Paranoid wins again 7>2 but how well will it do against Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which was released after Vol.4 and saw the band return to their trademark darker psuedo satanic sound. As far as I'm concerned, its another one of the Black Sabbath essentials and when I first ever got into Sabbath it was an early favourite of mine.

Need a relisten before I can vote on this one..

This battle is perfect. I've been cracking out on some old school doom today (Pentagram, Witchfinder General, and I'm blasting some Pagan Altar ATM), so I'm gonna love this.

Never listened to Pagan Altar, but Witchfinder General and Death Penalty hell yer! Love that album.

Pagan Altar are pretty Witchfinder-ish. Got that proto doom that still rocks it's ass off. But better I'd say.

I'll move them up to the top of my long listening list.

A good idea IMO.



Should have posted this to begin with I guess.

That was good, especially the guitar and it was more upbeat and had more energy than I expected.

no contest to me

Paranoid

So its

Paranoid 1
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 0

though Paranoid is probably my fave Black Sabbath, i feel that the highlights on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath are quirkier and certainly more enjoyable - e.g. A National Acrobat, Killing Yourself to Live and Spiral Architect

so i'll be objective and go for SBS

Paranoid - 1
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 1

Paranoid by a mile.

Paranoid - 2

Sabbath Bloody - 1

There's only really one song on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath I enjoy, the title track.

Paranoid- 3
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- 1

One day I will vote for Paranoid. It's an awesome album. But I gotta go with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. It's about as consistent as Paranoid, so there aren't any wasted songs that would be easy to point at. I guess I like it better because it's more diverse than Paranoid. I love Paranoid's doominess, but Sabbath Bloody Sabbath combines their doomier early days with the diversity of Vol 4 that just makes for a more complete, mature sounding record. And it rocks as Sabbath has never quite rocked before. Might just be my fav Sabbath record. Either that or the debut.

Paranoid - 3
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 2

Both albums are absolute classics and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is their most mature effort ever in terms of songwriting. The band built off the diversity of Vol.4 and combined it with their traditional dark metal sound and even by 1973 they were still the best metal band around.

It was almost impossible to choose, so I decided on which album I had preferred over the longer time period and SBS won, as my love for Paranoid has been far more recent.

Paranoid -3
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath -3

I love how the made five pure classics in only THREE years time. They were definitely on one hell of a brilliant creative streak.

That's the sort of thing bands did in the 60s and 70s. In the space of of 3 to 4 years bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult were able to put out a string of classic albums in such a short space of time.

I'm kind of shocked in my own choice, but I'm siding with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. It seems at this point in time, the classic tracks off of Paranoid (aside from Electric Funeral, ****ing love that song) seem a bit tired to me. The broader range of sounds on SBS is just more interesting to me right now. So...

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 4
Paranoid - 3

Wow Paranoid's under pressure!

Just going to say this now, nothing will stop Master of Reality . That album is the Smaug of the Sabbath discog whereas the others are just dwarves.

Yep its the dark jewel in the crown and for this reason it was left till last, as only the strongest challenger will have a chance. Remember even Smaug was downed by a true arrow.

I will have to go with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as well, if not for the single "Killing Yourself To Live" alone. It confirms my final decision anyway.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 5
Paranoid - 3

Jeez Paranoid is really under pressure, or perhaps Grace Under Pressure would do better here:yikes:

For this battle, I feel like my opinion on these two albums could change depending on which week I was asked. Sometimes I prefer the classics of Paranoid, but right now I'm digging the variety and maturity shown in SBS (and the better production helps as well).

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 6
Paranoid - 3

You guys are crazy. SBS is solid but Paranoid is superb

Paranoid - 4
SBS - 6

Oh my god.

Paranoid - 5
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 6

^^why so surprised?

SBS is an unpolished diamond

and Paranoid is a far superior album.
Even Vol. 4 took the band down to "some great songs" and then SBS took it down a notch lower to "some great parts of some songs"

Wow this is the best face off so far! More votes are needed to decide this battle of titans.

I am going for Paranoid, both great albums but Paranoid is so much more consistent.
6-6

Paranoid by a country mile.

7-6 :yikes:

If it were still Paranoid vs. Volume4 I'd be tying things up, but I'll take Paranoid over SBS

8-6 for Paranoid now.

Ok Paranoid yet again wins, after holding off a very strong challenge from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by 8>6. It now comes up against the DARK JEWEL in the Sabbath crown and this will be the final battle of this war. How will Paranoid Black Sabbath's definitive album, fare against Master of Reality Black Sabbath's most revered album. Place your vote, as these votes will decide Music Banter's greatest ever Black Sabbath album.

I love paranoid, it's probably my favorite album, but the highs and los of master of reality gets my vote

Master of reality- 1
paranoid- 0

Master of Reality is more consistent as a whole album. It just works perfectly. But "After Forever" and "Lord of This World" have preachy lyrics that kinda bug me. Especially "After Forever"...

"Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say
If they knew you believe in God above?
They should realize before they criticize
that God is the only way to love

Is your mind so small that you have to fall
In with the pack wherever they run
Will you still sneer when death is near
And say they may as well worship the sun?"

Really Ozzy? Christians are the persecuted minority and those bastard atheists are judging you and making your life difficult? Gimme a ****ing break. Musically they're awesome, but they still bug me. So I've gotta go with Paranoid.

Paranoid - 1
Master of Reality - 1

Master - 2
Paranoid - 1

Master is my favorite Sabbath album, it was the full tilt birth of Doom Metal, While Paranoid hinted at it, Master perfected it.

Sure, those lyrics are kinda lame.... but the album features "Children of the Grave" and my all-time favorite Sabbath song "Into the Void", both of which are amazing and surpass Paranoid.

Have to go with Master here.

don't forget solitude

yet another difficult choice - no naff tracks on Master of Reality, i'd like to think those lyrics the Bat-Mite mentioned are just Ozzy goofing around

but then again, the highlights on Paranoid are infallible

Master - 2
Paranoid - 2

Master of Reality is my clear favorite. 2nd is self-titled. 3rd is Paranoid.

Master of Reality - 3
Paranoid - 2

I'd say that "Iron Man" is just about the equal of "Into the Void" in terms of heaviness and general awesomeness, and while Master of Reality has "Children of the Grave" and "Sweet Leaf", Paranoid has "War Pigs" and "Paranoid". And after that, Paranoid's tracks are just a cut above the rest of the tracks on Master of Reality.

Since Ozzy is a devout Christian, I doubt it.