Posted by Written By: Hunter Holmes, Staff Writer
Black Sabbath is an English band who took the world by storm with the release of their first two albums in 1970. Their approach to music was like no other at the time, with their heavily distorted riffs and haunting vocals they instilled a sense of dread and doom that had been produced by no other artist at the time. This sound was portrayed best by their album Paranoid. Released on September 18, 1970 in England and January 7, 1971 in America, Paranoid is widely revered as Black Sabbath’s magnum opus. With songs like Paranoid, Iron Man and War Pigs they cover a multitude of subjects from the Vietnam war to drug abuse and its consequences.
The band is composed of Ozzy Osbourne,(Vocals) Tony Lommi (Lead Guitar), Geezer Butler (Bass), Bill Ward (Drums). This band is considered the grandfather or creator of metal music. Black Sabbath perfectly captured paranoia in this album, hence the name Paranoid. The name came about from Butler’s depression, stating in an interview with Mojo magazine “the song Paranoid was about depression, because I didn’t really know the difference between depression and paranoia.” Overall Black Sabbath’s Paranoid filled a gap in the music industry and perfectly capitalized on it creating not only the foundation for a whole new genre but also an innovative cult classic.
The Maroon 