Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Source: Bravewords.com

After a 35-year break, heavy metal veterans BLACK SABBATH are back with a new album, 13, and a reinvigorated OZZY OSBOURNE returned to the helm. Equally exciting, however, was the man twiddling the magic knobs: legendary producer, Rick Rubin.

In the Euronews video below, Rubin explains: “I have been a fan of Black Sabbath my whole life and getting to come to work with them every day, and hearing Black Sabbath play it, stimulates something in me just like when I was 14 years old. The same thing that stimulated me when I was a kid listening to the vinyl. That same thing gets turned on and it’s a really good feeling.”

In other Sabbath news, Paul Lester of The Guardian recently interviewed Ozzy, along with guitarist Tony Iommi, and bassist Geezer Butler; an excerpt follows:

Questioned about faith after being confronted with his own mortality, Iommi says he believes in God. Butler, who still wears a crucifix round his neck, adds: “I do when I’m on a plane – the first thing I do is say my prayers.” As for Osbourne, who came up with the title for new track ‘God Is Dead?’, he is uncertain, even if he does talk with the conviction of a preacher.

“I’ve done a good job of trying to kill myself for 64 years,” he says over the phone from his home in LA. “But something’s kept me alive. I don’t know if it’s God, fate or whatever. I’m open-minded. But I don’t believe in organised religion at all.”

To read the article in its entirety, visit this location.

With the band’s much-anticipated 13 album less than a week away, the entire album is now available as a free stream via iTunes.

Confirmed dates on Black Sabbath’s North American tour (with Ozzy’s drummer Tommy Clufetos behind the kit) are as follows:

July
25 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, Texas
27 – Frank Erwin Center – Austin, Texas
29 – Florida State Fairgrounds – Tampa, Florida
31 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, Florida

August
2 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, Florida
4 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, New Jersey
6 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, New Jersey
8 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Connecticut
10 – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
12 – Comcast Center – Boston, Massachusetts
14 – Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Ontario
16 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, Illinois
18 – Klipsch Music Center Noblesville – Fishers, Indiana
22 – Rogers Arena – Vancouver, British Columbia
24 – Gorge Amphitheatre – Seattle, Washington
26 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – San Francisco, California
28 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Irvine, California
30 – US Airways Center – Phoenix, Arizona

September
1 – MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
3 – Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles, California