5 Metal Albums We Should Still Crank (And 5 We Should Tank)
3. Crank It! Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Black Sabbath's self-titled debut has been considered by many to be the true birth of heavy metal. It was their follow-up effort, Paranoid, that cemented Sabbath's status as the first masters of metal.
Released in 1970, Paranoid is the record with the Black Sabbath songs everybody knows: The title track Paranoid, fan-favorite War Pigs, Planet Caravan and, of course, the iconic Iron Man.
The song Paranoid was basically an afterthought. Guitarist Tony Iommi started playing the riff, the band spent about 25 minutes writing it, and their biggest hit was born. Bassist Geezer Butler was afraid the song sounded too much like Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown.
Rolling Stone Magazine listed Paranoid as the number one on its list of the 100 greatest heavy metal albums of all time. Tracks from Paranoid have continually showed up in popular culture over the years, notably in Marvel's cinematic launchpad Iron Man.
Since so many metal bands over the years have tried to sound like Black Sabbath, we may as well keep listening to Black Sabbath. Ozzy and the boys (or Dio and the boys) have produced a legendary catalogue of music over the years, but Paranoid is just that record. Never stop crankin' it!!!