Better Black Sabbath Album – ‘Paranoid’ vs. ‘Master of Reality’

Here’s a tough one for you. Which is the better Black Sabbath album – Paranoid or Master of Reality? That’s the battle at the center of our first Chuck’s Fight Club matchup for the Loudwire Nights radio show of 2025.

Paranoid was Black Sabbath’s second studio album and their second release of 1970. It arrived in September 1970 and featured three classics in the metal world – the “Paranoid” title track, “Iron Man” and “War Pigs.” The album is also notable for such standouts as “Planet Caravan,” “Hand of Doom” and “Fairies Wear Boots.” the record has reached four times platinum sales status in the U.S.

Coming right on the heels of that success, Black Sabbath issued Master of Reality in August 1971 as their third release. “Children of the Grave” and “Sweet Leaf” led the way, though the album also features such staples as “Into the Void,” “Solitude” and “After Forever.” It was the first of their albums to crack the Billboard Top 10 and went on two achieve double platinum sales status in the U.S.

READ MORE: The Best Metal Song of Each Year Since 1970

As with all Chuck’s Fight Club battles, Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong will introduce the battle during the 8PM hour of Monday’s show. At 8PM on Tuesday and Wednesday, he’ll make more focused individual arguments for each while the fans are free to rank both albums using the voting tool at the bottom of this page throughout the week. By Friday, whichever album came out on top will be featured in a rock block during the 8PM hour of the Loudwire Nights show.

Just this reminder, Loudwire Nights with Chuck Armstrong airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.