Update: Not so fast. Tony Iommi has issued a statement regarding today’s news: “I’m saddened that a Birmingham journalist whom I trusted has chosen this point in time to take a conversation we had back in June and make it sound like we spoke yesterday about a Black Sabbath reunion.”
“At the time I was supporting the Home Of Metal exhibition was merely speculating shooting the breeze on something all of us get asked constantly, ‘Are you getting back together?’
“Thanks to the Internet it’s now gone round the world as some sort of ‘official’ statement on my part; absolute nonsense. I hope he’s enjoyed his moment of glory, he won’t have another at my expense.
The original members of Black Sabbath have reunited and are working on a new studio album, their first together since 1978’s Never Say Die!. Guitarist Tony Iommi revealed the news in an interview with the Birmingham Mail, noting that he and frontman Ozzy Osbourne began working on new material in June with plans for a release in 2012. ‘‘We’re really looking forward to it and I think the stuff we’ve been writing is really good. It’s more back to the old original stuff.’’
The band’s original lineup, which also includes bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, previously reunited in the late 1990s with similar plans for a new studio album. However, studio sessions with producer Rick Rubin were halted in favor of Osbourne’s solo album and the band ultimately went on hiatus.
Iommi also said there are plans for a tour, though he added that his only concern about the reunion was the health of Ward, who suffered a heart attack during rehearsals for the band’s reunion tour in 1998. ‘‘He hasn’t been 100 per cent. He had an operation a few months ago, so we’ll see how he is.’’
We’ll keep you updated as more details become available. In the meantime, watch a live clip of the original lineup performing “War Pigs” in 1999.
