Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass
- Bill Ward – drums
| "War Pigs" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Black Sabbath | |
| from the album Paranoid | |
| Released | 18 September 1970 [1] |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 7:57 |
| Label | Vertigo |
| Songwriter(s) | Tony Iommi · Ozzy Osbourne · Geezer Butler · Bill Ward |
| Producer(s) | Rodger Bain |
| Audio sample | |
"War Pigs" | |
"War Pigs" is an anti-war protest song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970. It is the opening track from the band's second studio album Paranoid (1970).
The original title of "War Pigs" was "Walpurgis", dealing with the witches' sabbath. [4] [5] "Walpurgis is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan", said bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler. "It wasn't about politics or government or anything. It was Evil itself. So I was saying 'generals gathered in the masses / just like witches at black masses' to make an analogy. But when we brought it to the record company, they thought 'Walpurgis' sounded too Satanic. And that's when we turned it into 'War Pigs'. But we didn't change the lyrics, because they were already finished." [6]
During this time period, national service had recently ended in the United Kingdom but with the Vietnam War still ongoing, many young men feared they'd be conscripted to fight in it. "That's what started this whole rebellion thing about not going to war for anybody", said Butler. "I was dreading being called up", the lyricist recalled. [7]
Prior to its official release, the band often altered the lyrics significantly when performing it live. [8] An example of this can be found on Ozzy Osbourne's compilation The Ozzman Cometh , which features an early version recorded by Black Sabbath for BBC Radio 1 on 26 April 1970. [9] While Butler has said that "War Pigs" is "totally against the Vietnam War, about how these rich politicians and rich people start all the wars for their benefit and get all the poor people to die for them", [10] vocalist Osbourne has stated that the group "knew nothing about Vietnam. It's just an anti-war song." [11] The song's instrumental outro is entitled "Luke's Wall" on US releases of the album, formatted as "War Pigs/Luke's Wall". [12]
Drummer Bill Ward's first memory of performing the song was at The Beat Club in Switzerland in 1968. [10] The band was required to play multiple sets every night and had little material in their repertoire at that point, so they would perform lengthy jam sessions to fill in the sets. [4] Co-writer and lead guitarist Tony Iommi has said that "War Pigs" originated from one of those jam sessions. [13]
The addition of the air-raid siren and the speeding up of the song's end were done by producer Rodger Bain and engineer Tom Allom. The band had no input in these decisions, though they were pleased with the results. [4]
Music journalist Martin Popoff has called the song an "ugly, antiwar classic now considered one of Sabbath's top two or three most enduring compositions". [8] Guitar World described the song as "the greatest HM song ever." [11] The magazine also included the song on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" and ranked it in 56th place. [14] Steve Huey of AllMusic called the song a "standard". [15]
Kelefa Sanneh wrote, "What is memorable is the way Osbourne evokes not merely war's cost but its seductive appeal. Part of what made Black Sabbath seem new was a disinclination to uplifting, or hopeful, or self-righteous." [16]
"War Pigs" is widely considered one of Black Sabbath's greatest songs. In 2020, Kerrang ranked the song number four on their list of the 20 greatest Black Sabbath songs, [17] and in 2021, Louder Sound ranked the song number one on their list of the 40 greatest Black Sabbath songs. [18]
"War Pigs" was ranked the best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check. [19]
The song is notable for its publication in the American folk music magazine Broadside , which normally did not feature rock songs. [20]
The song's iconic guitar riff largely inspired that of Arctic Monkeys' 2014 single "Arabella", to the extent that the band often perform an interlude of the song, to enable front man Alex Turner to pick up his guitar in time for his solo. [21] In more recent times, when performing a live rendition of Arabella, the Arctic Monkeys often end the live performance of the song with a tease of the songs riff.
War Pigs was featured in the credits of the 2014 film 300: Rise of an Empire , a sequel to the 2007 film 300 .
War Pigs was one of the 40 songs featured in the Music Monday series of the Newseum, and thus part of the Reporting Vietnam exhibit as a major musical reflection of the time. [22] [23]
WWE has used the song for their NXT TakeOver: WarGames events as well as their Survivor Series WarGames event.
Several of the University of Arkansas' sports teams, nicknamed the Razorbacks, use War Pigs as their run-out/tunnel walk music. The song is also part of the regular repertoire of the Razorback Marching Band.
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the song number five on the list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs. [24]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [25] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). Following Osbourne's departure in 1979, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout their history.
Paranoid is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 18 September 1970 by Vertigo Records in the United Kingdom and on 7 January 1971 by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 on the UK charts.
Master of Reality is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in August 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and sludge metal. Produced by Rodger Bain, who also produced the band's prior two albums, Master of Reality was recorded at Island Studios in London from February to April 1971. Guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler downtuned their instruments during the production, achieving what Iommi called a "bigger, heavier sound".
"Iron Man" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 from the band's second studio album, Paranoid, and as a single in the US in October 1971.
"Paranoid" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 off the band's second studio album, Paranoid (1970). It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". The song is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Black Sabbath" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, written in 1969 and released on their eponymous debut album in 1970. In the same year, the song appeared as an A-side on a four-track 12-inch single, with "The Wizard" also on the A-side and "Evil Woman" and "Sleeping Village" on the B-side, on the Philips Records label Vertigo. In Japan and the Philippines, a 7-inch single on the Philips label was released with "Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games with Me" on the A-side and "Black Sabbath" on the B-side.
"Changes" is a ballad by Black Sabbath. It first appeared on Vol. 4, which was released in 1972.
"Heaven and Hell" is the title track of Black Sabbath's ninth studio album. The music was primarily written by guitarist Tony Iommi, but as with almost all Sabbath albums, credit is given to the entire band. The lyrics were entirely written by newcomer Ronnie James Dio.
"Fairies Wear Boots" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, appearing on their 1970 album Paranoid. It was released in 1971 as the B-side to the single "After Forever".
"Planet Caravan" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was originally released on their 1970 album Paranoid.
The Best of Black Sabbath is a double CD compilation album by Black Sabbath released in 2000 on the Sanctuary Records label. Its 32 songs are presented chronologically from the band's first 11 albums, spanning the years 1970 to 1983. Black Sabbath's classic six-album run, from 1970s debut Black Sabbath through 1975's Sabotage is celebrated with three to six songs from each album. Original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's subsequent final two albums with the band, 1976's Technical Ecstasy and 1978's Never Say Die!, are represented by one and two songs, respectively. Replacement Ronnie James Dio's early 80's stint fronting the band on two albums is acknowledged with the title track of 1980's Heaven and Hell and a track from 1981's The Mob Rules. The compilation closes with a song from 1983's attempted rebirth, Born Again, former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's sole album with the band. The Best of Black Sabbath does not include any later material with vocalists Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin (1986–96) or the returning Dio.
"Hole in the Sky" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It is the opening track on their sixth studio album, Sabotage, released in 1975.
This box set includes all songs from Black Sabbath's first six albums, excluding the songs without vocals.
"Symptom of the Universe" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their 1975 album Sabotage.
"Children of the Sea" is a song by heavy metal band Black Sabbath, from their ninth studio album, Heaven and Hell (1980).
The Collection is a compilation album released by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1992. The album was released on the label Castle, who released two CD versions of this album in the UK, both with the same cover art and songs. The album includes greatest songs of Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne prior to his dismissal in 1979, from the eponymous album to Never Say Die!. The album has 15 tracks, two from Black Sabbath, two from Paranoid, one from Master of Reality, two from Black Sabbath Vol. 4, two from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, two from Sabotage, two from Technical Ecstasy and two from Never Say Die!.
"Hand of Doom" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, originally appearing on their second album Paranoid, released in 1970.
"God Is Dead?" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, the second track on their nineteenth studio album, 13 (2013). It was released as the album's lead single on 19 April 2013, the first Black Sabbath release with Ozzy Osbourne since "Psycho Man" and "Selling My Soul" from Reunion (1998).
"End of the Beginning" is a song by English metal band Black Sabbath, the opening track on their nineteenth studio album, 13 (2013).
Black Sabbath: The End of the End is a 2017 concert documentary film about English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, performing the final show of their farewell concert tour, known as The End Tour. The performance took place at the Genting Arena in Birmingham, England, on 4 February 2017, and features founding Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, with session drummer Tommy Clufetos filling in for the band's original drummer, Bill Ward. The film also features footage of "The Angelic Sessions"—the band's final studio recordings, recorded in the days following the final show.
