Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Black Sabbath initially believed they would last for a few years as a band. They couldn’t predict how influential they’d become. Speaking at Steel City Con in December of last year, bassist Geezer Butler reflected on the band’s early years and acknowledged that when Sabbath launched their ground-breaking debut in 1970, rock immortality was the last thing on their minds, as per MetalInjection.
We thought we’d last about two or three years at the most when we put the first album out. Everybody completely slagged it in the press. They hated us, calling us Satanists and all this crap, because they didn’t really listen to the lyrics.
Later in 1970, Sabbath‘s second album and eventual success, “Paranoid”, was released, dispelling any worries about the band’s future. Up until 2013’s 13, it remained Sabbath‘s only UK No. 1 album. The title track, which peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, became Sabbath‘s biggest hit, despite Iommi’s opinion that it didn’t accurately capture the band’s style. Butler has long complained about “Paranoid”‘s graphics, despite the fact that it solidified Sabbath‘s musical reputation.
We thought that was a terrible cover. [It came from] my manager at the time, [whom] we quickly left. I still don’t know what the cover represents. Some guy dressed up with a sword. It is the worst cover ever.
Tony Iommi claims that a last-minute title change is the cause of the uncertainty around the “Paranoid” artwork. Speaking in 2020, he clarified that the album’s original title, “War Pigs”, was intended to be reflected on the cover.
The album cover on ‘Paranoid’ has nothing to do with ‘Paranoid’ [the song]. It was going to be called ‘War Pigs,’ so we had a bloke with the shield and a sword, which remotely made sense — more so than ‘Paranoid.’
But at the time, the title was thought to be too contentious.
They banned that, you couldn’t use it as a title in them days. It was so awkward for us to move forward with things.
