Paranoid (album)

Paranoid is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It came out on 18 September 1970 in the United Kingdom through Vertigo Records, and on 7 January 1971 in the United States via Warner Bros. Records. The record features several of the band’s most famous songs, such as “Iron Man,” “War Pigs,” and the title track—the group’s only top 20 hit, which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Over five decades later, in July 2025, the title track reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart for the first time. Paranoid is often considered one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums ever, frequently cited as a key early work that helped shape the genre.

Following the success of their self-titled debut, Black Sabbath quickly returned to the studio to make a follow-up. Like their first album, Paranoid was recorded in a hurry, taking just two days in June 1970. The album was recorded at Regent Sound Studios and Island Studios in London over 16–18 June, with producer Rodger Bain. The title track was written as an afterthought when the band realized they were short on material. Drummer Bill Ward recalled that Tony Iommi played the guitar riff, and the song came together in about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Bassist Geezer Butler later said they wrote it in five minutes, and he finished the lyrics in about two hours. The single came out in August 1970 and reached number four on the UK charts, remaining Black Sabbath’s only top ten hit.

Most of the songs on Paranoid grew out of onstage improvisational jams. In a documentary about the album’s making, Iommi remembered that “War Pigs” started during a club performance, with Butler adding that they used to jam it out during the song “Warning.” Iommi also explained his approach to the guitar solo, saying he tried to keep the bottom string ringing to fill out the sound. Many of the album’s songs were first created in the fall of 1969 at a music club in Zurich, Switzerland. The band spent six weeks there starting around mid-November 1969, playing at the Beat Club (also called the Hirschen Club) in the Hotel Hirschen’s ground floor. They performed seven 45-minute sets each day for six weeks, but since they had little material, they often stretched one song to fill the time, using the engagement for rehearsals, according to Ozzy Osbourne.