Original Black Sabbath Lineup In Reunion Talks

The original lineup of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, are in talks about reuniting in the coming year for shows, and a possible new album. Osbourne told ABC News Radio that he worries about the possibility of reuniting because "the problem that we have is that if we do an album and it's anything less than where we left off, it's gonna be a big anticlimax." Bassist, Butler, told AOL’s Noisecreep that while each member is interested, Ozzy’s current solo tour is taking up most of the singer’s time this year.

“It's not going to happen [this] year. Ozzy's on tour with his own band for the next year or whatever. I'm sure Ozzy will say 'yes' and 'no' every week for the next year while he's on tour. It's one thing to want to do something like that just before you go out to tour a record. You say, 'Oh yeah, I'm gonna tour for the next five years.' And then six weeks into it, you can't wait to get home. So we'll just see how he feels when he finishes his Ozzy Osbourne tour."

This mirrors Ozzy’s remarks to The Pulse Of Radio late last year, when he noted,

"You know what? I don't want to say yes, and I don't want to say no, because I've put my foot in my mouth so many times. If it's meant to happen, it will happen."

The original lineup of Ozzy, Iommi, Butler, and drummer Ward has not toured together since the summer of 2005, and last convened for their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in early 2006. Sabbath did try to record a new album 12 years ago, their first since 1978, but abandoned the attempt after just a couple of songs. Ozzy also filed a lawsuit against Iommi in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The legal troubles have since been resolved, and further court dates were discontinued.