PARANOID

I can't imagine how they figured it'd be a good idea to put some guy on the cover with a costume that looks like it was made by 3rd grade students. The first album had a pretty cool cover but they must have lost a bet with this one. In any case the music far exceeds the less than perfect album cover. This is one of those studio albums that became so popular it almost became a greatest hits package on its own accord, it's like the "Rumours" of the 70s heavy scene.

Sabbath created a great unique sound based on their ability to create riffs that were scary first and foremost. They built their image around this sound and every one of their tracks in this mold tried to sound more evil and ominous than the last. Tony and Geezer laid down an infinite supply of these horror riffs, they just seemed to be able to churn out one right after another. This was driven by Bill Ward's incredible gut level drumming and topped off by Ozzy's completely unique voice and presence. The lyrics would generally appear dire and horrific and put the perfect public image on this band. More important though is that this band did rock and rock well for many years until they were done in by cocaine and alcohol and later by pointlessly continuing to spurn out garbage with different personnel (post-Dio) and the eventual pathetic reunions when bank accounts were getting low. The Sabbath formula did not change a whole lot during these glory years, they milked their sound for all it was worth with usually decent results. Everything through Sabotage is at least respectable and this one is definitely good but I can't see how Sabbath would be essential by any stretch. This is one of the best to check out for newbies and a fun listen on occasion.

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