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

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]