![]() The Ramones opened for them on their last tour, and the band started to realize their sound was a little passé. It was their eighth album in as many years and they were simply tapped out, not to mention terribly hobbled by cocaine and alcohol abuse. With the release of Paranoid, there is little doubt that Black Sabbath revolutionised the music industry as a whole for decades to come. Capturing the distinctive sound they generated in their debut album, the band expanded their horizons, incorporating influences from the Psychedelic genre with the political activism of Bob Dylan- ultimately becoming one of the most influential bands of all time.įrom tackling controversial, taboo topics including war, drug abuse and mental health, to exploring new techniques of recording, Paranoid instantly became a once-in-a-lifetime album which reshaped the industry and laid the foundation for countless bands yet to come.The original lineup of Black Sabbath was on its last legs when they went into the studio to cut Never Say Die! in early 1978. Using Osbourne’s distorted vocals and Iommi’s droning tone, the genre of Doom Metal as born, paving the way for bands including Type O Negative and inspiring a cover from Pantera. ![]() ![]() Opting for a more droning sound, the grainy, rustic effects captured in the album set Black Sabbath apart from every other artist in the industry.įor instance, ‘Planet Caravan’ blended the unique sound of their debut album with the popular psychedelic genre of the time. Tackling these controversial issues at the time, Paranoid brought a new definition of metal into the industry- addressing topics that others would shy away from and using new technology to capture a sound not yet heard before. Revealing his battle with mental health over the years, Butler confessed that ‘Paranoid’ intended to draw attention to the lack of discussion regarding mental health during the 1960s and 1970s confessing that, without Black Sabbath, he would have attempted suicide. For instance, ‘Iron Man’ tackled issues of isolation and loneliness, whereas ‘Paranoid’ centred around bassist, Geezer Butler’s struggle with depression and self-harm. Not just war-orientated, Paranoid is highly praised as being ahead of its time, addressing issues of mental health- especially in men- at a time where it was considered taboo. A track filled with integrity and often overshadowed, the lyrics to ‘Hand of Doom’ shed light on the rising rate of suicide and drug abuse amongst distressed soldiers returning from war- a topic vastly ignored by the media at the time. Whilst the band’s controversial political views are shown most famously in ‘War Pigs’, which openly speaks out against politicians exploiting individuals through war, little attention is paid to its progressive counterpart- ‘Hand of Doom’. ![]() Initially due to be named ‘War Pigs’, the album’s title was ultimately changed due to the controversy it was predicted to provoke regarding the Vietnam War. Their only ever Top 20 hit and reaching number 4 on the UK charts, ‘Paranoid’ was not intended to be the title of the album. Neglecting the sex-driven lyrics of bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath instead chose to speak out against the ongoing war in Vietnam- attacking figures of power and discussing what they considered to be the underlying corruption in society. Openly despised by the Christian community and even accused of causing a young nurse to commit suicide, the chart-topping album unquestionably stood out from the masses of easy-listening that filled the music scene. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |