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 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. I'll acknowledge this album's classic status with no argument, but it's far from my favorite Sab. I think perhaps I'm just burned out a bit by the popularity of Side 1. I do a whole lot better with Side 2. Hand of Doom and Fairies Wear Boots are the two monsters of this album for me. Fantastically imaginative and iconic in every sense, they would be the two songs from Paranoid that would be selected for my Sab Mix tape. The interplay between Tony and Bill are the whole show here. Great stuff, but the album overall doesn't get to 4 for me. More interesting albums were coming.

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