So the last week or so I have almost exclusively been listening to BLACK SABBATH. I can't explain why, but it's just been that kind of week. Plus, they rule! Also, when I say I've been listening to a lot of Sabbath, I do not mean Paranoid. While it is no doubt a classic album, I am completely over it. I have joked that Paranoid is Sabbath's Black Album. Or maybe the Black Album is METALLICA's Paranoid.
Anyway, the reason I even mention this is because while doing a press tour for his book, Ozzy was asked by NPR about how the band started and he said:
"How we started was we decided to write scary songs. We used to rehearse across the road from a movie theater. And it was Tony Iommi who said, 'Isn't it weird that people pay money to see scary films? Why don't we start writing scary songs?' "
Needless to say, Tony Iommi is a marketing genius! Read about Black Sabbath discussing recording their first album at Metal Hammer.