Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Tracklist
Disc I01. War Pigs
02. Paranoid
03. Planet Caravan
04. Iron Man
05. Electric Funeral
06. Hand Of Doom
07. Rat Salad
08. Fairies Wear Boots
Disc II [2009 Deluxe Expanded Edition DVD Audio]
01. War Pigs [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
02. Paranoid [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
03. Planet Caravan [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
04. Iron Man [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
05. Electric Funeral [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
06. Hand Of Doom [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
07. Rat Salad [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
08. Fairies Wear Boots [1974 Quadraphonic Mix]
Disc III [2009 Deluxe Expanded Edition bonus]
01. War Pigs [Instrumental]
02. Paranoid [Alternative Lyrics version]
03. Planet Caravan [Alternative Lyrics version]
04. Iron Man [Instrumental]
05. Electric Funeral [Instrumental]
06. Hand Of Doom [Instrumental]
07. Rat Salad [Alternate mix]
08. Fairies Wear Boots [Instrumental]
Line-up
John Michael Osbourne - vocals
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi - guitars
William Thomas Ward - drums
Terence Michael Joseph Butler - bass
John Michael Osbourne - vocals
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi - guitars
William Thomas Ward - drums
Terence Michael Joseph Butler - bass
Additional info
Recorded at Regent Sound and Island Studios.Released in the U.S. in January, 1971.
This was originally supposed to be called "War Pigs", but the record company objected due to the Vietnam War.
Reissued as a 3-disc set by Sanctuary in April 2009.
Produced by Rodger Bain.
Guest review by
Ozzy
Ozzy
Rating:
9.0
9.0
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Rating:
9.0 |
1970 was an intense and highly satisfying year for Black Sabbath. February of that year saw the release of their eponymous titled first album and, by the end of that year, they issued their second album, the legendary Paranoid. The album contains some of the bands most enduring material. "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Fairies wear Boots" and of course the title track [that was a top ten single at the time.] On the cover, a futuristic looking soldier waving what looks like a lightsaber! What can I say, they though it looked good! Read more ›› |
Staff pick by
ScreamingSteelUS
Found in 138 lists
ScreamingSteelUS
Old People Metal
Sep 18, 2020
I'm not going to go to the same effort that I did to mark the half-centenary of Black Sabbath, but I do think that Paranoid is the superior album by far - it was one of my first metal albums (mine and the rest of the world's) and it remains one of my favorites. The guitars, bass, and drums on this album are simply flawless, and the vocals are pretty good, too. I would tentatively say that heavy metal has not yet produced another work as instrumentally well-rounded and complete as "War Pigs." Every groove of this album is the very essence of metal incarnate, and while you are correct in noting that we mostly use the Staff Picks feature just to mark anniversaries nowadays, there are few albums worth celebrating as much as Paranoid. It boggles the mind to consider that this album has been in the world for 50 years and it is still looked upon as a masterpiece.
Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Starvynth, RaduP, Auntie Sahar, nikarg, Fat & Sassy!, BitterCOld, Abattoir, Daniell, Redel
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Starvynth, RaduP, Auntie Sahar, nikarg, Fat & Sassy!, BitterCOld, Abattoir, Daniell, Redel
Top lists
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Comments:
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Posts: 29  |
Posts: 29
Overrated a bit imo, not top 3 of Sabbath. It's influential, sure, but not as much as the debut or Master of Reality, and Heaven & Hell is just a better record
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 Posts: 1535 |
Posts: 1535
Love this album, even though the title-track is and overrated and overplayed one. Also, I can't possibly be the only one who thinks J. Hetfield drew inspiration from War Pigs for MoP.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Posts: 1535 |
Posts: 1535 Written by LedZep on 19.11.2019 at 19:49 Heaven And Hell is the overrated one IMO. Not a bad album by any means, but it relies too heavily on Dio's godlike vocals and less on atmosphere and Tony's riffing.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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Posts: 1390  |
Posts: 1390
This album is crazy good, I love it. Nearly every track here is a classic of some sort, like War Pigs, Iron Man, Planet Caravan... Electric Funeral also has that one awesome "whang whang" -effect that hits me every time just in the right place. The title track is overrated as hell, maybe it's just so simple and catchy that pretty much everybody can get into it and learn to sing and play it regardless of age or taste.
---- You've got a lot of guts. Let's see what they look like!
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 Posts: 64591 |
Posts: 64591 Written by Metal Fromage on 05.03.2020 at 01:59 Their 2. Best same whit ozzy, only self titeled are better
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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 Posts: 2799 |
Posts: 2799
I have always thought: No need to comment on this classic album. It is all there, oh so obvious. The foundation of everything we are talking about here. The ultimate album. Now I just thought: Reminding everybody of this fact might still be worth a comment.  (please dont take him too seriously sometimes  )
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 Posts: 8308 |
Posts: 8308 Written by Redel on 19.12.2020 at 23:56 You got an upvote from me on the Epicus Doomicus Metallicus thread for the same reason that you get one here too. It is always good to be reminded what a true 10 really is. It may even help reduce our vote abuse problem, because it gives perspective of what a real masterpiece sounds like. Keep doing what you are doing 
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Posts: 2799 Written by nikarg on 20.12.2020 at 00:35 Thanks, nice to know. With the ratings, I dont know. For me they are a relative matter anyway. Meaning, I have 10s on my most appreciated albums of all time. And I allow myself 10s on some undefined fraction of the total number of votes I have (be it something in the range of 1% and 2%). Meaning, with increasing number of albums I vote for, I will also be allowed to increase the number of 10s I give. Whereas, most of the people on MS seem to vote in absolute terms -- 10s only on albums that are "perfect". Anyway... happy to see you replying frequently on my posts 
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Posts: 1672  |
Posts: 1672
The classic of the classics.. this one set the standard for heavy metal and to this day not many have been able to outperform it.
---- Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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Posts: 1383  |
Posts: 1383
Significantly better than their groundbreaking but inconsistent debut. 9.7/10 for me - 'Planet Caravan', 'Hand Of Doom' and 'Rat Salad' are weaker than the other songs.
---- Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated) Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres) So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)
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 Posts: 3450 |
Posts: 3450 Written by Mountain King on 22.04.2018 at 21:19 My favorite Ozzy album is Master of Reality. Every song on there is nice. I'm generally more of a Dio fan, so I also love Heaven and Hell. Mob Rules is also good. I agree that a couple of songs from Sabbath's 70s albums are great, but it's tough to find consistently good albums. That's why I look for compilation albums 
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| Posts: 3450 |
Posts: 3450
Paranoid was of course innovative for its time and very influential. The guitar, bass, and drums are undeniably great. However, I don't like Ozzy's vocals on this album - they get kind of annoying. (I prefer his vocals on Master of Reality.)
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Posts: 194  |
Posts: 194
Legendary. Iconic. Timeless. A bloody masterpiece! Best Black Sabbath album, period. In top 5 best albums ever recorded, for sure. 10/10 God bless you all!
---- Glory to the Nation!
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 Posts: 7965 |
Posts: 7965
It's been sailing for 54 yrs now is itself a timeless beauty. One of the best metal albums of all time.
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Posts: 121  |
Posts: 121
An okay album. A bit overrated, but it's growing a bit on me. I do like the title track, and it's a way better album than their debut.
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Posts: 49  |
Posts: 49
I always thought of Paranoid like it was a greatest hits album for Sabbath. I like the less popular tunes on it like Electric Funeral and Hand of Doom. Those are my favorite tunes on the album. Planet Caravan is also a favorite. All and all it's a great album. One that will be in my vinyl collection forever.   I will Always love Sabbath. They invented heavy metal!
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 Posts: 340 |
Posts: 340
Rest in peace, Prince of Darkness. Art is eternal life, it will continue to exist forever beyond the limited flesh.
---- I regret nothing.
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Posts: 720 |
Posts: 720
RIP Ozzy, thank you for the many masterpieces and this legendary album! Blasting out Iron Man for the neighbours as I write this 
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Posts: 121 |
Posts: 121
I relistened to it when Ozzy died. The fact that the Prince of Darkness is gone made me appreciate it more.
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Posts: 99  |
Posts: 99
Rest well, Ozzy. "Smoking and tripping is all that you do... ... yeeeEEEAAAaaahhh..."
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Posts: 17 |
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 Posts: 9584 |
Posts: 9584
Listening to SiruisXM classic rewind in the office today, counting down the top 1000 rock songs of all time. They just listed "War Pigs" as #274... That's fucked up.
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 Posts: 6707 |
Posts: 6707 Written by Boxcar Willy on 28.05.2026 at 17:30 I know music is subjective and all but I'd be interested in hearing what their top 10 is if they've listed "War Pigs" that low.
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Posts: 6707
56 years on, and aside from it's major influence (this must've seemed light-years ahead of it's time when released), this masterpiece still stands the test of time as one of the best albums ever made in terms of sheer quality!
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Posts: 5660  |
Posts: 5660 Written by 7erth on 02.09.2025 at 09:52 Your post made me really sad. Paranoid was a groundbreaking album. Also more original than what Led Zeppelin were doing around the same time, LZ even ripped off blues artists and not only on their first two albums and did not even credit two artists on thweir debut album (they did much much later).
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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