Hand of Doom (Black Sabbath song)

"Hand of Doom" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, originally appearing as the sixth song on their second album Paranoid, released in 1970. It has been performed in many of Black Sabbath's live concerts. The lyrics were written by Geezer Butler while the music was written by the four members. "Hand of Doom" is accepted as one of the best songs on the album by many fans of Black Sabbath. It is the second longest song on the album behind "War Pigs". The song was conceived after the band had observed a growing number of US soldiers arriving in England in the late 1960s from the Vietnam War with severe drug addictions.^[1] It's about them taking drugs to forget the atrocities of war, only to see it catch up on them and slowly destroy them from the inside.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by various bands, including:

• Slayer on the 2000 Black Sabbath tribute album, "Nativity in Black II".
• Danzig on its 1996 album, Blackacidevil, and on the Black Sabbath fan compilation, "Nativity in Black III", based on the tribute albums "Nativity in Black" I and II.
• Isis on its 1999 EP, Sawblade.
• Eyehategod on a split album with Anal Cunt.
• Orange Goblin on a split with Electric Wizard.
• HIM on its 2007 compilation album, Uneasy Listening Vol. 2.

Nirvana has covered part of the song during their early shows.^[2]

Personnel

Black Sabbath

• Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
• Tony Iommi – Electric Guitar
• Geezer Butler – Bass Guitar
• Bill Ward – Drums

In popular culture

• Melissa Auf der Maur, known for her work with Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, was the leader of a Black Sabbath cover band named after this song.^[3]
• The song was used in a scene in the fourteenth episode of the first season of Elementary, originally aired on February 3, 2013.^[4]

References

External links

• "Black Sabbath - Hand of Doom tab". Guitare Tab. Retrieved 19 June 2012.