By the time the early 70’s had arisen, the rock and counterculture landscape had changed considerably. The United States had gone through a rocky, previous decade and the musical landscape started to reflect the turbulent times that had come to pass. Psychedelic rock and hippies were the order of the day. Meanwhile, In the U.K., they were dealing with the realities of hard work not paying off. Being doomed to work in the industrial world. And the musical response, ‘heavy metal,’ had taken full effect with Black Sabbath’s second album ‘Paranoid.’
Hard rock had recently been established. But Black Sabbath were the first true ‘heavy metal’ band. Conjuring politically heavy issues such as war, economic strife and good old violent fantasy. In fact, they were the first to create horror elements in rock. At least on a mainstream level. The band’s debut album peaked at number 8 on the British billboards and 23 in the U.S.. Officially sending a message that the ‘hippie’ era was going to come to an end. The follow up album, released a few months later cemented the movement. With ‘Paranoid,’ heavy metal had arrived.
The album debuted at number one in the U.K. and cracked the top 20 in the United States. And as we all know, the album has kept up it’s steam. Selling countless of millions of copies around the world. Tracks like ‘War Pigs,’ the title track and the iconic ‘Iron Man’ have gone beyond the genre of metal. And have become pop culture staples that are still relevant to this day. ‘Iron Man’ has become a sports arena anthem. Played by pep bands and stadium d.j.s alike.
There’s also the kick ass ‘Electric Funeral.’ Which displays the roots of where Sabbath came from. The crawling, heavy blues influenced track became yet another template of early and temporary heavy metal. ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ is a great concert staple. Along with ‘Hand of Doom’. The instrumental track ‘Rat Salad’ rounds things out with its aggressive nature. To think of a more complete, heavy record, despite genre is really a challenge. It’s chock full of the the signature grooves, massive riffs, soaring vocals and overall musicianship that would be associated with hard rock and heavy metal for generations to come.
Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler set a standard and it paid off. The peak of their popularity had begun, spawning all sorts of influences and a general movement that still persists to this day. The band would have many ups and downs, line up changes and relevance over the years. But not many bands can claim that they basically invented an entire genre of popular music with one album. And that’s what Black Sabbath did with ‘Paranoid.’
