They took the sound on their first album and wrote MUCH better songs with it! The result is something truly astounding, and I'm talking about the whole album, not just the spectacular opener.

Pretty sleepy album in my ears. Like a monotone hazy dust of afterdrugs and nothing to do and nowere to be. Ok, but nothing special. I guess it gained interest since it at the time introduced something new? What is the lasting unique quality? Or maybe simply not exactly my dish...

The opening dark riff and chilling siren, warning of impending doom, sets the scene for the album. 'Paranoid' is a classic metal track that somehow never sounds dated, well not to me anyway! The track 'Planet Caravan' is a favourite for me. Personally I prefer later albums over this as a whole but that is not to say this isn't a classic album in its own right.

best metal album

A gritty masterpiece exploring the depths of the darker aspects of the soul like no other album or band before them. I absolutely love the psychedelic lyrics of Ozzy on this album and I'm not a massive Osbourne fan. But it's Tommy Iommi and his unique wizardy with the riff that demands a moshing wall of worship with signs of the horn raised before him.

A few years back I decided tiki expand my music knowledge and listen to some of the albums in my parents' collection, this was the first album I listened to. Before this album I only listened to what my brother and sister listened to. This album means a lot to me not to mention that it's a fantastic album without the importance it has to me.

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I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest metalhead, but quality transcends genre, and this album has quality to spare.

The black country fairies strap on their DM's and sing some modern day madrigals...…

Every track is a winner, though I slightly prefer the debut album. Your heavy metal collection should start with these two.