Where Led Zeppelin barely escaped the label, Black Sabbath was the very emblem of heavy metal. His riffs were heavy, his drums were heavy, his lyrics were heavy, and his album work was heavy. A blurry image of soldier soldiers with pink swords had never graced the covers of Herman’s Hermits, neither bassist Geezer Butler nor frontman Ozzy Osbourne would have been associated with faded, upbeat pop. Black Sabbath was serious, attacking the Vietnam War, reckless parts of British society and the unfortunate seduction of heroin addiction on their second album only; however, it defined his career, directed by Osbourne or not.

Guitarist Tony Iommi, the band’s main songwriter, varied his playing from punchy, punchy chords (‘Hand of Doom’ sounds ominous musically on its own) to playful jazz styles on ‘Planet Caravan’. Iommi, the band’s top musician, oversaw the band’s musical contributions, while Geezer Butler, with Osbourne’s full blessing, wrote most of the lyrics. Together, they wrote the album’s title track and remembered it most fondly in one song in a short period, an afterthought to complete the album (Butler wrote the lyrics while Iommi built the riff; Osbourne read the lyrics while he sang). As with their first record, Sabbath spent very little time in the studio, recording the entire album in a matter of days; as a result, the album has an energy that evokes the emotion of a live concert. The title track flies with anarchic energy, only shadows of the punk records released just six years later (John Lydon himself was an avid Black Sabbath fan).

Opener ‘War Pigs’ laid the groundwork for the seven consecutive tracks, a strong riff to welcome listeners, Osbourne’s nasalization to fear them (the Sheffield rockers played a guitar part audibly similar to ‘Pig’s’ on their 2013 hit ‘Arabella’, proof of Sabbath still have an influence on the rock world today!) Ultimately a guitar record, Iommi’s signature ‘Iron Man’ riff was violent, distorted and loud , a three-chord sequence, not heard so loudly since The Kinks gave it their all with ‘You Really Got Me’ (Deep Purple would come two years later with ‘Smoke on The Water’), a blessing for guitarists rookies look great among their peers. Butler, a sci-fi fan, spent nearly thirty years trying to explain to interviewers that the lyrics had nothing to do with Marvel Comics (growing up in WWII Britain, ‘The Beano’ likely ‘ inspired his assertive wit more than Tony Stark). !)

While heavy metal fans loved those three singles mentioned, there were five other tracks that the avid buyer could enjoy, ‘Hand of Doom’, the best of these, a deep cut that radio stations never got to hear, a witty line of bass to start the song, a reverb drum effect colliding with the song’s delirious conclusion. ‘Planet Caravan’ turned out to be surprisingly romantic for Birmingham rockers, ‘Faeries Wear Boots’ a sour middle finger salute to British skinheads (this song was written by Osbourne). Only ‘Rat Salad’ proved too indulgent: Bill Ward’s salute to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was a self-indulgent exercise in percussive extravagance. Ward, a fantastic drummer, best served his skills behind Iommi’s performance, not before; ‘Electric Funeral’ was proof of that, the two a pair to rival Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell for electricity.

Always associated with the dark occult, Sabbath’s second album served as a testament to Sabbath’s live prowess and instinctive knowledge of others’ strengths. As Osbourne told Classic Albums, it was the result of hard work, not magic cauldrons. “I mean,” he joked, “we tried, but it didn’t work!”