Band:	Black Sabbath
Album:	Paranoid (Classic Albums)
Style:	Hard rock, Heavy metal
Release date:	June 28, 2010
A review by:	Doc G.

+ Story behind the making of Paranoid

The problem with making documentaries about various subjects on metal is quite apparent: Metal is such a vast, complex genre which is next to impossible to analyze. Naturally, you're always going to get some pompous asshole journalist with a bloated ego who thinks he's the final word on everything metal trying to direct the documentary, but in the end winds up misinterpreting the entire subject.

So here's an idea: why not get the band to basically make the documentary on THEIR music. You've probably seen or heard something about this whole line of documentaries called Classic Albums, it's pretty self explanatory, really: Step 1) Take a classic album, Step 2) Sit the artists down and go through the fine details about it, as well as background stories. The newest one off the press is none other than Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Can you honestly think of a better album to have a nice, in-depth look at? Everything you'd ever want to know about this genre-defining album is packed in here; from individual riffs to society's influence over the music is laid out and picked apart. Their career leading up to this album is covered to some degree, though only briefly, which is fair considering this is about Paranoid, not the entire discography. If you are truly enthusiastic about metal, you'll certainly feel a slight tingle down your spine when Iommi walks us through the origin of the genres defining songs (riffs played in front of the camera as well). As a bonus, the makers of this introspective somehow convinced Sharon to let Ozzy come out and play, who, miraculously (despite some totally incoherent moments), seems to recall many details with astonishing clarity. Aside from the band itself there's input and commentaries from people outside the band; management, famous journalists, and for some inexplicable reason, Henry Rollins.

You can probably catch this special on TV sometime in the near future, but the DVD has all the bonus material. The idea of bonus material sounds exciting, but in reality it's basically material that didn't make the cut on the original program. Nothing outrageously noteworthy, just an extended version of what you already watched, probably more suited towards the 'Sabbath diehards, interesting stuff nonetheless.

There's no conceivable reason not to watch this, whether you like/love Black Sabbath and want to have a deeper look at the fine details of the music, or if you just consider yourself a metal historian of some sort, this is a must see.