10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 1970s

When the 70's started, heavy metal was not much more than an idea that was subtly hinted at in hard rock circles. While Black Sabbath delivered their eponymous debut with its spooky undercurrents, Paranoid was what tore down the hard rock curtain and ushered in a new age of heavy metal music.

Throughout the album, Tony Iommi proves to be the absolute king of writing metal, with his guitar riffs not letting up on darkness throughout tracks like "Iron Man" and "War Pigs." The rhythm section of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward also rely on booming bass tones and fat tom hits to give each song an added weight as they shift their way through monstrous tempo shifts.

But the true star of this show has got to be Ozzy Osbourne, whose madman persona and spine-chilling voice sets the perfect eerie atmosphere as you trudge your way through the darkest corners of the world. This record would become a landmark in hard rock history and England's claim to the heavy metal throne. Gone was the flower generation. Now was the time for something harsh, gritty, and mean, and Sabbath were more than happy to oblige.