Bill Ward

“Ultimately, I'd say a lot of my vocal influences are jazz-based, people like Ella Fitzgerald, or Fred Astaire.”

“When I think about the lyrics to 'The Wizard,' some people could probably feel that they're laughable. But they actually meant something for us, and we were bold or brave enough to show ourselves from the inside out.”

“Black Sabbath questioned a lot of things.”

“I love the 'Black Album' because I think it was the beginning of something, primarily. I'd met Metallica, and I'd heard Metallica before that, but when I heard the 'Black Album,' I actually had a response rather like I did with 'Sgt. Pepper.'”

“I just was attracted to just wanting to make noise on different things.”

“I don't know about all this 'speed metal' and everything... It's all metal to me.”

“It's that mindset we have where we think we are indestructible. I know at least I went through that phase, where everything was excessive! Like if I drove a fast car I'd just have to take it to 130 miles per hour or more, you know!”

“Let's get rid of the myth that I'm rich.”

“I have been blessed with musical visions and the ability to harness them.”

“If you want to strive toward something, just listen to John Bonham.”

“I'm so-so on the blastbeat. A couple of my mates play that style. I'm not a huge fan, no - and the only reason for that is because it distracts me from other elements of the dynamics. It's a little overpowering!”

“I really enjoyed playing drums on 'Born Again.' It was a good feeling about being alive. There was a good energy there about being sober.”

“Every day, I write. I have a writing period - it's usually in the morning - or I'm writing songs.”

“I'm hoping I can get in a position where I'm self-supporting from my own work.”

“I'm playing jazz throughout the song 'Black Sabbath.' That's what it is there. I mean, I'm moving some other things around, but that is forever in there.”

“Even our early audiences were very polite. It felt like playing in our living room. I remember the audiences changing in front of me. I remember that distinctly. The way they wore their clothes became different. We got a lot of leather jackets with studs. People's hair changed. The whole look was just a sublime move.”

“I don't play beats. I hate playing beats. I'm an orchestration drummer. I'm a musical drummer.”

“Once I started to get some of the things I'd always craved, I still found myself incredibly unhappy. It was never enough. A lot of that stems from being real, real insecure, wanting more and hoping that will fix the insecurity.”

“Being able to tell the truth is a gift.”

“It's hard to be a hungry young man when you're not hungry anymore. We were very hungry young men when we wrote 'Black Sabbath' and when we wrote 'War Pigs.'”