And Then There Were Two: Sabbath Reunion Unraveling

I attended my very first concert by a tribute band last weekend, an outfit out of Liverpool called Brit Floyd, billed as the premiere Pink Floyd tribute show. Starved of the real deal for decades now, I thought why not. What with the passing of Richard Wright, and with Gilmour and Waters continuing to quash any and all reunion buzz despite the growing thaw between them, I resigned myself to the fact that a Pink Floyd cover band is probably about as good as it’s going to get.

Which brings us to Black Sabbath. On what was a banner day for headbangers the world over, Sabbath announced their highly-anticipated reunion back on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11). After many years and much back and forth, word came like manna from the heavens that the original lineup—frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward—were reuniting to write and record their first album in over 30 years, which they planned to support with a massive world tour. Visions of a sea of horns filled the heads of diehard fans. Vintage Sabbath tees came out of storage, and we walked around for a time singing "Iron Man" to anyone who crossed our path. But the euphoria was to be short-lived.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, things are not going according to plan for the newly-reunited band. In fact, with each passing week the likelihood of ever hearing Sabbath classics like "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" and "War Pigs" played live again, from the source, seems to be growing more and more remote. Fans were still reveling in the reunion news when the shocking announcement came that guitarist Tony Iommi had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes. Although Iommi’s illness posed a huge threat to the group, it had been caught in the early stages and the hope was—and still is—that Iommi will be well enough to make good on the band's plans. The Sabbath camp reassured fans that they would soldier on with the reunion, working around Iommi's treatment schedule.

Then shortly after Iommi's diagnosis became public, news hit of a rift between Sabbath drummer Bill Ward and the rest of his bandmates. Seems Ward has a problem with the wording of his contract, a technicality that is effectively denying fans the reunion they were promised, which has many up in arms and looking to place blame. Ward responded with an official statement explaining that he isn’t being fairly compensated for his presence and abilities and took himself out of the picture after demanding the band present him with a “signable” contract. The growing backlash against Ward prompted his son Aron to release a rather lengthy statement in his father's defense in which he denies his father quit the band. Aron urges the other members of the group to do the right thing. "To Terry (my godfather), Ozzy (my friend when I was little) and Tony (towering hero), I hope that you will listen to your fans," he writes. "They want all of you together. As YOU are Black Sabbath so is my Dad. I hope you guys can work it out." And it should come as no surprise to see Sharon Osbourne's name in the fray. She's taking some heat as well over the contract issues that have ostracized Ward from the reunion. To her detractors she has this say: "I am not in any position to hire or fire anyone in Black Sabbath. I don't manage the band, I manage my husband." That's not all she had to say, but you get the gist.

While many blame Ward for throwing a wrench in the works, others are lending public support to the ousted drummer via a Facebook campaign called "1,000,000 Black Sabbath Fans Say Yes to Bill Ward." As one post put it, “Bill Ward is not able to be substituted for… It is like a Zep record without (John) Bonham.” As of this writing, more than 8,000 people have joined the Facebook group.

As for Ward's bandmates, they sound determined to keep recording their next album, with or without him. The group have a long tradition of replacing almost all of its members at various points, including Ozzy and Ward, who has left Sabbath multiple times in the past. Rumor has it the band have reportedly found a replacement for Ward in Osbourne's drummer, Tommy Clufetos, though this has yet to be confirmed.

And if all this weren't enough, two weeks ago the already maimed and limping reunion announced that Black Sabbath, with or without Ward, were cutting their tour down to only one date—the headlining slot at the UK's Download Festival on June 10, 2012. So as not to disappoint fans even further, Ozzy will then downgrade the tour and perform the majority of the previously scheduled European Black Sabbath dates billed as Ozzy & Friends. These shows will include appearances by Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and Ozzy’s former guitarist Zakk Wylde. In addition, Ozzy will be joined by longtime collaborator and friend, ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who will perform at select dates, as well as other “special guests” set to join the tour at various stops along the way. There's also word from Sharon Osbourne that the band, in toto, will perform one show on US soil in 2012. She tells VH1 Radio Network that Sabbath will be doing one show in America this summer, "but I can’t say yet because we can’t announce it, the promoters have to. But they are doing one show in August here [in the States] together.” Before all the misfortune that has plagued the reunion, there were rumblings that Black Sabbath, Slipknot and Metallica would join forces for a monster festival tour this summer.

As for the new Sabbath album, word is that things are on track and going well. There's talk of a possible fall release date. With a dozen or so new songs already completed, the band continue to write and record in the UK, where Iommi is receiving treatment. After some initial work done here in the States with Rick Rubin, the producer said he’d accommodate the band wherever they chose to record.

As fans wait to see how things shake out for this reunion that was decades in the making, there is some good news to report as Tony Iommi continues to make excellent progress and is said to be looking forward to getting back out on the road. All hope is certainly not lost that Black Sabbath will pull this reunion off in the end, and that we'll have what could very well be our last chance ever to bask in the presence of these kings of '70s metal. But in the event they go the way of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd, well, there's always Japan's Blood Sabbath, or New Jersey's Into the Void, or Black Sabbitch to fall back on. Yeah, an all-female Black Sabbath. Not knockin', just sayin'. Pray, people. Pray very hard.



In other related Sabbath news, Ozzy recently launched a radio show on Sirius XM, Channel 38. Dubbed "Ozzy’s Boneyard," the show includes a whole host of content on the band's reunion as well as the regular special "The Diary of a Madman," which features Ozzy’s thoughts and musings on everything from music to life itself. Sure to delight and enlighten. On the segment called "God Bless the Prince of Darkness," musicians, members of the Osbourne family, and other persons of interest share their stories about Ozzy. The channel also features music from a variety of hard rock and metal artists, including Metallica and AC/DC.