Not many classic albums start with an eight minute song but “War Pigs” is a fantastic start to this album. It has everything you expect from a Black Sabbath album in a single song – bone crunching Tony Iommi riffs; thoughtful political lyrics by Geezer Butler about the Vietnam war; iconic vocals by Ozzy Osbourne and those amazing rapid drum fills by drummer Bill Ward.

The title track “Paranoid” is short (under three minutes) aggressive and incredibly catchy. It really should be a longer song but I guess if you have said all you need to say then that’s it. It’s a great contrast to “War Pigs” and was one of their most well known singles.

“Planet Caravan” is more a prog rock song than a metal number. Some really cool vocal effects and ethereal ambient atmospheres. Piano, flute and bongos – not instruments you usually associate with Black Sabbath but it really works as a follow-up to “Paranoid”.

Then, in my opinion, the highlight of the album. The bass drum enters in, the guitar slides aggressively, the voice declares “I am Iron Man” and then we get “that” riff. The band realized that Tony Iommi was a great riff creator but this is probably his best – so much so that the melody of the song is basically just words set to the riff. The song speeds up for a contrasting section and then returns to the familiarity of the riff. The outro features a fantastic guitar solo and driving rhythms. I’ve actually got Year 4’s to play this song on xylophones for a class assembly. You do need to put the F sharps on to play the riff and two beaters are a necessity for each child.

“Electric Funeral” introduces that “devil’s interval’ – the tritone and for good reason, the song is about nuclear holocaust. The beginning riff is exactly how I would feel if I knew that bomb was on its way. The lyrics are scary but I guess accurate. There are then some contrasting sections, I guess giving the sense of panic we would experience in those few moments before we are all annihilated. The riff of doom returns as the lyrics take a more supernatural theme of heaven and hell and we actually end with a fade out. After humans massacre each other with nuclear bombs we will all fade away.

“Hand of Doom”, reminds me a bit of Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” with its contrasting quiet and loud sections. The song is about American soldiers coming back from the Vietnam War addicted to heroin. It’s another long song at over seven minutes but doesn’t feel overlong, probably because of the contrasts within it.

“Rat Salad” is a great instrumental track and really shows how good a drummer Bill Ward is. Fills, driving rhythms and just passionate playing show-off his ability.

The final track “Fairies Wear Boots” has great riffs, solos, drum fills and definitely has its roots in Blues music. Supposedly about an encounter Ozzy had with a group of skinheads, it is a super end to one of the best metal albums ever created.

Education Ideas – Playing Iron Man on xylophones! Also if you want to show the contrast between loud and soft “Hand of Doom” is a great example.