50 years ago next month, Black Sabbath's breakthrough sophomore album Paranoid was released, becoming a key building block in the transition from "hard rock" to "heavy metal." On October 9, the Birmingham band's dark and innovative album will return to vinyl in a 50th anniversary 5-LP Super Deluxe Edition from Rhino featuring the vinyl debut of two 1970 concerts.

Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward followed up their self-titled debut album of early 1970 with Paranoid, recording it in London in June.  Whereas Black Sabbath placed impressively at No. 8 on the U.K. chart and No. 23 in the U.S., its successor fared even better. Featuring such landmark tracks as "Iron Man," "War Pigs" and the U.K. Top 5 title track, Paranoid made it all the way to the top of the U.K. chart and No. 12 stateside. It sold more than four million copies in the United States, and has since been certified 4x platinum.

Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition boasts the original 1970 album as well as a stereo fold-down of the 1974 quadraphonic mix and concerts from Montreux and Brussels. (For those interested in hearing the quad mix in true 4.0-channel sound, Sanctuary released it on DVD in 2009 as part of that label's Paranoid Deluxe Edition.)

These two concerts comprise three LPs in the box set.  The Montreux, Switzerland show was captured on August 31, 1970 on the cusp of Paranoid's release. The band previewed tracks from the LP including "Iron Man" and shared still-fresh material from Black Sabbath, as well. The second concert, from Brussels, was recorded months later as part of a performance for Belgian public broadcasting station RTBF.

This five-LP set mirrors the contents of Rhino's 2016 Super Deluxe Edition which was released in the CD format only. Also included here is a hardcover book with new liner notes (including interviews with all four band members), photos, and memorabilia images, plus a poster and a replica of the original program book sold during the Paranoid tour.

Look for the vinyl Super Deluxe Edition of Paranoid on October 9 from Rhino. It's currently available for pre-order from the Rhino online store; we'll update with Amazon links once they are available.

Black Sabbath, Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition (Warner/Rhino, 2020) (Rhino.com)

LP 1: Original Album (Warner Bros. WS 1887, 1970) / LP 2: Quadradisc Mix in Stereo (WS4 1887, 1974)

Side A/C

1. War Pigs/Luke's Wall
2. Paranoid
3. Planet Caravan
4. Iron Man

Side B/D

1. Electric Funeral
2. Hand Of Doom
3. Rat Salad
4. Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots

 LP 3: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part One)

Side E

1. Intro
2. Paranoid
3. N.I.B.
4. Behind The Wall Of Sleep

Side F

1. Iron Man
2. War Pigs

LP 4: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part Two)/Live in Brussels 1970 (Part One)

Side G

1. Fairies Wear Boots
2. Hand Of Doom

Side H

1. Paranoid
2. Hand Of Doom
3. Rat Salad
4. Iron Man

 LP 5: Live in Brussels 1970 (Part Two)

Side J

1. Black Sabbath
2. N.I.B.

Side K

1. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
2. War Pigs
3. Fairies Wear Boots