Black Sabbath by the Numbers: The Catalog, Measured
By Dan Cohen · Published 2026-06-24
We measured all 84 Black Sabbath songs in our library — tempo, dynamic range, texture, how abruptly each song shifts, how hard the vocal pushes — and rolled it into a single intensity score from 0 to 100. No other site scores a catalog this way. Here is Black Sabbath by the numbers: muscular in the middle — neither sleepy nor relentless, with room at both ends.
The catalog at a glance
- Average intensity: 56/100
- Average dynamic range: 7.1/10
- Average tempo: 113 BPM across 84 timed songs
- One of the widest emotional ranges we've measured for any single artist — a 87-point gap from calmest to most intense.
The calmest Black Sabbath songs
- Laguna Sunrise — intensity 9/100, 65 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- Orchid — intensity 10/100, 75 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- Solitude — intensity 11/100, 70 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
The most intense
- Die Young — intensity 96/100, 140 BPM, dynamic range 9/10
- Black Sabbath — intensity 88/100, 75 BPM, dynamic range 8/10
- War Pigs — intensity 88/100, 138 BPM, dynamic range 9/10
The biggest quiet-to-loud swings
- End of the Beginning — dynamic range 9/10
- Die Young — dynamic range 9/10
- Children of the Grave — dynamic range 9/10
Tempo extremes: slowest is Embryo (60 BPM), fastest is Symptom of the Universe (170 BPM).
Every song here has its own measured profile — tempo, dynamics, sonic twins, what it's good for — on its page. Start from the Black Sabbath artist page.
Computed from Music I Want's own measurements of 84 Black Sabbath songs as of 2026-06-24. The intensity score combines dynamic range, tempo, texture, sudden changes, vocal force, and predictability. Figures update as the catalog is refined.