Artist Showcase : The 10 Greatest Black Sabbath Songs

Ozzy’s gone, but the riffs live on. Dive into the 10 greatest Black Sabbath tracks that defined metal, melted minds, and made darkness sound this damn good.

When Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22, 2025, the sky got darker. The madman, the metal icon, the bat-biting, Sabbath-screaming soul of heavy music left the stage for good at age 76. Just two weeks earlier, he’d defied doctors and played a final show in Birmingham—seated on a throne, of course, but still wailing like the demon we all worshipped.

As the world mourns, we crank the volume. Because Ozzy didn’t just leave us albums but left us monuments. So let’s light a candle, flash the devil horns, and dive into the ten greatest Black Sabbath songs blasted through time by fans, and blessed by the Prince of Darkness himself.

1. Black Sabbath (1970)

This is the song that started it all and made people wet themselves in 1970.
It’s raining. Thunder cracks. A bell tolls. And then BAM! Tony Iommi unleashes the devil’s tritone. This is the sound of metal being born in a haunted church, and Ozzy’s terrified wail only makes it worse (or better). “What is this that stands before me?” Dude, it’s the future of heavy music. A required listening for anyone who thinks Metallica invented metal.

2. War Pigs (1970)

Because nothing screams anti-war like a doom-laced guitar solo. “Generals gathered in their masses…” and now so is everyone else at a Sabbath show. This is a protest song with teeth, eight minutes of bile, fury, and one of the most sinister breakdowns ever put to tape. It’s like if Vietnam and a flamethrower had a baby and taught it to play guitar. Still more relevant than 90% of world leaders.

3. Paranoid (1970)

Written in 20 minutes. Been stuck in your head for 50 years. This song was tossed together at the last minute and somehow became Sabbath’s calling card. Fast, panicked, and buzzing with anxiety, “Paranoid” feels like a panic attack with a killer hook. It’s not deep. It’s not fancy. It just slaps. Hard. Can’t sleep? Neither can Ozzy.

4. Iron Man (1970)

No, not the Marvel dude. This Iron Man crushes timelines and riffs. The opening riff is basically doom itself walking in slow motion. Ozzy’s vocals tell the tragic tale of a rejected hero turned destroyer, and it ends in a thunderous crescendo of revenge. The kids know this one from Guitar Hero, but real heads know it’s Sabbath biblical. If you don’t shout “I AM IRON MAN,” are you even alive?

5. Sweet Leaf (1971)

A love letter to marijuana that kicks you in the chest. Starts with a cough, ends with your brain melting into a lava lamp. “Sweet Leaf” is Sabbath going full stoner, praising the plant with riffs so thick you could spread them on toast. It’s sludgy, sticky, and completely iconic. Best enjoyed with snacks. Lots of snacks.

6. Children of the Grave (1971)

March to this, and the Earth might crack open. This one doesn’t just riff, it gallops. “Children of the Grave” is metal’s version of a street protest, fists in the air and drums like war hammers. If you’re not stomping along by the first chorus, check your pulse. You might already be buried. Soundtrack to every rebellion worth starting.

7. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

Recorded in a haunted castle. Sounds exactly like that. When Sabbath ran out of ideas, they moved into a literal gothic mansion. Good call. What came out was this multi-part epic full of shifting riffs, spectral screams, and an energy that feels part demon, part genius. It’s prog, doom, drama—all soaked in gasoline. Haunted housecore at its finest.

8. Symptom of the Universe (1975)

Metal’s first mosh pit and jazz lounge, all in one song. You start with what might be the first true thrash riff – raw, fast, dangerous. Then suddenly, you’re in a psychedelic acoustic wonderland. It makes no sense. It’s beautiful. It’s brutal. It’s Sabbath doing whatever the hell they want. For fans of Slayer and mushrooms.

9. Heaven and Hell (1980)

Dio arrives. Choirs of angels cry. Dragons spontaneously combust. Post-Ozzy, many thought Sabbath was doomed. Enter Ronnie James Dio with a voice like thunder riding a unicorn. “Heaven and Hell” is epic, spiritual, and totally face-melting. It showed the band had second lives—and this one was glorious. Raise your sword, scream the chorus, join the fellowship.

10. Into the Void (1971)

So heavy it bends light. This song feels like a black hole dragging you across the cosmos. The riff is down-tuned beyond reason, the groove is nasty, and the vibe is post-apocalyptic. It’s sludge, doom, and everything stoner bands spent decades trying to recreate. Welcome to the void. Population: You

Black Sabbath didn’t just create metal, they goddamn forged it in fire and weird tuning. These songs are the pillars: riffs that inspired generations, lyrics that tackled war, addiction, madness, space travel, and the occasional ghost.

Ozzy may have taken his final bow, but his voice lives on in every scream, growl, and guitar squeal that followed. This list is not nostalgia but a masterclass in darkness.

So here’s to Ozzy. To Iommi. To Geezer. To Bill.

And to every kid who put on headphones and suddenly realized the world was bigger, weirder, and way heavier than anyone ever told them.

Let the record spin. Let the riffs roar. And let Ozzy’s howl carry on forever.

Read More: Ozzy Osbourne Rests, Surrounded by the Ones who he Loved