where did the name black sabbath come from
Black Sabbath
While playing shows in England in 1969 , the band discovered they were being mistaken for another English group named Earth . They decided to change their name again . A cinema across the street from the band 's rehearsal room was showing the 1963 horror film Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff and directed by Mario Bava . While watching people line up to see the film , Butler noted that it was `` strange that people spend so much money to see scary movies '' . Following that , Osbourne and Butler wrote the lyrics for a song called `` Black Sabbath '' , which was inspired by the work of horror and adventure - story writer Dennis Wheatley , along with a vision that Butler had of a black silhouetted figure standing at the foot of his bed . Making use of the musical tritone , also known as `` the Devil 's Interval '' , the song 's ominous sound and dark lyrics pushed the band in a darker direction , a stark contrast to the popular music of the late 1960s , which was dominated by flower power , folk music , and hippie culture . Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has called the track `` probably the most evil song ever written '' . Inspired by the new sound , the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969 , and made the decision to focus on writing similar material , in an attempt to create the musical equivalent of horror films . 
While playing shows in England in 1969 , the band discovered they were being mistaken for another English group named Earth . They decided to change their name again . A cinema across the street from the band 's rehearsal room was showing the 1963 horror film Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff and directed by Mario Bava . While watching people line up to see the film , Butler noted that it was `` strange that people spend so much money to see scary movies '' . Following that , Osbourne and Butler wrote the lyrics for a song called `` Black Sabbath '' , which was inspired by the work of horror and adventure - story writer Dennis Wheatley , along with a vision that Butler had of a black silhouetted figure standing at the foot of his bed . Making use of the musical tritone , also known as `` the Devil 's Interval '' , the song 's ominous sound and dark lyrics pushed the band in a darker direction , a stark contrast to the popular music of the late 1960s , which was dominated by flower power , folk music , and hippie culture . Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has called the track `` probably the most evil song ever written '' . Inspired by the new sound , the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969 , and made the decision to focus on writing similar material , in an attempt to create the musical equivalent of horror films .
Osbourne and Butler wrote the lyrics for a song called `` Black Sabbath ' , which was inspired by the work of horror and adventure-story writer Dennis Wheatley, along with a vision that Butler had of a black silhouetted figure standing at the foot of his bed.
Inspired by the new sound, the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969.
Following that , Osbourne and Butler wrote the lyrics for a song called `` Black Sabbath '' , which was inspired by the work of horror and adventure - story writer Dennis Wheatley , along with a vision that Butler had of a black silhouetted figure standing at the foot of his bed . Inspired by the new sound , the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969 , and made the decision to focus on writing similar material , in an attempt to create the musical equivalent of horror films .