Paranoid
Black Sabbath, 1970. Solo by Tony Iommi.
A short, fuzzy solo in a two-minute classic.
Tony Iommi's short solo sits in the middle of this brief, driving song and is one of heavy metal's most imitated leads. It mixes bluesy pentatonic phrasing with exotic-sounding notes and wide, aggressive bends, sounding both loose and furious. The studio treatment is unusual: the dry signal is paired with a version run through a ring modulator, giving a metallic, warbling echo on one side of the stereo image. Iommi played a left-handed SG through a Laney amplifier. Listen on headphones for that strange warbling shadow beside the main lead; it gives the solo its eerie, almost alien colour.
Paranoid by Black Sabbath is ranked #78 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Tony Iommi and the song was released in 1970. It appears on 9 lists, placing as high as #8 (R3M).
The story of Paranoid
Paranoid was never meant to be a hit. While Black Sabbath were recording their second album in 1970, they realised they were short of material. As Geezer Butler told Guitar World, the band needed roughly three minutes of filler, so Tony Iommi came up with a riff and the others built a song around it in a matter of minutes, reportedly during a lunch break in the sessions.
Butler wrote the lyrics on the spot and Ozzy Osbourne sang them as he read them for the first time. The words describe depression and a mind turning against itself; Butler has linked the feeling to the paranoia that can come with smoking cannabis. Despite the title, the word paranoid never appears in the lyric, and a widely misheard line later drew accusations that the song encouraged suicide, when its actual phrasing says the opposite.
The track was cut at Island Studios in London on 16 June 1970 with producer Rodger Bain, as part of quick, largely live sessions for the album. Musically it is stripped to the bone: a fast, driving E minor pentatonic figure played with power chords, Bill Ward's pounding drums and Butler's bass locking tightly underneath, all over in under three minutes.
Vertigo released Paranoid as a single in August 1970. It gave the band their only UK top-ten single, peaking at number 4, went to number 1 in Germany and Denmark and reached 61 in the US. The record company also pushed the band to name the album Paranoid instead of the planned War Pigs, seen as too provocative. The song re-entered charts worldwide in 2025 after Osbourne's death.
The solo
Tony Iommi's short solo sits in the middle of the song and is one of heavy metal's most imitated leads. It mixes bluesy pentatonic phrasing with exotic-sounding notes and wide, aggressive bends, sounding both loose and furious. Iommi played a left-handed Gibson SG through a Laney amplifier. The studio treatment is unusual: the solo's dry signal is paired with a version run through a ring modulator, giving a metallic, warbling echo that sits on one side of the stereo image. Louder's Classic Rock ranking praised it as clever and colourful without ever sounding laboured, and noted how widely it has influenced players across metal, stoner rock and hard rock.
Legacy
Paranoid is one of the foundational songs of heavy metal. Rolling Stone placed it 250th among the 500 greatest songs in 2004 and 13th among the greatest heavy metal songs in 2023, Q ranked it 11th among the greatest guitar tracks, and Classic Rock put its solo tenth on its list of the 100 greatest. In Finland, calling out for Paranoid at concerts has become a running joke. Black Sabbath closed their final concert with it in July 2025, and the Band of the Coldstream Guards played it at Buckingham Palace after Osbourne's death.
Top 10 facts about Paranoid
Geezer Butler told Guitar World in 2004 that the band needed a three-minute filler for the album and Iommi came up with the riff.
WikipediaOzzy Osbourne sang the lyrics while reading them for the first time, just after Butler had written them.
SongfactsThe word paranoid never actually appears in the song's lyrics.
SongfactsIommi's solo pairs a dry guitar signal with a ring-modulated version, creating an echo effect placed in one channel.
WikipediaIommi played the solo on a left-handed Gibson SG through a Laney amp.
LouderClassic Rock magazine ranked the Paranoid solo tenth among the 100 greatest guitar solos in 2016.
LouderThe single reached number 1 in both Germany and Denmark and number 4 in the UK.
WikipediaVertigo persuaded the band to rename the album Paranoid because the intended title, War Pigs, was considered too controversial.
SongfactsMegadeth's cover for the tribute album Nativity in Black earned a Grammy nomination.
WikipediaParanoid closed Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning farewell concert on 5 July 2025, seventeen days before Osbourne died.
Wikipedia
Live versions
- Live Aid, Philadelphia (1985) First performance by the original line-up together since 1978.
- Party at the Palace (Queen's Golden Jubilee) (2002) Osbourne and Iommi joined by Phil Collins and Pino Palladino at Buckingham Palace.
- Back to the Beginning, Birmingham (2025) Finale of the original line-up's farewell show, weeks before Osbourne's death.
Notable covers
- The Dickies (1979) Speedy punk version that reached number 45 in the UK.
- Megadeth (1994) Recorded for the Nativity in Black tribute album; Grammy-nominated.
- Weezer (2019) On The Teal Album, with guitarist Brian Bell singing lead.
- Band of the Coldstream Guards (2025) Military band arrangement played at Buckingham Palace in tribute to Osbourne.
In our lists
- The Most-Taught Solos — #30
- The Road Trip 50 — #20
- The 25 Greatest Metal Guitar Solos — #14
- Short & Perfect — #7
- Solos in Hit Singles — #20
- SGs & Telecasters — #9
Sources
- R3M: La top 10 dei migliori assoli della storia del Rock n Roll — #8
- Classic Rock (Louder): The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock — #10
- Orchestra Central: 30 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #15
- WatchMojo (article text): Top 30 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time — #28
- Ranker: The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #31
- uDiscover Music: The Best Guitar Solos Of All Time: 108 Amazing Moments — #89
- That Eric Alper: The 25 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
- Letras.mus.br: Conheça os 15 melhores solos de guitarra da história do rock
- Musician Tuts: The 51 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time
- Wikipedia: Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)
- Songfacts: Paranoid
- Louder: Why Black Sabbath's Paranoid is one of the greatest guitar solos of all time
Who played the guitar solo on Paranoid?
Tony Iommi played the solo on Black Sabbath's Paranoid (1970).
What guitar was used on the Paranoid solo?
A gibson sg through a Laney amp, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Paranoid rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#78 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 9 of them.
Who wrote Paranoid by Black Sabbath?
All four members are credited: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward. Iommi wrote the riff and Butler the lyrics.
How long did it take to write Paranoid?
Only minutes. The band needed a short filler track for the album, and Iommi's riff was turned into a song almost immediately.
What guitar did Tony Iommi use on Paranoid?
A left-handed Gibson SG through a Laney amplifier.
What is Paranoid about?
It describes depression and paranoia; Geezer Butler has tied it to the paranoid feeling that can come with drug use.
What effect is on the Paranoid guitar solo?
The solo combines the dry guitar with a ring-modulated copy, giving it a metallic, echoing sound.