20 Black Sabbath Songs That Laid The Foundation For Heavy Metal
Heavy riffs, thunderous drums, and ominous lyrics helped reshape rock music in a way no one had heard before.
A darker, heavier style emerged and soon grew into the foundation of an entire genre. Influence spread fast as bands everywhere picked up on the power and intensity of that groundbreaking sound.
The tracks ahead capture the raw force and fearless creativity that turned a pioneering group into true legends.
Note: This article is provided for general informational and entertainment purposes.
1. Black Sabbath
Imagine a thunderstorm gathering over a dark February afternoon. That mood mirrors the opening track, filled with eerie rain effects and one of the most bone chilling riffs ever captured on record.
Tony Iommi’s guitar work in that song built a template metal bands still follow today.
Lyrics spin a frightening tale of meeting a shadowy figure dressed in black. It stands as a perfect example of Sabbath fusing horror film atmosphere with crushing guitar tones to launch an entirely new genre.
2. N.I.B.
Geezer Butler’s bass intro is so iconic that bassists everywhere still practice it religiously. The song builds from that rumbling foundation into a full-blown heavy rocker that showcases the band’s incredible chemistry.
Many fans debate what N.I.B. actually stands for, adding mystery to the track’s appeal.
The lyrics tell an unusual love story from the devil’s perspective, which was pretty bold for 1970. It’s a perfect blend of musicianship and storytelling that proved metal could be both heavy and thoughtful.
3. The Wizard
Ozzy’s harmonica wails through this blues inspired rocker like magic. It’s one of the few metal songs to feature harmonica so prominently, proving Sabbath was never afraid to experiment.
Celebrating a mystical wanderer who spreads happiness, the song carries a lighter mood than much of their darker material.
Bill Ward’s drumming drives the track forward with relentless energy, while Iommi’s guitar slices through like a wizard’s spell.
4. Wicked World
Social commentary meets crushing riffs in this extended jam that showcases the band’s improvisational skills.
The lyrics tackle heavy topics like war, poverty, and injustice with raw honesty. Sabbath proved from day one that metal could have something important to say about the world’s problems.
Live versions of this song often stretched past ten minutes, giving each member room to shine. It’s a powerful reminder that heavy music and meaningful messages go hand in hand.
5. War Pigs
Few anti-war anthems land with greater force.
Opening moments unleash an eerie, siren-like riff that signals approaching doom.
Sabbath openly condemned leaders who send young people to die while staying far from danger themselves. Decades later, those lyrics still feel relevant, a fact that feels impressive and heartbreaking at once.
Nearly eight minutes of focused, righteous fury helped show how metal could speak powerfully in both music and society.
6. Paranoid
Written in just twenty minutes during a studio break, it grew into Sabbath’s biggest hit. Frantic pacing and anxious lyrics capture the sensation of losing control of your own thoughts.
Listeners who have felt crushed by life’s pressures can easily see themselves in it. Simple yet unforgettable riff makes headbanging almost automatic.
Airplay embraced the track, showing heavy metal could reach mainstream audiences without softening its edge.
7. Iron Man
If you’ve heard one metal riff in your life, it’s probably this one.
The robotic-sounding opening vocal effect was created by Ozzy singing through a metal fan, showing the band’s creative problem-solving. The song tells a time-travel story that ends in tragedy and revenge, like a science fiction movie in musical form.
Generations of guitarists have learned this riff as their introduction to metal. It’s simple, heavy, and absolutely timeless in its power.
8. Sabbra Cadabra
Swaggering grooves and a riff-first attack highlight how Sabbath managed to stay crushingly heavy while sliding into a more rhythmic, almost trance-like momentum that pulled listeners along rather than simply bludgeoning them.
The song shows the band tightening their approach, letting repetition, swing, and tone do more of the work than sheer volume alone.
That shift helped bridge the gap between blues-soaked heaviness and the sharper, more disciplined riff-driven metal that would soon define the genre.
9. Electric Funeral
Picture the end of the world set to music and you get the feeling this song delivers.
A slow, crushing tempo and apocalyptic lyrics create a stark vision of nuclear destruction.
Sabbath voice environmental fears in lines about poisoned skies and dying planets, themes that still feel urgent today. Guitar tone sounds so thick and heavy it almost seems to drip from the speakers.
Many doom metal bands cite that track as foundational inspiration for their entire style.
10. Fairies Wear Boots
Whimsical title might suggest something light, yet the track hits with serious force.
According to band lore, a tense run-in with skinheads in a park sparked the idea, and the lyrics twist that fear into surreal fantasy.
Hooky main riff lingers for days, pairing bluesy swagger with full metal power. Humor peeks through the darkness here, revealing a playful side that often gets overlooked.
Strange subject matter never weakens the impact, since crushing heaviness still drives every beat.
11. Megalomania
Mood, scale, and intensity rise and fall in clear waves. The track feels dramatic, almost theatrical in how it builds tension.
Space and pacing matter as much as volume.
The heaviness settles in slowly rather than hitting all at once. That sense of control helped shape later metal bands who treated heaviness as something psychological, not just loud.
12. Children Of The Grave
Revolutionary energy pulses through every second of this socially conscious anthem.
The lyrics call on young people to stand up and change the world for the better, addressing war and injustice head-on.
Bill Ward’s drumming is absolutely ferocious here, driving the song forward with unstoppable momentum. The track manages to be both hopeful and angry at the same time, inspiring listeners to take action.
It remains a concert favorite that gets crowds moving every single time.
13. Lord Of This World
Geezer’s bass rumbles like an earthquake beneath one of Iommi’s most menacing riffs. Lyrics take aim at materialism and greed, warning listeners about false idols and hollow promises.
Spiritual themes often surfaced in Sabbath’s writing, even when critics overlooked that deeper message.
A slow, heavy rhythm mirrors the track’s grim focus on corruption and the lure of power. Altogether, the song shows the band carried serious ideas beneath layers of crushing sound.
14. Into The Void
Space exploration meets existential dread in this sludgy masterpiece.
The guitar tone is so thick and downtuned it practically vibrates your bones when played loud. Lyrics about escaping Earth’s problems by rocketing into space reflect the era’s fascination with the cosmos.
However, there’s an underlying sadness suggesting that running away won’t solve humanity’s issues. The song’s influence on doom and sludge metal cannot be overstated – it’s foundational to those entire subgenres.
15. After Forever
Prepare for a surprise, because the lyrics focus on faith and spirituality. Sabbath pushed back at critics who thought they worshipped evil by writing directly about God and belief.
Lines question why religion makes people uncomfortable and invite listeners to reflect on personal convictions.
Fast, aggressive music with shifting tempos proves the band held far more depth than their frightening image suggested.
16. Supernaut
Get ready for one of Sabbath’s fastest, most relentless rockers. An explosive opening riff crashes in like a freight train and refuses to ease up for the entire ride.
Lyrics celebrate a rush of invincibility, channeling the thrill of moving through life with unstoppable confidence and energy. Production on Vol. 4 brought a slightly cleaner edge while keeping every ounce of heaviness intact.
Later, speed metal and thrash acts pointed to the track as a key influence on their high velocity approach to heavy music.
17. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
The title track from their fifth album shows the band experimenting with new sounds and arrangements.
Keyboards and synthesizers appear alongside the crushing guitars, creating a richer musical landscape. The lyrics reflect the band’s frustration with the music industry and the pressures of constant touring and recording.
Despite dealing with creative struggles, they produced one of their most sophisticated and powerful songs. It demonstrated that metal could incorporate progressive elements without losing its edge or intensity.
18. A National Acrobat
Philosophy collides with heavy metal in a mind bending dive into existence and creation. Lyrics wonder about life before birth and the nature of consciousness itself, surprisingly deep territory for a rock track.
Iommi’s riffs twist and turn like an acrobat, echoing the song’s layered ideas with musical complexity.
Often overlooked in their catalog, it deserves far more recognition than it usually gets.
Intellectual weight on display here separates the band from straightforward party rock acts.
19. Hole In The Sky
As Sabotage begins, a thunderous declaration of power and defiance explodes from the speakers.
With a riff built on simplicity, the impact turns devastating and proves direct heaviness often hits hardest.
By voicing themes of breaking free and carving your own path, the lyrics connected with fans tired of outside control.
Amid ongoing legal struggles during recording, real frustration bled into the band’s performances.
Through that surge of raw emotion, every note converts feeling straight into crushing metal energy.
20. Symptom Of The Universe
Many consider this the first thrash metal song ever recorded, years before the genre officially existed.
The opening riff gallops at breakneck speed, inspiring bands like Metallica and Slayer a decade later. Halfway through, the song transforms into a beautiful acoustic passage, showcasing Sabbath’s dynamic range and versatility.
Then it crashes back into heaviness, proving they could master both extremes within one track. It’s essential listening for understanding how metal evolved beyond its blues rock roots.
