484 - Black Sabbath War Pigs 1971

Written as a protest against politicians' emotional removal from war matters, "War Pigs" opens with a sludgy power-blues intro before changing tempo and heading into the first verse with drummer Bill Ward's hi-hat as the only instrument that can be constantly heard. The verse ends, giving way to a power chord riff in which the drums take the lead that will occur throughout the song. Two verses crunch by with a great metal groove before heading into one of guitarist Tony Iommi's trademark dueling-overdub solos. Ozzy gets one more quiet verse before the song slows down even more for a great minor-seventh riff that Iommi uses to bookend the second solo/outro riff. The song ends by accelerating both the speed and pitch of the minor-seventh riff before an all-too-abrupt halt to the perfect Black Sabbath song.