My brother Todd (guitar) and Todd’s son(my nephew) Cambo on the drums! Iron Man done Tbay style!
Pretty impressive that Paranoid the followup to the debut (Black Sabbath) was released just 7 months later in 1970! Goes to show you when your rolling with your thoughts of creativity great things will happen and Paranoid from Ozzy,Geezer,Bill and Tony is just that! Bam! Just like that here’s another batch of Sabbath cooking with Witches at Black Masses! Ha! That was brutal but seriously lets get to it!
WAR PIGS-Wowzers can you say classic right out of the gate! Iommi and Ward lay a down a groove that punches you in the throat! Add on top of it a the wail of a siren added in and Heeeeeeeeere’s Ozzzzzzzzy! Boom, love the interplay between Ozzy and Bill on the drums during the verses! Ward smashing his drums,cymbals a smashing and huge Iommi power riffs make this an all time classic! Love how the solo builds and just tears your head off. The tempo changing is soooo good!
PARANOID-One of Metals most recognizable opening riffs if there ever was one! Iommi man what can Ya say! Paranoid speeds up like Aaron from The KMA downing a bottle of fine wine on a Saturday Night in Owen Sound! Geezer rolls the bass while Ward bashes along for the ride and Ozzy sings for his supper! Talk about a live staple at all Sabbath and Ozzy solo shows!
PLANET CARAVAN-Trippy slow vibe almost sounds like Bills beating the bongos. Nice chill blues like solo by Iommi while Ozzy is in space vocally.(literally sounds like that) Sabbah here spread there wings and let everyone know that there’s gonna be song surprises along the way.
IRON MAN-This song lives on of course now with the Hollywood connection but back in 1970 Hollywood would have been scared of these guys! I mean as a rock fan who has not heard this tune! I Ammmmm Iron Man bellows Ozzy and Tony drains his guitar down to the depths of hell while Bill drives his kick drum pedal into the ground! Love the riff of this tune and per Sabbath protocol lets speed this tune up with Geezer flinging a millon bass riffs per second and than viola back to the opening riff! The video posted is my brother (Todd) and his 4 year old son(my nephew) Cameron(I call him Cambo) jammimg a few bars of Iron Man up at my brothers jam shack! I love how Cambo smashes the cymbals and keeps everything in time! THIS IS THE GREATEST MUSIC VIDEO EVER! Yup call me a proud Uncle DeKEs with a side order of bragging tossed in!
ELECTRIC FUNERAL-Funky Sabbath mixed with a ton of wah like guitar blasts while Bill ramps up the beat and Geezer and Tony go bonkers! You gotta love those slow build numbers during the verse’s and when it comes to the solo all bets are off and Tony,Geezer and Bill just go off on another level! Sabbath are the kings of this!
HAND OF DOOM-My buddy Brent Jensen told me when he seen Sabbath live a few years back he said when they played Hand Of Doom it was crushing! Gotta agree this song has tons of hugeness! More of a slippery slope of Doom here at Sab 101 but put Yer Horns on we’re going to visit Uncle Lucifer! Considering its 1971 this is one mofo of a heavy album with snippets of calmness in the midst of a Blizzard Of Ozz! I should also point out that by album two gone are the long jams of the first album in its place are songs more tailor made for the masses who listen to Black Sabbath!
RAT SALAD-Quick musical only muscle workout with no Ozzy but as a added bonus Bill hammers down a drum solo in the studio no less. Tony and Geezer are also along for the ride here while Ozzy chill’s out..
FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS-Some nice relaxed picking from Iommi and it gets going with Ward leading the charge on the drums! Too much smoking and drinking will get to you Sez Ozzy! Ha! Does it ? Double Ha! Once again another real serious classic Sabbath tune! Drums rule on this track! The way Ward plays his drums it sometimes sounds like he’s a jazz drummer! A jazz drummer from Hell! We all know about Sabbath and Drugs but man say what you want they knew how to write classic songs, play exceptional patterns and perform studio mastery under the influence of whatever it was…..
Up Next Master Of Reality…..
deKe's Vinyl Reviews & More... 
Its funny I’ve never actually owned this album but I certainly know it well. I love classic Ozzy. And I love that 70’s Rock/Metal guitar.
And here is a small nerd side note. Iron Man (Marvel Comics) had his first appearance in the early 60’s. But this is not the inspiration for this song but they seem to take us on a really different sci-fi adventure. Who knew 70’s Ozzy was a nerd!
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Ozzy a Nerd? Ha …great insight Robbo!
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” The way Ward plays his drums it sometimes sounds like he’s a jazz drummer! A jazz drummer from Hell!”
I agree and this is the only ingredient currently missing from Black Sabbath! Nobody Sabbath have had plays drums like Bill Ward. Vinnie Appice is awesome…but also the total opposite!
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Now that I’m moving through the 70s Sabbath catalogue Ward is the deal! He drives the Sabbath bus on many a track! The drums are not only sounding good but also are played at a high level.
Appice is a deadly drummer but Dio Sabbath is a different beast to Ozzy Sabbath…even the drums sound different. Still love Mob Rules man!
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Ward is the whole reason “old Sabbath” sound like old Sabbath. In my opinion! There is a HUGE change when he left. Huge and the band never got back to that point.
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That kid’s is headed for Peartville! Fun!
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Ha! Yeah he’s a beast on the kit! Love how he adjusts his seat and still picks up the beat!
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Well this one’s a monster. WHAT A RECORD!!
Also this: “We all know about Sabbath and Drugs but man say what you want they knew how to write classic songs, play exceptional patterns and perform studio mastery under the influence of whatever it was…..”
Nailed it.
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Thanks dude!
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Another awesome review of a stone-cold classic. Bill Ward doesn’t just sound like a jazz drummer…he IS a jazz drummer. He was raised on jazz & big band music so it’s no surprise that he brought that swing to Sabbath’s music. One of the things that sets bands of their time apart from later eras is that a lot of the musicians didn’t grow up listening to rock ‘n’ roll. There were so many other ingredients being added to the musical stew back then. I think that’s one of the main reasons there were so many unique artists in the ’60s & ’70s.
Looking forward to *cough cough cough* Master Of Reality next.
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Oh, and nice job by Cambo on the drums. I like how he keeps things sparse.
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I’m sure Cambo would appreciate that comment comimg from another drummer!
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Thanks Rich! Too be honest I have never listened to these albums as closely as I have now! There awesome and thanks for the background Ward info and your right anout the uniqueness of artists from yesteryear!
Master Of Reality is up next! Tuesday is the day!
Cough Cough Cough
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I like that Cambo’s work with the cymbals!
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Oh yeah his cymbal smashes are classic…
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Great write up – another of those classic Sabbath albums. I love those big swampy riffs! What a four song intro to the album, too …
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Thanks J…swampy riffs..gonna have to use that! Hahaha….great call!
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