Hand of Doom

For other uses, see Hand of Doom (disambiguation).

"Hand of Doom" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, originally appearing on their second album Paranoid, released in 1970.

"Hand of Doom"
Song by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
Released	18 September 1970 (1970-09-18)
Genre	Heavy metal, doom metal
Length	7:08
Label	Vertigo
Songwriter(s)	Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne
Producer(s)	Rodger Bain

Background

The song was conceived after the band had observed a growing number of US soldiers arriving in England from the Vietnam War in the late 1960s with severe drug addictions.^[1] The song paints an unflattering picture of hard drug use for the purpose of self-medication. The lyrics were written by Geezer Butler while the music is credited to the entire band.

Personnel

Black Sabbath

• Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
• Tony Iommi – guitars
• 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.^[2]
• The song was used in a scene in the fourteenth episode of the first season of Elementary, originally aired on February 3, 2013.^[3]
• Metallica’s song about addiction, "Trapped Under Ice", from the 1984 album Ride the Lightning, references this track in the lyric "Hand of doom has a tight grip on you."