Counterpoint: Rhino HF Series Black Sabbath "Paranoid" LP Vs. US and UK Originals

a classic fave deserves a second listen comparison

Dylan Peggin did a great job writing for Tracking Angle recently when he gave us the back story of the making of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album. He also gave us the scoop on the new Rhino High Fidelity pressing, giving it very high marks for packaging, music and sound.

For comparison, he used the well-regarded 2006 Rhino pressing of Paranoid cut AAA by Kevin Gray, which was subsequently repressed on colored vinyl in 2015 for Vinyl Me Please. He also had the Rhino vinyl cut from digital by Sean Magee on hand that was first released in 2016. Compared to those LPs, he felt the new Rhino HF vinyl was ultimately more satisfying, saying, “Kevin Gray puts the listener in the room with Black Sabbath on this pressing. The band sounds abrasive and in-your-face in the most pleasing way.”

I can’t comment on his findings since I don’t own those reissues. What I had on hand for this article was a copy of the new Rhino HF LP, which Michael Fremer let me borrow, plus my two early US and UK pressings of Paranoid. The UK LP has a side one //2 machine stamped matrix, a Vertigo swirl label, and laminated gatefold. The US LP is an Artisan cut -2 hand etched matrix original copy with the olive-green Warner Bros. labels. 

When Paranoid was first released in the UK in 1970, I was going to my first rock concerts. By 1971 (when the US LP was released) everyone I saw live seemed to be peaking musically (and in other ways). I never saw Black Sabbath in concert, opting instead for Led Zeppelin. Not that I didn’t hear Side 1 of Paranoid with the title track and the massive hits “War Pigs” and “Iron Man” played at full volume at every party I attended. When it came to metal (before it was a genre), Black Sabbath was the go-to band. Rolling Stone would eventually go on to vote this #1 on its "100 Greatest Metal Albums of all Time", although its initial review was unfavorable.  

Playing Paranoid today is a bit of a flashback (in a good way). In the ‘70s nobody cared about matrix numbers or which tape was used for an LP’s production. What we know today, according to Kevin Gray, is that “(The Rhino HF Paranoid LP) was cut from the US master, pictures on the new release, that has been used for every US release of this record since day one.” For this listening session I tried to ignore focusing on minutia, like any reported fluctuations in volume. I just listened to each copy matched at an average 85 dB using a decibel meter and keeping an open mind. Here’s what I found.

The original WB LP was what I grew up with, so I started with that. It sounded excellent, but not as good as I remembered. Perhaps I had become spoiled by the sound quality of my early UK copy? Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals were suitably gritty, Tony Iommi’s guitar work was reasonably clean and involving, but the bass and drums seemed a bit veiled. Since I remembered the UK Vertigo sounding better, I switched to that. This was more like it. Everything was more focused, clearer, involving, and fuller in presentation. The soundstage was also much better, which sounded a bit collapsed on my US copy.

The UK Vertigo is legendary for a reason. It has a very compelling tonality with believable texture of the vocals and instrumentation. This dark, sometimes menacing, music is reproduced in all its heaviness. Yet, details are well reproduced on the songs that have it, and the music never gets hard at louder volumes. The analogy of being wrapped in a blanket of sound that reveals both nuance and power in subtle ways within a wide and deep soundstage, is perhaps unsuited for describing a heavy metal album, but there you have it.

When I dropped the needle on the Rhino High Fidelity reissue I was transported from 1970 to 2025. It was a like watching a movie with the clarity dial cranked to 10. The music exploded from my speakers in Technicolor. I can’t imagine any full-on metal head not being happy with the dynamic presentation. Ozzie and Iommi’s contributions are treated especially well with cleaner more separated definition, and you can finally hear the drumkit’s snare and brush work distinctly on “War Pigs”.

Bottom line: Kevin Gray knocked this one out of the park. My only quibble was what I heard as some midrange thinness and a forwardness to the presentation that could be perceived as brightness to some. I also felt the bass, while tight, was slightly overwhelmed by this presentation.

My observations, in comparison to the OG UK LP, left me feeling as though the blended fullness and warmth of the Vertigo swirl pressing was not a high priority with this 2025 release, which has all the archeological detail anyone could expect from a modern mastering. “Organic vs. analytic” is perhaps overly simplistic, but it is the easiest way I can describe this difference. The Rhino HF copy still sounds heavy, but not as rounded, deep and dark. 

If I wanted to kick back and feel immersed in some heavy metal, I would reach for an early UK LP of Paranoid. If I wanted to show off my system to devotees of this album this Rhino HF LP would no doubt do that. The 5,000 numbered copies sold out in one day. Let’s hope Rhino can print more copies of this title. I want one, and I'm not even a fan. 

Party on dudes, Iron Man lives again!

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Article Copyright 2025 Randy Wells. All Rights Reserved.