off slow with the lyrics about the warning of nuclear warfare and Ozzy singing with precaution before you hear Ozzy screaming "buildings crashing down/to the stoney ground/rivers turn to blood/ice melts into blood" in desperation. Sure, Ozzy's voice may not be the nicest sounding voice, but it is raw and you really do feel what he says. Yet another excellent tune in a great album.

Butler's bass starts off Hand of Doom before the drums softly enter into the song. This song is basically split into two sections: a soft, bass-dominated section and a raw, loud, distorted, full band section. The transition into the two sections is rather awkward though. It almost feels as if you enter a new song when you move from the soft section into the loud section, which just showcases how poor the transaction from one section to the next really is. But there are many positives in the song such as the way Iommi thrashes his guitar to such great effect during the loud and heavy section of the song, as well as Butler's dominance in the soft section and Ward's drumming virtuosity being displayed yet again. The song is effectively about drug addiction lead to one's death. The lyrics, "push the needle in/face death's sickly grin/holes are in your skin/caused by deathly pin", is one of many examples of how the lyrics in the song make you squirm in disgust when listening to the song. A good song, although its far from their best work.

Rat Salad is the only instrumental of this album, and is, in my opinion anyway, one of the key highlights of the album. The song starts off slow with the sound of a lone guitar chord fading in before Iommi lets loose with some fast finger work before the song goes into full flow with Ward pounding out the drums and Butler backing up Iommi's riff. The song, however, will probably be best remembered for Bill Ward's brilliant drum solo which can be summed up as short and extremely intense. Ward literally gets as much sound as possible from the drum kit and does so with lightning speed and it takes your breath away. It is just the perfect drum solo and many argue that this is even better than John Bonham's brilliant drum solo in Moby Dick (it is hard for me to decide which is better). However, not only is Ward's drum work astonishing in this song, Iommi does some crazy guitar solo work as well, which is also fast, short and breathtaking like Ward's work is. All in all, this is a brilliant rock instrumental, even though some do say that it was directly ripped from Led Zeppelin's Moby Dick.

The album ends with Fairies Wear Boots, which unfortunately is probably the weakest song on the album, despite some excellent guitar work from Iommi, whose guitar wails in the guitar solo and features more dazzling finger work from Iommi. The bass backs up the guitar well and the drums are as powerful as ever in this song. What makes this song disappointing is Ozzy's lyrics, which are satisfactory at best. The structure of the song barely changes when Ozzy sings and the lyrics are not terribly original either. It is, again, about a person hallucinating seeing "fairies wearing boots". I also dislike the fact that the song fades out and does not end with one big climax of an ending like this album should end on. The anti-climax of a fade-out ending does not do the album any justice. I am not saying this song sucks. Just saying that this song should not have ended this album.

However, this album still is a classic album. It is an album that should be purchased by any fan of heavy metal music or any fans of 70s rock. This is an essential album to have in any collection, even with its shortcomings.

Thanks for reading the review.

Recommended: Yes