Source: Blabbermouth.net

The long wait ends on Tuesday (June 11) when three members of the original BLACK SABBATH, minus drummer Bill Ward, release “13”, their first studio album together in 35 years. Singer Ozzy Osbourne told The Pulse Of Radio that he feels his first SABBATH album since 1978’s “Never Say Die!” is a perfect bookend to the band’s career, whether it’s the last thing they ever do or not. “I never felt that ‘Never Say Die!’ was the finished album of the SABBATH run,” he said. “And, for whatever reason, if we don’t do another studio album, I think this one will round it off. I mean, this is where I would have liked to have been at the end of SABBATH, my days with SABBATH. But you know, life has a funny way of twisting things around, and if we do do another album, it’d be great, but if we don’t, this will be a nice way to round it up. The only sad thing is that Bill never played on it.”

Is it possible that SABBATH will do just one album after all this time? Bassist Geezer Butler told Billboard that he was glad that he, Ozzy and guitarist Tony Iommi “were able to come together and do one final album,” although he added, “Well, I guess you should never say never. It could be, though. We’ll see how this album goes, see what happens.”

Ozzy said in the same interview, “Let’s put it this way, it’s taken us 35 years to do this one. So if there’s gonna be (another) album there’s gonna be an album but I don’t want to say if there’s going to be a follow-up. I wouldn’t mind doing another SABBATH album with them, though.”

Brad Wilk of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE played drums on the new disc with Ward sitting it out due to a contract dispute. Ozzy‘s solo drummer Tommy Clufetos is behind the kit for live work.

Although “God Is Dead?” is the first song that most fans have heard so far from the disc, Butler said SABBATH will play “three or four” new ones on its upcoming North American tour, which begins on July 25 in The Woodlands, Texas.

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

Source: Blabbermouth.net

“13”, the first BLACK SABBATH record in 35 years to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler all playing together, can be streamed in its entirety on the band’s iTunes page. (Note: If the link leads you to another webpage, make sure to click “Open in iTunes” to hear the stream.) The CD is due out June 11 on Vertigo/Republic. This marks BLACK SABBATH‘s return to Vertigo, their original label, and the group’s first studio album together since 1978’s “Never Say Die!”

Details of the album’s deluxe edition surfaced on April 19, with the band revealing that the eight-song effort will be accompanied by three bonus tracks called “Methademic”, “Peace Of Mind” and “Pariah”.

Several versions of “13” are available for pre-order, including a standard CD, a double CD that includes a second disc of exclusive bonus audio, a heavyweight vinyl album in a gatefold sleeve and a “Super Deluxe Box Set” containing the double CD, the vinyl album, an exclusive DVD documentary on the band’s reunion, 13 photographic prints and hand-written lyrics.

“13” track listing:

01. End Of The Beginning (8:05)
02. God Is Dead? (8:52)
03. Loner (4:59)
04. Zeitgeist (4:37)
05. Age Of Reason (7:01)
06. Live Forever (4:46)
07. Damaged Soul (7:51)
08. Dear Father (7:20)

Deluxe-edition bonus tracks:

09. Methademic (5:57)
10. Peace Of Mind (3:40)
11. Pariah (5:34)

Total running time (with bonus tracks): 68 minutes, 42 seconds

The drum tracks on the album were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk following original drummer Bill Ward‘s decision to bow out of the reunion.

Osbourne went on the BBC in England to discuss the band’s new single, “God Is Dead?” and the inspiration behind the track. Ozzy explained, “I was in somebody’s office and there was a magazine on a table and it just said, ‘God Is Dead’, and I suddenly thought about 9/11 and all these terrorist things and religion and how many people have died in the name of religion. When you think about the tragedy that’s happened throughout time, it just came in my head. You’d think by now that their God would have stopped people dying in the name of, so I just starting thinking that people must be thinking, ‘Where is God? God is dead’ and it just hit me.”

Ozzy added that the question mark at the end of the title is his way of showing that he’s not sure about the answer himself, saying, “At the end of the thing, there’s still a bit of hope because there I sing that I don’t believe that God is dead. It’s just a question of when you see so many dreadful people killing each other with bombs, and blowing the tube trains up and the World Trade Center.”

Ozzy told an Australian radio station that “13” is “mind-blowing,” adding, “It’s better than my wildest dreams; it’s so good.”

SABBATH kicked off its world tour in support of “13” on April 20 in Auckland.

“God Is Dead?” audio stream: