On Nov. 11, the legendary, widely-accepted originators of heavy metal Black Sabbath announced that they would be reunited with all four members from their classic original lineup, featuring Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums.
As a fan of the band, I had to curb my expectations to keep them a little realistic. First of all, I had to ask myself if I’d even be able to catch one of their concerts. They have a European tour already lined up for 2012 and the band plans to tour on our side of the world as well, but if I plan to pay for what will most likely be insanely high ticket prices as well as a probable lengthy drive out to the nearest show, I better start cutting some things out of my meager college budget.
Furthermore, I had to ask myself if I would even be happy leaving said show after having spent all that money. There is always the prospect that I attend a show and it turns out to be a bunch of old has-beens doing everything they can to ruin their sacred legacies and make a quick buck (see: 99 percent of reunion tours). After all, when Ozzy’s name is ever mentioned, who doesn’t immediately picture the raving old man on “The Osbournes?” The past couple of decades haven’t been good to Ozzy musically either, with his last notable release being 1991’s “No More Tears.”
In addition to completing a world tour, however, the band also plans to release a new album with all-new, never recorded material. Apparently they have already written the better half of an album’s worth of songs and they’ve phoned up production giant Rick Rubin to produce it, and it’s expected to be ready by fall of 2012. I greet this news with curiosity, but I’m not getting my hopes up. The last time this original lineup released an album together was 1978’s “Never Say Die!,” usually regarded as the weakest album of that era of the band, and each member has had his fair share of in’s and out’s over the last thirty years.
On the other hand, they are the group that produced timeless albums like “Paranoid” (1970) and “Master of Reality” (1971). I know these people are capable of writing quality material, so we shall see if a thirty-year break will put them back on the right path.
And so I wait, not with bated breath, but with idle curiosity. I’ll wait patiently until the new album sees light, and whether it’s a comeback or a train wreck, I’ll just be happy to see it play out. Can Ozzy pull it together, or will it be more of the same from him? Will this be a return to form or a novelty? Do the boys still have it or is Geezer, in fact, an old geezer (you knew it was coming)? Regardless of the answers to these questions, it’s still a pleasure to see this happen. Welcome back, Sabbath.
