Back in November of 2011, the heavy metal and middle-age-crisis communities were rocked by the news that Black Sabbath were reuniting in their original lineup — Tommy Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, Bill Ward on drums, and Ozzy Osbourne on eye makeup. There was also talk of a brand-new studio album, and though that reunion has withered a bit since then (Bill Ward dropped out in February 2012) the band has now made good on their promise, announcing today that new LP 13 will be in stores come June, produced by Rick Rubin and released by original label Vertigo.
Confusingly, 13 will be the band’s 19th album; The Guardian tells us that some fans are jokingly claiming Sabbath are “disowning the six albums they made with singers Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin,” while others say it’s simply because we’re living in 2013, or even lamer, because there might be 13 tracks on the album. I’m guessing it’s simply an indication that the band is now heavily influenced by Damon Albarn, as all bands should be.
Bill Ward exiting the lineup was a pretty huge blow to enthusiasm all around, but in his place the band picked up Brad Wilk, part of the original lineup of… Rage Against the Machine. Since we’re talking about origins, I’ll note in addition that the first album Wilk drummed on was called Something Bitchin’ This Way Comes.
A world tour is in the works, with official dates coming in the next few months. Stay tchuned.
• Black Sabbath: http://www.blacksabbath.com
• Vertigo: http://www.mercuryrecords.co.uk/labels/vertigo
[Photo: Tim Whitby]
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