After an excellent debut album, Black Sabbath pumped up the iron (Iron Man, to be correct). This album is a true metal classic, but also the first true prog-metal classic, as the complex playing and lyrics are not your standard bluesy affair. The album has a number of great songs, that range from about two minutes to eight minutes, and all have a purpose and can rock your brains out.
1.War Pigs - The anti-war song that is so controversial, the record dealer didn't want the album name to be War Pigs, (mind you, this was released when Vietnam War was still happening). The track is ultimatly mind-altering, as the intro sets the trippy standard, and the vocal sections from Ozzy Osbourne are utterly classic. The way he makes melodies out of air is still astounding to this day. The improvision in the track is also one of a kind, truely great playing from all as teh interplay with Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward is unheard off and, for the most part, a drug induced beauty. (10/10)
2.Paranoid - The ultimate in consice metal pop cuts. The heavy riffage from Iommi is ultimatly one of the best of this new (at the time) genre, and the steady rhythm section can only be classic. Vocal melodies and talk of social destruction make this track all the better. (10/10)
3.Planet Caravan - After true, blunt force, we get a stoner classic. The song is so mellow and trippy, one could get a contact high just from listening. The song, of traveling space, is excellently played; a well needed break after the crushing metal of the first two tracks. The bassline on the track is almost hypnotic, as this track is almost drone like in structure as the repetition is very high, albiet with some electronic sound effects and phaser on vocals. Another metal, even if mellow, classic. (9.5/10)
4.Iron Man - The immortal riff of all riffs. Everyone knows this song, as it is the law of guitar to learn how to play this riff, along with the riff to Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water and the opening to Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. The cut is a true bluesy number with heavily imporvised playing, great melodies, and some of the most dark and frightening sounds from a guitar that you will ever hear. The bass and drum interplay is excellent, almost jaw- dropping at how percise Butler and Ward are in their groove. Essential listening. (10/10)
5.Electric Funeral - A personal favourite of mine off the album. Even it is not as well know as a few of the other songs on the album, it's a classic. The riff and vocal melodie are all played in harmony by the bass, guitar, and, obviously, voclas. The drumming could not be better, as Ward pulls of some of his better and hard playing. The lyrics are about an apocolyptic future, a truely new and scary topic. The breakdown section in the middle of the track is totally new and trippy, so much intensity for one track. (10/10)
6.Hand of Doom - Another classic track, totally about what happens when you try heroin (one of the most dangerous drugs known to man; food for thought). A very complex drumming, and intense bass playing make this track a crazy trip of awkward emotions that seem to always end up in the needle. Musicianship at it's highest and freakiest. (10/10)
7.Rat Salad - The only track that is below average, as it is only a bluesy track augmented with excellent drum playing, as it is a drum solo. The track might be needed, as it shows the great talent that can be put in a song at a little over two minutes. (8.5/10)
8.Fairies Wear Boots - The best Black Sabbath track. Ever. This is one of the best, most hallucinogenic track that you will ever find on any album. The musicianship of the track is undeniable, and the lyrics about skinheads could be a link to marijuana or even acid. The guitar playing is great, as the funky bassline from Butler is truely fresh and crucial the the sound of the track. The drumming is totally swing and changes the atmosphere of the track instantly. The vocal melody is where the trip starts to set in, as it's pretty much one of the most interesting, as Osbourne screams about fairies wearing boots. This track is a classic that must be heard. (10/10)
This album is pretty much near perfection, as this is the closest anyone could be to prog- metal in 1970. All tracks are well crafted (except one) and trippy in their own right, with a fair amount of complexity and sheer power. A 5 stars for an almost flawless album.
(progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=318295) Review by Jazzywoman. 2010-11-14