After seeing a large queue waiting to see the Boris Karloff film 'Black Sabbath,' the 'Earth' band changed its name in August 1969, deciding to create the musical equivalent of horror films. 'Paranoid' was written in the studio at the last minute. As Bill Ward explains: "We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony Iommi played the (Paranoid) guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty-five minutes from top to bottom." The single was released ahead of the album in September 1970 reaching #4 in the UK.