For Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi, “Paranoid” was never meant to be a crown jewel. It was a quick fix. A throwaway. Something the band threw together at the last minute to fill time on a record. Yet it became the anthem that would haunt them forever.
Back in 1970, Sabbath was still carving their name in stone, making music that felt like the sound of hell’s gates cracking open. Ozzy was wailing like a mad prophet; Iommi was summoning thunder from his fingertips. They were dark. Heavy. Uncompromising. But then “Paranoid” hit—and everything changed.
The two-minute riff machine rocketed them into the mainstream. Radios loved it. Labels loved it. Even casual fans loved it. But to Ozzy and Iommi, it didn’t scratch the surface of what Black Sabbath was about. It was catchy, yes—but where was the dread? The doom? The soul-crushing weight that made “War Pigs”, “Children of the Grave”, or “Into the Void” feel like sermons from the underworld?
Iommi later admitted: “It was never intended to be anything. It was just filler. But it became a single, and because it became what it did, most people knew us because of ‘Paranoid’.” Even Ozzy, who sang it countless times, seemed to grow tired of its simplicity. To the band, it felt like their most misunderstood hit—more pop-metal than Sabbath’s signature darkness.
And yet, the public couldn’t let go. “Paranoid” became the song shouted from every crowd, etched into every playlist, blasted at every bar. The band had conjured something immortal, but also accidental.
Still, Tony Iommi carried the torch through every lineup change. Whether it was Dio, Glenn Hughes, or Tony Martin on vocals—Sabbath evolved. But Ozzy and Iommi together? That was the magic. That was the Sabbath fans longed for. And through all the chaos, “Paranoid” remained the song that both bound and burdened them.
Even now, decades later, when fans speak of Sabbath, they begin with “Paranoid.” But for Ozzy and Tony, the real heart of the band lies in the heavy, sprawling riffs—the kind that take their time and leave bruises.
Because Black Sabbath wasn’t born to write hits.
They were born to make history
