Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”
And then there was Black Sabbath.
This tribute, to their best known album, comes just a few days after they’ve played Boston on their farewell tour, as most of you know and some of you were lucky enough to see.
I don’t think it matters how much one likes or dislikes this band as, if one is being honest, they will see that this is one of the most influential rock bands of all time.
And then there was metal.
I’ve heard some rumblings about how maybe Cream, Blue Cheer or even Jimi Hendrix were the first heavy metal bands. They are wrong.
Just as The Ramones are the seed of all that follows as punk so is Black Sabbath the seed of all that follows is metal.
And now, brace yourself for some dual texting extravaganza piloted by the semi-coherent Andy Bang and the rarely lucid Slimedog.
Enter at your own risk.
Slimedog- I think Sabbath were not only the first metal band but they are still the most influential metal band and one of the most influential bands of all times.
Andy- Yes I’d have to agree. There were certainly other hard rock bands around at the same time, but none had the same down tuned, metallic vibe, due in part to Tony Iommi’s missing finger tips.
Slimedog- And I don’t feel it’s only metal bands that owe them some debt. Any band that has gloomy, goth-y songs- even if they don’t listen to Sabbath- owe it to them for breaking the mold on major key happy songs.
Andy- True. Their devilish attitude made it cool to sing about evil or taboo topics. But above all I think Tony Iommi’s riff-ability and Ozzy’s voice is what catapulted them to greatness.
Slimedog- And their biggest hit is also the name of the album we’re discussing- Paranoid.
Andy- It’s kind of funny how Paranoid came about. Apparently they had all the other tunes written for the album but had some extra space to fill. So Tony went off and very quickly threw Paranoid together. Who knew it would become as big as it did?
Slimedog- Yeah, it was supposed to be a filler- fill up space. I was unaware that Geezer Butler the bassist wrote the lyrics to that song. At the time he was unaware of the definition of paranoid, he thought it was a synonym for “unhappiness.” Now the title makes more sense.
Andy- Yes I think Geezer wrote all the lyrics. He helped Ozzy learn them as Ozzy was dyslexic.
Slimedog- Anyways, Paranoid is almost Ramones like in its simplicity and power and is by far the simplest song on the album. War Pigs might be their second best known song.
Andy- Yeah for second it’s probably a toss up between War Pigs and Iron Man, but the entire album is awesome.
Slimedog- I found out they originally wanted to call it “Walpargis” which is the Satanic equivalent to Christmas! Very ominous song with tension built by two chords followed by a long silence.
Andy- Apparently early on, the guys had seen a Boris Karloff movie and decided that it would be cool to create a band based on gloom and doom. Later on, however, they started to get a following of satanists. That’s why when you see them performing they all wear large crosses.
Slimedog- Yeah the movie Black Sabbath was playing near where they practiced and they took the name. Thank Satan that Mary Poppins wasn’t playing that day. Now Iron Man has one of the best metal riffs in history. It was originally called “Iron Bloke” lol.
Andy- It’s actually quite amazing how unique a song like Iron Man really is. Usually a lot of tunes are similar in some way, but not Sabbath tunes. I mean, when’s the last time you heard Iron Man and said to yourself , hey that sounds a lot like…
Slimedog- Very unique and like War Pigs is has a great coda (added ending part). Electric Funeral is all about atomic bombs and nuclear war. All doom and sludge bands start from this point.
Andy- And like many of their other tunes Electric Funeral has the Sabbath trademark slow part, fast part, back to slow part sections. A sort of precursor to today’s mosh-able breakdowns.
Slimedog- Great song as is Hand Of Doom. It starts with jazzy drums and funk bass and the second part is all crashing drums and searing guitars.
Andy- Yeah, Hand Of Doom changes timings more often than I change my underwear. Yet another unique song from this great band.
Slimedog- Also, while most of their contemporaries were writing songs praising drugs this is an anti-heroin song. I read that they couldn’t relate to the American hippie because they were British working class. And musically, unlike their contemporaries, they don’t sound very influenced by blues but more-so by jazz. And jazz is very, minor key orientated.
Andy- I like how their songs tell a little story for better or worse. In a round about way delineating good and evil or right and wrong. And for devilish espousing blokes they sure come off quite righteous. The drum playing seems more of an accompaniment than a pace setter. As you say, more in a jazz vein.
Slimedog- And moral in a good not judgmental way.
Andy- I’d like to mention that the last tune on the album, Fairies With Boots, is one of my all time favorites. I think it’s just a cool sounding tune with a relate-able story. I mean who hasn’t come home late at night feeling a bit too tipsy. And the sound is filled with great Tony Iommi riffs throughout.
Slimedog- In my preface I said that all that is punk came from The Ramones, so did all that is metal arise from Black Sabbath. Both bands did not set out to create new genres or genres that became so great and long lasting.
Andy- True. It seems like all the great bands have a knack for strumming a common chord within us all. And when we hear something we like it never can ever die. So now it’s Sabbath’s last tour ever. It was great to see at least three of the originals come together in the end. I was fortunate enough to see them several times over the years and they will truly be missed.
Slimedog- A very worthy band, a perfect album without a bad song. And I’m so glad you talked me out of doing one for Black Oak Arkansas instead. Though you may want to rethink your choice of Flock Of Seagulls for the next one.
