Artist: Black Sabbath · Album: Paranoid · Year: 1970 · Label: Vertigo / Warner Bros. · Rank: 139 / 500
Paranoid is heavy metal in its formative clarity: riffs that feel carved rather than played, drums that hit like machinery, and lyrics that bring existential dread into the mainstream. It’s not darkness for style — it’s darkness as a reflection of reality.
Riffs as Architecture
Tony Iommi’s guitar work defines the album. The riffs are simple but massive, designed for impact. “Iron Man” is myth built from repetition; “War Pigs” is apocalypse with groove; “Paranoid” is speed and anxiety condensed into a single punch.
Ozzy’s Human Fear
Ozzy Osbourne’s voice is crucial because it’s not theatrical. It sounds plain, almost vulnerable — like fear spoken aloud rather than performed. That normality makes the darkness feel real.
Legacy
Paranoid became foundational for metal, hard rock, and any genre that uses heaviness as emotional truth. Decades later, its riffs still feel like the blueprint.