Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" should be in The Fallen

First Post October 23, 2023 10:55 PM

During my recent research for the 'Roots of Metal Project' we're currently running, I proved something to myself that I'd long suspected to be the case. Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" album simply doesn't sit all that well alongside other supposed 'heavy metal' releases as it sounds very different to the Iron Maidens & Judas Priests. After genre-tagging each individual track it became clear to me that the general tendency to want to label 'Paranoid' as a heavy metal/hard rock hybrid isn't correct. These were my track-by-track taggings:


1. War Pigs - Stoner Metal

2. Paranoid - Heavy Metal

3. Planet Caravan - Psychedelic Folk

4 Iron Man - Traditional Doom Metal

5. Electric Funeral - Traditional Doom Metal/Stoner Metal

6. Hand of Doom - Stoner Rock

7. Rat Salad - Heavy Psych

8. Fairies Wear Boots - Heavy Psych


There are a few things worth noting about the above. Firstly, I've only tagged a single track as Heavy Metal. Secondly, the other three songs I've tagged as metal fall into genres encompassed by The Fallen rather than The Guardians. And thirdly, there's a significant psychedelic rock component that doesn't sit well with your classic heavy metal sound. For that reason, I'd like to see 'Paranoid' receive a Stoner Metal tag & sit under The Fallen. Stoner Metal is defined as "combines elements of Doom Metal with elements of Psychedelic Rock and Blues Rock to create a melodic yet heavy sound" & that seems to be far more appropriate than the heavy metal definition of "heavier outgrowth of Hard Rock featuring greater distortion and intensity along with lesser Blues influences" as far as I can see. Please vote YES to see "Paranoid' added to the Fallen under the Stoner Metal genre.


https://metal.academy/hall/431