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As explained in the liner notes of the band's live album Reunion, the original title of the song was "Walpurgis", dealing with a witches' sabbath. The title, lyrics, and theme were subsequently changed during the recording of Paranoid. An early version, with the original theme, can be found on Ozzy Osbourne's compilation The Ozzman Cometh. "War Pigs" is the opening track on Paranoid, Black Sabbath's best selling album. It can also be found on every live and compilation album by the band except Cross Purposes Live, along with "Paranoid" itself and "Iron Man". The outro to "War Pigs" has its own name, "Luke's Wall" (named in homage to the band's two-man road crew, Geoff "Luke" Lucas and Spock Wall,) and features a more melodic tone than the rest of the song. "War Pigs" is ranked number two on Digital Dream Door's "100 Greatest Metal Songs". Readers of Guitar World ranked the song #56 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel. The tape copy sent to Warner Bros. records in America contained a tape drop-out (in the left stereo channel) about a minute into the song, which has been heard on every other US compilation and reissue since 1971. |
