Ultimate Album Collection #5: Black Sabbath “Paranoid”

I was not old enough for Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".  I would have been about 8 when it came out. I can't remember how I got turned onto this harbinger of all things metal to come, but it still stands the test of time.  More after the jump.

It might have been older cousins or hearing "Paranoid" on the radio, but some how I got turned onto Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" at an early age.  Like I said, the album came out when I was 8 and I know I had to be at least 12 or 13 when I got my own copy.  The merging of all the scary music and lyrics was just the perfect thing for a guy who liked to build models of famous monsters and watch "the Munsters" and "The Addams Family" reruns.

The album is short. Just 8 songs and each side of the album was less than 20 minutes long. In that little snapshot of time was pure perfection. The lineup goes as follows:

1. War Pigs

2. Paranoid

3. Planet Caravan

4. Iron Man

(side 2)

5. Electric Funeral

6. Hand of Doom

7. Rat Salad

8. Fairies Wear Boots

It was eight cuts of sludgy, scary, sonic perfection and it will still blow you away to this day.  This album pretty much set the standard for Heavy Metal and when you think about it, had a hand in creating Grunge as well.  Take the album for a well deserved spin and after the top of your head blows off, remember it was created in 1970!

The videos collected are a bit of a mish/mosh...but enjoy for a kick.