As for future albums, is Black Sabbath’s glory over?

October 31, 2007

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Ozzy, Iommi Going Through the Motions

The original Sabbath line-up probably will play again.

Though Tony Iommi’s statement that “Everything is a possibility” hardly sounds like a commitment, chances are this gig will happen. We can assume so because:

a) The band mates are still on speaking terms (unlike most reunions)

b) They have said in the recent past they would like to play again, and

most importantly:

c) Such a show is almost guaranteed to be profitable. And in the music industry, as indeed any industry, anything that makes money usually happens.

So it’s probably a safe bet that some combination of Ozzy, Iommi, Ward, and Butler will be playing the occasional Ozfest gig for the rest of their lives.

There will probably not be another Reunion style tour: Iommi has said that he “hates the travelling”. Ozzy and Ward aren’t in the best health. Geezer could probably do it, but that hardly matters if the other three can’t.

Not to mention, Iommi and Geezer are rather busy at the moment. The Heaven and Hell tour is going exceedingly well. They’re constantly adding new dates, the accompanying Live at Radio City Music Hall album and DVD is selling like hotcakes, and rumours persist of a full length album of new material. It’s highly unlikely that any band would interrupt this kind of momentum to play what amounts to a nostalgia gig.

Because let’s be honest: that’s all a reunion with Ozzy would be. They would play “Paranoid” and “Warpigs”, they would play a handful of sets in a handful of cities, and that would be the end of it. There would probably be no new material. If there were, there would be one or two songs released as bonus tracks.

Then there is this uncomfortable reality: the single most charismatic frontman in rock history has not aged well. As anyone who has seen him perform in the last ten years has to admit, Ozzy is not the man he was. Those years of drug abuse and alcoholism have not been kind to him, and his performance has suffered. We cannot expect the vitality of old.

So, the original Black Sabbath will play again. But the glory days are long gone.

-Steve Dylag