Frogtoon Music

Paranoid (Album) by Black Sabbath

Artist Biography For Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath Was An English Heavy Metal Band Formed In Birmingham Warwickshire In 1968 By Guitarist Tony Iommi Drummer Bill Ward Bassist Geezer Butler And Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They Are Often Cited As Pioneers Of Heavy Metal Music. The Band Helped Define The Genre With Releases Such As Black Sabbath 1970 Paranoid 1970 And Master Of Reality 1971 . The Band Had Multiple Line-Up Changes Following Osbourne's Departure In 1979 And Iommi Is The Only Constant Member Throughout Their History. After Previous Iterations Of The Group – The Polka Tulk Blues Band And Earth – The Band Settled On The Name Black Sabbath In 1969. They Distinguished Themselves Through Occult Themes With Horror-Inspired Lyrics And Down-Tuned Guitars. Signing To Philips Records In November 1969 They Released Their First Single "Evil Woman" In January 1970 And Their Debut Album Black Sabbath Was Released The Following Month. Though It Received A Negative Critical Response The Album Was A Commercial Success Leading To A Follow-Up Record Paranoid Later That Year. The Band's Popularity Grew And By 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Critics Were Starting To Respond Favourably. Osbourne's Excessive Substance Abuse Led To His Firing In 1979. He Was Replaced By Former Rainbow Vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Following Two Albums With Dio Black Sabbath Endured Many Personnel Changes In The 1980s And 1990s That Included Vocalists Ian Gillan Glenn Hughes Ray Gillen And Tony Martin As Well As Several Drummers And Bassists. Martin Who Replaced Gillan In 1987 Was The Second-Longest Serving Vocalist And Recorded Three Albums With Black Sabbath Before His Dismissal In 1991. That Same Year Iommi And Butler Were Rejoined By Dio And Drummer Vinny Appice To Record Dehumanizer 1992 . After Two More Studio Albums With Martin Who Replaced Dio In 1993 The Band's Original Line-Up Reunited In 1997 And Released A Live Album Reunion The Following Year They Continued To Tour Occasionally Until 2005. Other Than Various Back Catalogue Reissues And Compilation Albums As Well As The Mob Rules-Era Line-Up Reunited As Heaven & Hell There Was No Further Activity Under The Black Sabbath Until 2011 With The Release Of Their Final Studio Album And 19th Overall 13 In 2013 Which Features All Of The Original Members Except Ward. During Their Farewell Tour The Band Played Their Final Concert In Their Home City Of Birmingham On 4 February 2017. Occasional Partial Reunions Have Happened Since Most Recently When Osbourne And Iommi Performed Together At The Closing Ceremony Of The 2022 Commonwealth Games In Birmingham. Black Sabbath Have Sold Over 70 Million Records Worldwide As Of 2013 Making Them One Of The Most Commercially Successful Heavy Metal Bands. Black Sabbath Together With Deep Purple And Led Zeppelin Have Been Referred To As The "unholy Trinity Of British Hard Rock And Heavy Metal In The Early To Mid-Seventies". They Were Ranked By MTV As The "Greatest Metal Band Of All Time" And Placed Second On VH1's "100 Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock" List. Rolling Stone Magazine Ranked Them Number 85 On Their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time". Black Sabbath Were Inducted Into The UK Music Hall Of Fame In 2005 And The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In 2006. They Have Also Won Two Grammy Awards For Best Metal Performance And In 2019 The Band Were Presented A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Full Wikipedia Article Https //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Black_Sabbath Studio Albums
Black Sabbath 1970 Paranoid 1970 Master Of Reality 1971 Vol. 4 1972 Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 1973 Sabotage 1975 Technical Ecstasy 1976 Never Say Die! 1978 Heaven And Hell 1980 Mob Rules 1981 Born Again 1983 Seventh Star 1986 The Eternal Idol 1987 Headless Cross 1989 Tyr 1990 Dehumanizer 1992 Cross Purposes 1994 Forbidden 1995 13 2013

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Paranoid

"Paranoid" Is The Second Album By The British Heavy Metal Band Black Sabbath Released In September 1970 Through Vertigo Records. The Album Consists Of Some Of The Band's Most Readily Identifiable Work Including "Iron Man" "War Pigs" And "Paranoid". The Album Is Regarded As A Classic And One Of The Most Influential Of The Heavy Metal Genre. It Has Been Certified Quadruple Platinum With Over Four Million Copies In The US Alone Making It Black Sabbath's Best-Selling Album. The "Paranoid" Single Released Before The Album Reached Number Four In The UK. Pushed By Its Success The Album Hit Number One In The UK And Is The Only Black Sabbath Album To Have Done So. The US Release Was Held Until January 1971 As The Black Sabbath Album Was Still On The Charts At The Time Of Paranoid's UK Release. The Album Broke Into The Top Ten In The US In March 1971 And Would Go On To Sell Four Million Copies In The US Alone With Virtually No Radio Airplay. The Chart Success Of "Paranoid" In The US Allowed The Band To Tour There For The First Time In December 1970. This Spawned The Release Of The Album's Second Single "Iron Man" And Although It Failed To Reach The Top 40 "Iron Man" Remains One Of Black Sabbath's Most Popular Songs. The Album Was Again Panned By Music Critics Of The Era. However Modern-Day Music Critics Are Much More Favourable Towards The Album Than Those Of The Time. An Example Is Allmusic's Steve Huey Who Cites "Paranoid" As "one Of The Greatest And Most Influential Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time" Which "defined The Sound And Style Of Metal More Than Any Other Record In History". * In 1999 Q Magazine 12/99 P.170 Included It In Their List Of The Best Gothic Albums Of All Time Writing That " Stamped Their Bombastic And Doom-Laden Imprint On British Rock Forever." * In 1999 Vibe 12/99 P.162 Included It On Their List Of 100 Essential Albums Of The 20th Century. * In 2003 The Album Was Ranked Number 130 On Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. * In 2006 The Album Was Ranked Number 6 On Guitar World Magazine's List Of The Greatest 100 Guitar Albums Of All Time. * As Of January 2009 The Album Is # 60 On Rate Your Music's Top Albums Of All Time List And #2 On Their Best Albums Of 1970 Ranking. After The Release Of Their Eponymous Debut Album In February 1970 Black Sabbath Returned To The Studio In June That Year Again With Producer Rodger Bain To Record Their Second Album. The Album Was Recorded At Regent Sound Studios And Island Studios In London England. The Album's Eponymous Single "Paranoid" Was Written In The Studio At The Last Minute. As Drummer Bill Ward Explains "We Didn't Have Enough Songs For The Album And Tony Just Played The "Paranoid" Guitar Lick And That Was It. It Took Twenty Twenty-Five Minutes From Top To Bottom." The Song Was Written With No Intention Of It Being A Successful Hit For The Band Only To Be A Filler On The Album. The Album Was Originally Titled "War Pigs" But Allegedly The Record Company Changed It To Paranoid Fearing Backlash From Supporters Of The Ongoing Vietnam War. At The Time The Band Felt That The Song Was Lighter With The Potential To Become A Single. However The Band's Visual Interpretation Of A "war Pig" Was Still Featured On The Cover A Distorted Eerie Photograph Of A Man With Sword And Shield Jumping Out From Behind A Tree. This Image Confused Many Of The Band's Fans Who Thought That The Image Did Not Resemble The Album Title To Any Extent. The Original UK Vinyl Release Was In A Gatefold Sleeve. The Inner Of The Gatefold Had A Black And White Photo Of The Band Posed Outdoors On A Grassy Hill And Was Their First Appearance On Album Artwork. To Spread The Original Picture Over The Gatefold Ozzy Osbourne Was Separated From The Other Members Of The Band And A Section Of The Grass Was Copied And Dropped Into The Gap. This Is Only Readily Apparent If One Compares It With The Original Photograph. In Comparison With Their Previous Album The Songs On "Paranoid" Were Given More Focus And Direction With Less Improvisation. However The Lyrical Content Is Equally As Dark Exploring Themes Such As War Mental Illness Drug Abuse And Sci-Fi Horror. Much Of The Album Could Be Viewed As A Kind Of Social Commentary. Spin Magazine Wrote That The Band "saw Heavy Rock As A Way To Emulate The Horrors Of A Fallen World." The Lyrics Of The Opening Song "War Pigs" Discuss War And The Absurdities Of Those Who Make War Without Regard For Those Forced To Fight It. It Is Often Viewed As A Protest Song. Similarly The Lyrics Of "Electric Funeral" Discuss The Bleak Aftermath Of Nuclear Warfare. These Songs Were Written In The Midst Of The Vietnam War And The Cold War And Could Be Seen As Quite Representative Of The Political Situation At The Time. The Song "Paranoid" Is Uncharacteristically Fast And Simplistic For Black Sabbath In Their Early Days. Supposedly The Band Members Intended It Only As An Interlude Or As "filler". Its Lyrics Concern The Stigma Of Mental Illness. In A Related Way "Iron Man" Is About A Time Traveller From The Future Who Has Been Turned To Steel. He Is Outcast By Society But Eventually Takes His Revenge On Humanity. It Is Also A Reference To Vietnam War Veterans Who Upon Returning From War Were Outcast By Society And Had No Help Re-Integrating Into Normal Life Or Dealing With Their Post War Mental Disorders. The Song "Iron Man" Is Thematically Very Similar To The Ted Hughes Novel The Iron Man. This Book Was Made Into An Animated Film Which Was Called The Iron Giant. Three Songs On The Album Appear To Concern Dreams Hallucinations And Drug Use. "Planet Caravan" And "Fairies Wear Boots" Are Quite Psychedelic In Style And Their Lyrics Are Quite Abstract. "Hand Of Doom" Was Written As A Message Against Heroin Use. The Song Transitions Between Slow Soft Passages And Fast Loud Passages As A Representation Of The Drug Being Injected.

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