Attention My Metal Republic. This is a PiercingMetal PSA. It seems as though there is this little band that goes by the name of Black Sabbath and not only are they releasing a brand new album after so many years of not having done so, but they are also embarking on a massive tour to support it and to deliver their greatest hits at the very same time. Considering that they are new to the Metal mix it is imperative that we all rally together and support this run of dates because without the new bands how will the genre continue to thrive and prosper…..oh wait a minute. I messed up my notes somehow and have gotten a little confused…..Black Sabbath are not new at all and as a matter of fact are the reason that we have this Metal stuff in the first place. The true facts are that a new album is indeed coming and that a tour is coming to our neck of the woods and its a reason to be excited because its a chance to see Ozzy, Geezer and Tony working together again making new Metal for the masses. The press release comes after the photo.

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There are few Metal heads who felt that the whole Mike Portnoy versus Dream Theater soap opera was getting a little long in the tooth for their attention span and thankfully it seems as though the guys in Black Sabbath were more than ready to jump into the fray and fire up the fans with some truly insidious doings.  Let’s get a little recap brewing first shall we?

I’m guessing that its been almost a year since we had all first heard rumblings about meetings taking place with the original members of the legendary Black Sabbath and these discussions were leading towards not only a full on world tour with the influential lineup, but also the first new material from this group of four since 1979′s “Never Say Die”. Many of the fans were divided in the potential excitement based on the great stuff we heard from the Dio fronted Heaven and Hell against Ozzy’s latest output but even the skeptics were willing to give it a shot. Then the dramatics began and some of them were beyond anyone’s control. First Tony was diagnosed with lymphoma but was quickly being treated for it which was a good thing to know. Next up there seemed to be issues with the contracts being given to drummer Bill Ward. He was not pleased with them, and was holding out for a proper, more respectful of his station in the band piece of paper. One never came, so Ward said he would not be a part of the reunion. Fans around the world jumped to the defense of the skin basher citing how could this original reunion tour be valid without the drumming talents of Ward, and what about this group of events being “for the fans”. Give them what they want right? It continued unfortunately.

Iommi’s treatment for the lymphoma found the whole Sabbath tour being cancelled with the exception of a couple of appearances. Everyone wanted Tony healthy without a doubt but I think they would have preferred that the dates be postponed and made up for later as opposed to what was then announced. For these shows there was no clear information on who the drummer would be but it looked like it would NOT be Bill Ward. The world then learned that the cancelled Sabbath dates would be replaced by events known as “Ozzy and Friends”. This was hardly exciting when compared to the original premise but some were willing to give it a go. I admit that I was marginally curious.

But wait…..there’s more……

The other day what appeared to be a final statement from Bill Ward came to light, and it stated how he would not be a part of any of the minimized appearances of Sabbath despite his interest and then to make matters incredibly worse, the Sabbath side of the fence managed to find the time to eradicate any images of Bill Ward from their website. Amazing right? Founders of a musical genre and no one can seem to work out something magical “for the fans”. I used quotes because this really shines a negative light on some of the business that gets practiced here and as a former musician myself I find this kind of thing reprehensible, hurtful, and disrespectful to a person who helped make something incredible happen. It’s nothing less than disgusting to find this kind of grade school antics coming into play. What’s next guys? A re-issue of the back catalog without Ward’s face on the album covers or even worse, without his drumming? It’s been done before in case you didn’t know that.

A few years ago, Ozzy released appended versions of his first two albums and essentially removed the talents of Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley from them and replaced them with Mike Bordin and Robert Trujillo. Shocking yes? I considered this blasphemy and reviewed them as such on the website. You can examine those HERE in case you are interested in seeing my viewpoints.

Right now I am pretty convinced about any Sabbath shows as being difficult to support. I’m an almost lifelong card carrying Metal head and I feel that the fans deserve a full once more around from the original members while we still have them all with us. Black Sabbath needs to reinforce their legacy in our hearts and Metal minds by working something out with Ward and not doing all of these shenanigans. Petty stuff only fuels the fires and eventually the blaze will be too big to extinguish.

What do you readers think? Am I off base here? Comments are open for discussion.

The press notes and quotes are flying with dreadful accuracy as the news about Black Sabbath moving forward in their plans to record and tour WITHOUT original member Bill Ward started posting today.

This all seemed to come to light the other day as Ward posted that he had been delivered a contract he deemed “unsignable” and how he would keep waiting for an acceptable proposal from the other members in order to proceed with the reunion plans.  Bill’s quote is cited below on the Bravewords.com website.

Bill Ward statements: HERE

I read all this as Ward being offered a paltry sum for the work and time involved and that he felt he deserved more than was being offered up.  On one side its true he didn’t compose a whole lot of tunes in terms of music and words but when you assemble something like this “for the fans”; you can expect that people want a larger piece of the pie.  I guess the ruling managerial parties involved disagree and are willing to move on without him.  I’ll admit I’m slightly disappointed in the guys who were kind of presenting this whole thing as being for the good of the genre.

Black Sabbath statements: HERE

I call this reunion tour an unevent now and one that will cost a fortune to fans and not present the full legacy lineup at the end of the day.  The funny thing was how I was more interested in this as a journalist than a fan because I felt it would be great to document the return for the site readers as the key force in Heavy Metal’s birth.  I realize some of you might now be challenging my level  of representing Metal but believe me my aim remains true for the cause.

So what do you readers think of this development?  Let me know in the comments below.

*** UPDATE *** On 2/17/2012: An announcement came out that said how Black Sabbath would only perform one day (at the Download Festival) and the remaining scheduled gigs for the Original Lineup (minus Bill Ward) would be replaced by a tour called “Ozzy and Friends”. This is being done based on Tony Iommi’s continuing treatment for the lymphoma and to allow him time to rest and recover as best as possible. We all want the Founder of the Heavy Metal Riff to be in tip top shape. Rumor has it that Ozzy will be joined by a cavalcade of stars like Geezer Butler, Slash and Zakk Waylde. Excited for this tour? Personally, I actually could care less about this nonsense now. Give us a full on original Black Sabbath reunion tour and then continue to make your own solo magic.

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Today was National Metal Day and amidst the celebration across the Metal Republic there was chatter about a “big message” coming from Tony Iommi and the other members of Black Sabbath on this very day. It was earlier in the week when the followers of the popular news sites of the scene learned that something was going to be unveiled in terms of the band and while some scratched their heads as to what it might be there were others who were more like “what do you think that they are going to announce? A line of figurines?”.  Of course the big news was that the original members of Black Sabbath were going to reunite and not only would a tour be planned for 2012 but there would also be some new music coming from the four legendary figures of Metal’s history.  There was a lot of speculation about this actually happening over the last few months because interview comments were leaked and while some sides of the fence said that they were misquoted or taken out of context there was no one who was outright denying that something like this would be taking place.  Fans might remember that this is not entirely new as a happening or even that long of a wait as these four guys did a reunion tour back in 1997 and even released a live album about it entitled “Reunion”.   Many were surprised that nothing more came from this even though some material was written and the guys had planned to work with producer Rick Rubin.  The brief revisit that time around was quietly put to bed based on solo projects and tours and eventual television shows.  Iommi quoted back then how it was a shame since some of the tunes being worked on were rather good.  He and the second wave of Black Sabbath went on to form “Heaven and Hell” with the late great Ronnie James Dio and deliver crushing tours and Metal to the ardent fans.

I debated making a post here on the official blog for PiercingMetal.com but then remembered that I was trying to use it to showcase some big news and other items of interest like all the rest of the blogs for the genre do and let’s face it, this is big news since they pretty much started the genre and all.  What’s my opinion about this you might be asking?  Personally I think this is cool news but its nothing that really shocked me because it was bound to happen.  With Ronnie James Dio’s death and the subsequent shelving of the Heaven and Hell project as a band, this idea makes the most logical sense as a musical business model.   Yet in all honesty I am on the fence about it because while I love a large number of Sabbath tunes I was more excited about the rejuvenated sound that we got from Heaven and Hell than the idea of hearing “Paranoid” and “Iron Man” again with Ozzy at the helm and the idea of new material from him did kind of frighten me.  Let’s be honest for a moment here and admit that Ozzy Osbourne’s last few albums were less than compelling while the H&H stuff drew you in like a whirlwind and left you screaming for more.   If Tony and Geezer are using the same formula that was working with them and Dio then the resulting output could very well surprise us.  This stuff will also be under the guiding hand of Rick Rubin so perhaps its even the stuff from back a few years ago that was left in the basement.  Can anything new stand up to the legendary tunes like “Paranoid”, “War Pigs” or “Snowblind”?  I highly doubt that because those are iconic numbers that have become the very essence of the Metal scenes core being. On the same token as a journalist, photographer and overall supporter of the Metal Scene I am intrigued about catching one of their shows and bringing the scoop to my global readership along with some photography.  That is what we do over here so the chance to be on point for legends on the stage comes into play and makes me more interested than I might have been otherwise. Another fear I have about this news is that all the attention will be afforded to the Sabbath camp and not as much to the bands that are struggling and really are the ones in need of support. Without a Black Sabbath or Judas Priest tour going on there is a better chance for the fans who are hard to move around the genre to take a look into something new or different more than they would have done otherwise. I can only implore those kinds of fans to brave the waters and sample some of the other amazing stuff with a similar zeal to what they are giving Sabbath and this news.

What do you supporters of the Heavy Metal way say to this news? Does it amaze you or does it leave you as a big “Who Cares?”. I would love to hear what you think about it all.

Heaven and Hell has been enjoying an incredible ride for the last couple of years and it is richly deserved based on its members overall importance to the Heavy Metal genre. The reunion show at Radio City Music Hall and its subsequent DVD showed that this grouping of players were legends and soon we would find the crushing power of their new work on “The Devil You Know”, the new CD of music. Now on a hot summers night Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice came a calling and the Metal faithful were all listening. To see our report and enjoy the massive amount of presented photos please click the logo below to be taken to our item on the main PiercingMetal.com site. Horns up!

A little pre-show wandering around found me seeing this cool graphic on one of the many trucks that haul the band’s elaborate stage and equipment around.  The need to be timely made using the PiercingCamera an impossibility so the powers of the PiercingPhone were instead employed.  I love technology when it helps me do this better.

We Are The Road Crew

The Metal Masters Tour was an event that found the might of Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell combining forces with both Motorhead and Testament and we were sure to be on point to bring this story to the masses. It was one of the best shows of the year and for readers to see our comments on all of the performers and photos of each please click on the logo below to be brought to our main PiercingMetal.com article. Keep the horns raised high legions.

Heaven and Hell have been kicking ass since the decision to reform the mark 2 version of Black Sabbath and now they would continue to smite the unbelievers with the Metal by taking both Queensryche and Alice Cooper on the road with them. We headed down to Jones Beach Ampitheatre to enjoy this one and those Metal heads who wish to learn more can click the logo to see our item on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

There is an additional coolness to the concerts that happen in this particular region and that is the fact that you never know who you are going to run into at a show.  During this show we happened to run into the Metal Queen herself, the one and only Doro Pesch.  It’s always a pleasure to see her rocking the stage and of course rocking to the sounds of Metal bands that she loves.

Doro Pesch @ Heaven And Hell (Jones Beach, 9/8/2007)

The singer graced us with a candid shot and we see her giving the Heaven and Hell performance a rating of “two horns up”.  She also let some of the other fans that caught sight of her take some photos as well.  That’s a performer who really appreciates their audience in my opinion.  Thanks Doro, we hope to be covering one of your shows soon.

The Heaven And Hell Stage

Before the show began I tried my best based on the angle and proximity to snare a shot of the dramatic and oh so impressive stage setting.  As you can see, it looks like some sort of Gothic Cathedral with stained glass windows above and massive iron gates surrounding it.  Soon Heaven and Hell would take the stage.  Can you feel the excitement?  I know I can.

This was lauded as one of the biggest concert events of the year and how could it be anything less when it it the reunion of the Dio era Black Sabbath who are now touring under the moniker of Heaven and Hell. Tonight we were present as a fan and while not on official Metal Reporter duty, we made sure to document the evening and present it for you via the article that the logo below will bring you to. Don’t worry about the lack of photos from us because the show was recorded for release on DVD and that will come out later in the year.