Iron Man (song)

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This article is about the song by Black Sabbath. For other uses, see Ironman (disambiguation).

"Iron Man"
BS IronMan.jpg
Single by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
B-side"Electric Funeral"
ReleasedOctober 1971 [1]
RecordedJune 1970
GenreHeavy metal
Length
  • 5:56 (album version)
  • 3:33 (single version)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rodger Bain
Black Sabbath singles chronology
"Children of the Grave"
(1971) 		"Iron Man"
(1971) 		"Tomorrow's Dream"
(1972)

"Iron Man" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 from the band's second studio album, Paranoid.

Composition[edit]

File:Iron Man riff.svg
The "Iron Man" riff Audio file "Iron Man riff.mid" not found

Upon hearing Tony Iommi's main guitar riff at rehearsal for the first time, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne remarked that it sounded "like a big iron bloke walking about", with "Iron Bloke" becoming the placeholder title for a short time as the band worked out the song.[2] As the song developed and Butler composed the lyrics, the title evolved to "Iron Man".

The lyrics, composed by bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, tell the story of a man who travels into the future and sees the apocalypse. In the process of returning to the present to warn the human race, he is turned into steel by a magnetic field and his attempts to warn the public are ignored and mocked. Feeling shunned and alone, Iron Man plans his revenge on mankind, causing the apocalypse seen in his vision.[3] Butler recalled, "I liked the Hammer horror films in the 1960s and magazines such as Man, Myth and Magic, but I had a few supernatural experiences as a child and dreams that came true and that, more than anything, shaped my interest in the occult".[4] Butler added, "What I always attempted to do with my science-fiction plots was to make these relevant to the modern world at the time, so I brought war and politics in. It was also an era when the whole issue of pollution was starting to get attention, and this affected my thinking quite a bit."[5]

How the distorted vocals at the beginning that say "I am Iron Man" were created has been a topic of debate. It has been rumored that Osbourne sang through an oscillating metal fan to get the sound, but it's more likely that his voice was run through a processor called a ring modulator, which creates a wobbly electronic effect by mixing the input signal with an oscillator. This is the device used to create the voices of the Daleks on Doctor Who, and it is something Iommi used on his guitar solo in "Paranoid".[6] Despite the title and its use in the 2008 movie, the song has no connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name.[7]

Reception and legacy[edit]

The song peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972, becoming their highest-charting single on the chart.[8] It also reached number 68 on the Canadian RPM Magazine Top 100.[9] The live rendition of the song from Reunion won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.[10]

"Iron Man" was used in the end credits of the 2008 movie Iron Man, as well in its video game adaptation and the trailer for the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2. The character Tony Stark, alter-ego of Iron Man, also wears a Black Sabbath t-shirt in the 2012 film The Avengers. The song won spot number 317 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time as of 2004.[11] "Iron Man" was ranked the sixth best Black Sabbath song by Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.[12] VH1 ranked the song as the greatest heavy metal song of all time.[13]

Personnel[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 250,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Black Sabbath - Iron Man". hitparade.ch.
  2. ^ Classic Albums – Paranoid, by Isis Productions/Eagle Rock Entertainment
  3. ^ "BLACK SABBATH – FAQ version 2.0". Black Sabbath Online.
  4. ^ "Five Things Geezer Butler Wants to Do After Retiring From Black Sabbath". Willamette Week.
  5. ^ Dome, Malcolm (28 February 2019). "Black Sabbath - Iron Man: The Meaning Behind The Song". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Iron Man by Black Sabbath". Songfacts.
  7. ^ "The Story Behind Black Sabbath's Iron Man". 102.9 WMGK. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  8. ^ Billboard Singles for Black Sabbath at AllMusic
  9. ^ "RPM 100 listing" (PDF). www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Black Sabbath". GRAMMY.com. 23 November 2020.
  11. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  12. ^ Rehe, Christoph (2013). Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check: alle Alben, alle Songs. Ein eclipsed-Buch (in German). Sysyphus Sysyphus Verlags GmbH. ISBN 978-3868526462.
  13. ^ VH1.com. archived 2007-11-18.
  14. ^ "British single certifications – Black Sabbath – Iron Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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