"Iron Man" is a song by English heavy metal band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

, released in 1970 from the band's second studio album, '' Paranoid''.

Composition

Upon hearing Tony Iommi's main guitar riff at rehearsal for the first time, vocalist

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

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.''Classic Albums – Paranoid'', by Isis Productions/Eagle Rock Entertainment As the song developed and Butler composed the lyrics, the title evolved to "Iron Man". The lyrics, composed by bassist and lyricist

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

, 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 A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

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. 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". 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." 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 In electronics, ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing, in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple ...

, 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 The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

on ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'', and it is something Iommi used on his guitar solo in " Paranoid". Despite the title and its use in the 2008 movie, the song has no connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

Reception and legacy

The song peaked at number 52 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1972, becoming their highest-charting single on the chart. It also reached number 68 on the Canadian ''

RPM Magazine ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

'' Top 100. The live rendition of the song from ''

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, US ...

'' won the 2000

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

. "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 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to '' Iron Man'' (2008) and the third film in the Marvel ...

''. The character

Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...

alter-ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

s list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

as of 2004. "Iron Man" was ranked the sixth best Black Sabbath song by Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check. VH1 ranked the song as the greatest heavy metal song of all time.VH1.com
archived 2007-11-18.

Personnel

– vocals * Tony Iommi – guitars *

– bass * Bill Ward – drums

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1970 songs 1971 singles Black Sabbath songs Songs about time travel Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance Warner Records singles

Composition

Reception and legacy

Personnel

Certifications

See also

References