The 500 - #131 - Paranoid - Black Sabbath

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #131
Album Title: Paranoid
Artist: Black Sabbath
Genre: Heavy Metal
Recorded: Regent Sound and Island Studios, London, U.K.
Released: September, 1970
My age at release: 5
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #139, dropping 8 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: War Pigs/Luke's Wall

In early 1979, Black Sabbath (vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward) retreated to a sprawling Bel Air mansion in Los Angeles to write their ninth studio album. It was a disaster.

Sabbath were coming off a grueling seven-month world tour supporting Never Say Die!, an album that had received a lukewarm response from critics and fans alike. Heavy drinking and drug use had taken a toll on the band, and the effects were becoming increasingly visible. On stage, the once-dominant pioneers of heavy metal appeared tired and worn down, a stark contrast to the rising wave of youthful, high-energy rock acts, such as Van Halen, AC/DC, and Def Leppard, who were injecting fresh vitality into the genre.

Never Say Die! Black Sabbath's eighth studio record.

The Bel Air sessions quickly unraveled. The band’s substance abuse continued unabated but, according to guitarist Iommi, "Ozzy was on a different level.” While the group tried to spark creativity through loose jam sessions, Osbourne showed little interest and often refused to sing. Before long, rehearsals were abandoned entirely, replaced by all-night parties and days spent sleeping off hangovers. In Steven Rosen’s 1996 book ,The Story of Black Sabbath, drummer Bill Ward reflected on the chaos: “Alcohol was definitely one of the most damaging things to Black Sabbath. We were destined to destroy each other. The band was toxic -- very toxic.” Eventually, the situation became untenable and the decision was made to fire Osbourne and search for a new vocalist.

About the same time,I began my Black Sabbath fandom. A friend loaned me his copy of Sabotage, the band’s sixth album, which I smuggled home under a ski jacket. I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away. That moment came a few months later, in April,1980, when Sabbath released Heaven and Hell. This was the record they had hoped to create during those chaotic Bel Air sessions a year earlier, but instead it was recorded in Miami with a new voice at the helm. Ronnie James Dio was a powerhouse American metal singer who previously fronted the rock groups Elf and Rainbow. The result was a revitalized sound that marked a bold new chapter for the band. I purchased a copy on cassette shortly after its release and wore it down with repeated plays that summer. It is still one of my favourite Sabbath records.

Black Sabbath (1980), (l-r) Bill Ward, Ronnie James Dio, Tony 
Iommi and Geezer Butler.

There was a silver lining for fans like me when the original Black Sabbath lineup collapsed...it meant more music. In the autumn of 1980, Ozzy Osbourne released his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz. The Birmingham-born singer had managed to regain enough focus to assemble a team of gifted musicians and songwriters, recording the album in Monmouth, Wales. The result was a stunning record that would later be ranked #9 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2017 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. For fans, the breakup was almost a bonus, while Sabbath forged ahead with Ronnie James Dio on Heaven and Hell, Ozzy launched a new era of his own, giving listeners twice the material to celebrate. From my perspective, immune to the events that led to it, the break-up of Sabbath was a net positive.

Blizzard Of Ozz, the debut record from Ozzy Osbourne.

Similar instances of the so-called "Split Effect" or "Creative Divergence" that affected other bands have resulted in some of my favourite music:

• Peter Gabriel’s exit from Genesis turned out to be a creative windfall for fans, as both camps went on to release multiple acclaimed records.
• When Fish (born Derek Dick) parted ways with neo-prog band Marillion in 1988, fans were treated to a creative explosion from both sides. Marillion pressed forward with a new vocalist, Steve Hogarth, while Fish had a successful solo career.
• The departure of David Lee Roth from Van Halen in 1985 was another net positive for me. Roth launched a flamboyant solo career, while Van Halen reinvented themselves with Sammy Hagar at the mic. The split gave listeners two distinct flavors of hard rock. You could opt for Roth’s swaggering, high-energy showmanship or Van Halen’s more polished, melodic approach under Hagar. I chose to enjoy both the same way a kid scoops two different flavours of ice cream on a single waffle cone

The two lead singers with Van Halen in the 70s' & 80s. 
David Lee Roth (left) and Sammy Hagar.

Black Sabbath’s Paranoid hit shelves in September, 1970, just seven months after their self-titled debut, a testament to the band’s creative momentum at the time. It was a period of focus and productivity. Their rehearsals were tight and studio time was used efficiently.

As an up-and-coming act, their excesses hadn’t yet derailed their creative process. In fact, the album’s iconic title track was famously written and recorded in about two hours. Originally, the record was set to be called War Pigs, after its blistering opening track, a scathing critique of the Vietnam War, which was raging at the time. Ultimately, the band opted for Paranoid, a name that would become synonymous with heavy metal history. That hastily written track would become the group's only Top Ten single. Clearly, they were firing on all cylinders in 1970.

1976 reissue of Paranoid single on picture disc.

Ronnie James Dio continued as Black Sabbath’s frontman for three records, bringing a new lyrical depth and operatic power to the band. At the same time, Dio launched a stellar solo career. For fans like me, the ’80s felt like triple the output -- Sabbath, Ozzy, and Dio records seemingly dropping every few months.

Ronnie James Dio second studio record -- Last In Line (1984).

During its 55-year history, Black Sabbath recruited several other singers, including former Deep Purple legends Ian Gillan and later Glenn Hughes. Each lineup brought its own flavour, from Gillan’s raw, blues tinged energy on Born Again to Hughes’ soulful touch on Seventh Star. Granted, many will argue that Seventh Star was a Sabbath record in name only because Tony Iommi was the last of the original members to feature on it. Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne carved out a wildly successful solo career, yet he never fully severed ties with Sabbath, reuniting for tours and albums that kept the early magic alive.

Seventh Star album jacket.

The most recent, and final, reunion came this past summer with the Back to the Beginning concert, a celebration of Sabbath’s legacy that closed a monumental chapter in rock history. The 10-hour benefit show, held at the Villa Park Football Stadium in the band's hometown of Birmingham, featured a who's who of rock legends performing the songs of Ozzy and Sabbath.

Ozzy, battling Parkinson’s and unable to walk, gave everything he had in a performance that was both triumphant and bittersweet. Just weeks later, the world mourned his passing, a loss that underscored how deeply his voice and presence shaped heavy metal. Black Sabbath began with Ozzy, and though others carried the torch brilliantly, it ended with him. A fitting tribute to the powerhouse of heavy metal.

Sabbath's final performance in Birmingham, July 5, 2025.

The 500 - #243 - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #243
Album Title: Black Sabbath
Artist: Black Sabbath
Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Recorded: Regent Sound, London, U.K.

Released: February, 1970
My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #255, dropping 112 spots since 2012
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Wasp/Behind The Wall Of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B.

The debut record from Black Sabbath is one that I first heard in high school in the early ‘80s. More specifically, while attending basement parties in London, Ontario. Listening to it in its entirety this week transported me back to those heady days of my youth. I was going to use the adjective "carefree" to describe that time in my life because, in retrospect, it was. However, back then, it didn't always feel that way. Awash in surging testosterone, I, like many teens, could run the gamut of emotions on any given day. Psychologists have dubbed this turbulent affliction as a period of "emotional overstatement." It can also occur during menopause or andropause. However, as adults, we are often better equipped to deal with it -- at least I think I am. I touched on my experiences with andropause in a 2016 post I called "Twitter and the lesson that makes me cry".

In September, 2022, I wrote about Black Sabbath when the group’s third record, Masters Of Reality, appeared on The 500 list at position #300. I will write about them again in November, 2025, when their best-selling record, Paranoid, arrives in position #131. It is another record that got plenty of plays in those smoke-filled, basement bars of my youth. As my wife said when we were listening to Black Sabbath this week: "When I hear this record, I can actually smell those wood-paneled, basement parties -- that mix of cigarette and marijuana smoke blended with stale beer and a hint of damp, musty mildew." Indeed, the sense of smell, or olfaction, is our most primary sense and one that can trigger powerful memories. How fascinating that music can trigger olfactory recollections.

An online shot of an 80s basement party.

The debut record by Black Sabbath is considered the first in the heavy metal genre. However, their sound had its genesis in a tale of tragedy and perseverance. Before becoming a professional musician, 17-year-old guitarist Tony Iommi made his living working at a steel mill in his hometown of Birmingham, England. On his last day of work, hours before a scheduled departure with his first band, The Birds And The Bees, on a tour of Germany, Iommi came home for lunch and briefly considered skipping the afternoon shift. His mother encouraged him to return to the factory, saying: "You have to finish a job properly."

Iommi as a teenager.

When he returned to the mill, he learned that another worker, who operated a guillotine-style machine on the assembly line, had not shown up. Iommi replaced him. In a 2020 interview, the left-handed guitarist recalled what happened next, saying:

"They said, 'You've got to go on the machine yourself because there's nobody else to do it'. So, as I'm pushing the metal through the press, the machine came down on my hand, and in the action of pulling my hand back quick, I pulled the ends of my fingers off."

As fate would have it, the fingertips were on his right hand, the one he used on the guitar fretboard to make chords while his right hand strummed and picked the strings. When the wounds had healed, Iommi struggled to play through the pain and even considered switching to play right-handed. He was frustrated and thought of quitting music altogether.

However, the manager of the  factory urged Iommi to try something different. The manager purchased him a record by legendary French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Reinhardt had taught himself to play the guitar, masterfully, after losing the use of all but two of his left-hand fingers – the index and ring fingers – in a fire. 

Django Reinhardt and his misshapen hands following
nerve damage resulting from a fire.

Inspired, Iommi fashioned himself thimble-sized fingertips from melted "Fairy Liquid" dish-detergent bottles and pieces of his leather jacket. The homemade prosthetic worked, sort of. He was unable to feel the strings, so he tended to push down on them much harder. Consequently, he was unable to “bend” the strings – an important manipulation to adjust the tone. His remedy was to replace the heavy gauge strings with lighter ones from a banjo. He also loosened the strings, lowering the guitar tone three semitones down from standard guitar tuning.

Iommi's hands, including the prosthetic fingertips, on his guitar fretboard.

Additionally, Iommi was forced to slow down his finger movements to prevent the tips from coming off, so he started to make the most of chord shapes and the sound created by the changes to his strings. The result was a bigger, weightier and darker sound -- and a heavy metal guitar legend was born.

Black Sabbath in 1970, (l-r) Geezer Butler, Iommi, Bill Ward
and Ozzy Osbourne.

I've thought about Iommi's story often since learning about it many years ago. It reminds me that, sometimes, persevering through hardship can lead to something better.

There was the time I was fired from my bartending job at East Side Mario's Restaurant in Oakville, Ontario. I was broke and, at 27, forced to move back home with my parents. It was a terrible time when I felt at my lowest. However, my financial situation forced me to quit smoking and I eventually got a much better job at Kelsey's Restaurant where I met one of my best friends (and frequent guest blogger), Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan. I also decided to go back to school to pursue a second degree and that led me to Teacher's College and to a career that I still love.

So, take a page from the book of Iommi -- you've got to finish a job properly.

 

The 500 - #300 - Master Of Reality - Black Sabbath

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #300

Album Title: Master Of Reality

Artist: Black Sabbath

Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Recorded: Island Studios (London, England)

Released: July, 1971

My age at release: 6

How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly well

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at 234 (Moving up 66 spots)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Children of the Grave

The first time I had a Black Sabbath record in my possession was the winter of 1980 when I snuck it under my jacket, and crept furtively into my suburban home. The album was the band's 1975 release, Sabotage, along with  Led Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy. At fifteen, I  knew these two discs would not be well received by my parents. Mine was a Christian (Anglican) home and too much explaining would be required to justify this seemingly malevolent cargo. Besides, I didn’t know then what I know now.

I had just returned from the home of my chum Adrian (last name lost to time). He and I had bonded that summer over our mutual love of dirt bikes. He had one. I did not. Regardless, I convinced him that one was in my imminent future and he graciously shared his with me. For several weeks that summer, we ripped up and down the well worn paths of a hill, in a forest clearing about a kilometre from my home. I later learned the area  was known as "Cartoon Hill", frequented on temperate weekends by local high school drinkers and stoners. The area has since been developed as a high-end subdivision and rebranded, Warbler Woods in London, Ontario.

While visiting Adrian's place one winter afternoon, our conversation turned to music and he was quick to show me an impressive collection of vinyl. Hoping to capitalize again on Adrian's generous spirit, I asked to borrow a couple in order to make cassette copies. He obliged. Like many teenagers my age, I had a Zeppelin record, the popular Led Zeppelin IV (#69 on The 500). However, this was my first chance to listen to an entire record by the dark, demonic and very heavy rock band, Black Sabbath.

(l-r) Butler, Iommi, Ward and Osbourne

Black Sabbath was formed in Birmingham, England, when guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward spotted a hastily printed bill on a music shop bulletin board that read: "Ozzy Zig, Needs A Gig. Has own P.A." -- (power amplifier). Iommi and Tony were already in a band called Mythology and the advert led them to bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne who had been jamming with an outfit called Rare Breed.

A replica of the original advert posted by Osbourne

After a few false starts and several names (Polka Tulk Blues, Earth) the band branded themselves after a 1963 Italian horror film that was playing in a repertoire cinema across from the studio where they practised. Dubbed into English and featuring horror icon Boris Karloff, the film was called Black Sabbath -- although the original Italian title was I Tre Volti Della Paura (The Three Faces Of Fear).

Bassist and principal lyricist Butler was the first to remark on the oddity of "people lining up and spending money on scary movies". This led Butler, with the help of his bandmates, to write their first song, Black Sabbath, which appeared on their first album of the same name. (#243 on The 500). At a time of flower power, folk music and peace-loving hippies, the band took a different tack,  ostensibly creating the musical version of horror movies. But more on that when we get to their debut record in about a year.

Black Sabbath (1970), the debut record by Black Sabbath (#243)

Master Of Reality was the third studio record by the English quartet. It is considered by many critics to be a seminal record in the development of several sub-genres of heavy metal, including doom metal, stoner rock and sludge metal. There are some, including Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame, who consider Master Of Reality to be "the first grunge record", influencing the sound that would emerge in the early 1990s.

Black Sabbath in promotional photo for Master Of Reality (1973)

Master of Reality contains one of Sabbath's best known songs, Sweet Leaf, a "not-so-subtle" celebration of recreational marijuana use and a frequent hit at the many basement parties I attended in high school. However, it is the track After Forever that begs discussion.

Single release for Sweet Leaf

With lyrics penned by Butler, the song focused on Christian themes. Although raised a Catholic, he wanted to dissuade the belief among  the media that the band were Satanists. They were not. He was frustrated that many had "missed the point" of their shock-rock tack.  After all, no one thought Boris Karloff was a monster because he played Frankenstein or voiced The Grinch.

In fact, the lyrics in After Forever focus on being open-minded in accepting the possibility that "a God who loves us" exists. In an interview, Butler shared the following:

"A lot of it was because of the situation in Northern Ireland at the time. There were a lot of religious troubles between the Protestants against the Catholics.  I was naive in thinking that religion shouldn’t be fought over. I always felt that God and Jesus wanted us to love each other. It was just a bad time in Northern Ireland, setting bombs off in England and such. We all believed in Jesus—and yet people were killing each other over it. To me, it was just ridiculous. I thought that if God could see us killing each other in his name, he’d be disgusted."

In retrospect, as I crept into my house that winter evening (with two conversational timebombs tucked beneath my ski-jacket), I would have benefited from this information. Butler's talking points would have buoyed my teenage thesis and, perhaps, justified my possession of these records.

I did return them both to Adrian, in excellent condition. However, as is often the case in high school, we drifted apart. He was a generous guy with an easy-going disposition and I'll always remember him for dirt bike rides and Black Sabbath. More about this misunderstood legendary band in 57 weeks when we get to their Black Sabbath debut record...and The Devil's Interval!