For episode 100 of Reconnect, Andy interviews Joe Joe Bongiorno, about his illustrated rock lyric book, Black Sabbath The Illustrated Lyrics, Vo1. 2: Songs of Protest and Apocalypse. Bongiorno’s book explains the lyrics of Black Sabbaths’ 2nd album, Paranoid. Some listeners might be shocked to hear about a Black Sabbath themed episode of a podcast dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and if that is the case, please go back to episode 68 where Andy interviewed Joe about Volume 1.
Bongiorno explains how Paranoid is a collection of songs that are “ultimately polemics infused in the discourse of apocalyptic literature (with implications both ancient and modern), there is the every-present reminder that there is hope and a greater purpose at work.”
Sabbath challenges us to consider the nature of war, evil, depression, addiction, the failures of transhumanism, and the warns us against aligning ourselves with Satan, but instead points us to hope in the supernatural king that will take earth under his wings. As Bongiorno demonstrates that the imagery of Geezer Butler’s lyrics is knowingly derived from the Bible, it becomes clear that Black Sabbath’s album Paranoid is calling us to repentant, a turning from a sin and a turning to God and the salvation that he alone can bring.