Black Sabbath’s Career-Defining Album Returns And Soars

Black Sabbath’s Paranoid rises to No. 32 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales ranking and reenters the Vinyl Albums chart at No. 20, despite lower sales. Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath performs on stage during the ‘Never Say Die!’ Tour at Lewisham Odeon, London on May 27, 1978. (photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns)

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For the past few weeks, Black Sabbath’s catalog has been surging in popularity following the passing of frontman Ozzy Osbourne. Eventually, after any massive uptick comes a decline, and both Black Sabbath’s and Osbourne’s music is largely falling on Billboard’s weekly rankings.

Even so, one of Black Sabbath’s most famous collections manages to gain a bit of ground and even return to one list, as Americans aren’t done honoring the late rocker’s legacy.

Black Sabbath’s Biggest Album Reappears

Paranoid can be found on six Billboard charts this week. The full-length, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest in heavy metal history and certainly Black Sabbath’s most famous, reappears on the Vinyl Albums chart at No. 20.

Throughout the years, Paranoid has only spent a month on the roster, and while it’s never cracked the top 10, it has come close to doing so, as it once stalled at No. 11.

Paranoid Climbs on Billboard’s Sales Chart

The same full-length improves its standing on just one Billboard roster, as Paranoid lifts from No. 39 to No. 32 on the Top Album Sales chart. Interestingly, while the bestseller rises, purchases are actually down. Luminate reports that from one tracking period to the next, Paranoid saw its sales decline by less than 1%, and it managed to sell just under 3,000 copies in the U.S.

Such a decline is not unexpected, though it is notable that thanks to a lack of competition, Black Sabbath’s famous project was still able to ascend.

Paranoid Grows by 35%

Paranoid lives on for additional Billboard rankings, and it falls on all of them. The title manages the least dramatic slip on the Top Hard Rock Albums ranking, stepping back from the runner-up spot to No. 5. It also backtracks outside the top 10 on both the Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums lists, where it now appears at Nos. 17 and 20, respectively.

Total consumption of Paranoid fell by almost 35% week-over-week. That leads Black Sabbath’s decades-old effort to backtrack on the Billboard 200 from No. 27 to No. 90 — its greatest decline.

“Paranoid” and “War Pigs/Luke’s Wall”

Black Sabbath sees four singles appear on at least one Billboard tally at the moment, and “Paranoid” remains its biggest winner, even though it’s falling on almost every one of the eight rosters on which it appears. A handful of tunes manage to hold steady on one or two lists apiece, while one track, “War Pigs/Luke’s Wall,” even climbs on the Hot Hard Rock Songs roster. That double song improves from No. 6 to No. 5, reaching a new all-time high as almost everything in the group’s catalog descends.