Black Sabbath - Walpurgis (War Pigs) (Live in Montreux 1970) Paranoid Super Deluxe CD3

Here is an early version of War Pigs with alternative lyrics called Walpurgis (witches' sabbath). In my opinion, original lyrics are more suited to music, but they probably couldn't pass the censorship at that time and Geezer wrote new lyrics about war in Vietnam, but kept "O Lord yeah". Interestingly, the concert took place three weeks before the release of the Paranoid album, so the official version of War Pigs must have already been recorded, however Ozzy sings an alternative original lyrics.

Recorded at Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland on 31st August 1970.

If I had to choose the best Black Sabbath track, I would choose War Pigs. This is a musical masterpiece. In 1970, there was no heavy metal bands, heavy rock was just beginning, and in this context dark and heavy sound of Black Sabbath was something extraordinary, something the world had not heard before. But War Pigs also fascinates me because of its structure of the composition. In 1970, there were not so many bands playing difficult and complex rock music. Pink Floyd was at the stage of experimenting with various ideas, they released their best albums after 1970 (Atom Heart Mother - first of their big albums, was released after Paranoid). Yes and Jethro tull debuted a year earlier, Genesis was just crawling. Meanwhile, War Pigs has a build comparable to the best of prog rock compostions. It has an intro, the first verse played with a rather specific and unique rhythm, then it is a kind of heavy metal sound bridge with the second verse, then it is a guitar solo, the third verse in rhythm in the first and finally, a kind of coda with another guitar solo. it is worth noting that both guitar solos, are not some kind of technical show, but they have their own musical depth. Many Black Sabbath tracks have a complex structure, many have been much more polished during production (whole Sabotage album especially) but War Pigs, in my opinion, is the best Black Sabbath track. It is a complete piece of music with nothing missing. So many great riffs, a lot of pace changes with beginning, expansion and ending.

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