The “metal anthem” Ozzy Osbourne compared to ‘Paranoid’: “This is theirs”
Our obsession with music genres, as fans, isn’t something that is reciprocated by the artists themselves. Rarely did bands like Black Sabbath enter the studio, with the sole aim of creating tracks that we would later herald as the genesis of heavy metal.
“We called it heavy rock,” recalled Tommy Iommi, when asked about how they felt about their signature sound. “The term heavy metal came about from a journalist when I came back from America (in the 70s).” Iommi continued, “He said ‘you’re playing heavy metal’ and I said ‘no, it’s heavy rock – what’s that?'”
But its original coining felt like less of a gesture to confirm their innovation and more of an insult. Journalists quickly picked up the term and used it to describe what they perceived as unbridled and incoherent noise. But the band wore it with their chest, taking it and using it to platform a new era of rock.
“At first we didn’t like being called heavy metal,” admits Butler. “But everyone likes to put you into certain pigeon holes, so we sort of got used to it.” adding, “And then instead of it being derogatory, it became a whole lifestyle.”
They soon realised that in the caustic landscape of violence that critics perceived as heavy rock, was an opportunity to create something that pulled at sonic tension. It was a sound akin to the anxious foreboding of a horror film, except the only difference was rather than the protagonists urging you to run for your life, Sabbath were encouraging you to join the dark side.
This template they carved out made room for bands like Motörhead. Like Sabbath, they gave themselves permission to plug it in and turn it up, often playing with the same raw intent but at a quicker pace. And like Sabbath, they had a distinct leader at the front of the stage whose vocals helped give the band a unique and captivating edge.
Something that is typified best in their seminal anthem ‘Ace Of Spades’. Lemmy Kilmister’s voice is gravelly yet frantic as it keeps up with the spiraling guitar lines and crashing drums in a song that The Prince Of Darkness labelled the band’s “anthem”.
He said, when talking about his favourite metal albums of all time, he listed their 1980 effort Ace Of Spades and then dialling in on the title track, explaining, “The album that put Motörhead over the top. The title track ‘Ace of Spades’ is Motörhead’s ‘Paranoid.’ It’s one of the great metal anthems and, to me, a band hasn’t made it until they have their own anthem. This is theirs.”
Ozzy has regularly called ‘Paranoid’ his own anthem and the similarities he’s drawn between his own track and Motörhead’s is certainly steeped in validity. It captures the band’s enigmatic and unrelenting essence, as well as lyrics that incite a level of danger that most fans synonymise with the bands. Hand in hand, these are two tracks that define the spirit of heavy metal, turning what was once a derogatory term into a blessing.
