BLACK

BLACK SABBATH To Release ‘Gathered In Their Masses’ DVD

A teaser for the forthcoming BLACK SABBATH DVD, "Gathered In Their Masses", can be seen below. The set will contain footage from the band's tour in support of its long-awaited reunion album, "13". BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler told the Chicago Sun-Times that the band's current tour could very well be his last. Asked why he thought that, Butler explained, "I don't know. I just got a feeling. It's getting tough, it really is. I can't lie about that. I'm old now. It really is tough going on every night. You wake up the next day, all the pains you never had before. I don't want to go onstage for the sake of the money. You have to have a lot pride in yourself, and I honestly think I'm coming to the end of the top of my job." Butler also said that he's enjoying the current SABBATH tour, adding, "I've always said as long as I can play, as long as I can do it to a good level, then I'll keep doing it, because I still really enjoy playing. I'll know when the day comes I can't do this anymore, can't play to my usual standards. That's when I won't go out anymore. I won't do that to me self. But at the moment, I just love playing with the band. It probably will be the last time, will probably be the last tour. But I want to go out on a high. The band is playing really well at the moment." Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and singer Ozzy Osbourne reunited in late 2011 to record their first new album together in 35 years. Original drummer Bill Ward was on board at first but dropped out over contract disputes. Progress on the record was slowed first by Ward's departure and then by Iommi's January 2012 cancer diagnosis.

BLACK SABBATH’s IOMMI Still Doesn’t Know Exactly Why BILL WARD Pulled Out Of Reunion

Glenn BurnSilver of the Phoenix New Times recently conducted an interview with legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Phoenix New Times: How is playing together — recording together — after so many years of tension and not being in the studio? The last album with the original lineup was in 1978...[Singer] Ozzy [Osbourne] was booted out in 1979... Iommi: Tensions? The tensions over the years have mainly been about business. It's not been personal at all. We always got on well on a personal level. It's been going really good. It's just a different attitude now. When we got back together to record this album ["13"], everybody had a different attitude toward what we were doing this time. We wanted to make an album together. We all really appreciated each other and respected each other. That's really the only way to go into it — a full band commitment — and everybody was ready to put everything into it. We did try back 12 years ago, and nobody could settle on it then. It wasn't the right time, there were to many things going on. Ozzy was doing MTV, so it just didn't work then. We weren't going to do it until everybody was fully committed, and that was this time. [Producer Rick] Rubin was interested in doing the album [in 2001]. We played him some tracks but that's as far as we got with it. We pulled the plug on it. We never got into the studio. We'd just played him some tracks." Phoenix New Times: Where do you rank "13" among the many BLACK SABBATH albums? Iommi: Every album you do means something of that time period. Certainly the early stuff I like. I liked the stuff we did with [Ronnie James] Dio. If you try to rank it against with the Ozzy stuff, I think it ranks right up there. Phoenix New Times: Where's [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] Bill [Ward]? I know all of you have worked together on and off since that 1997 reunion, but is Bill even able to perform right now?

MIKE PORTNOY: BLACK SABBATH Without BILL WARD Is ‘Not A Reunion’

Drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) was interviewed on the latest edition of former RIP magazine editor and veteran music journalist Lonn Friend's "Energize With Lonn Friend" podcast. Commenting on BLACK SABBATH's decision to record and tour without original drummer Bill Ward, Portnoy said: "Here's my issue with it. I have no issue if Bill Ward is not fit to play in SABBATH, as they're saying. Or I have no issue with it if they're having money litigations and problems and they couldn't agree on something that was fair. My issue is that they're calling it a BLACK SABBATH reunion. It's not a BLACK SABBATH reunion without the four of them. It is now just the latest BLACK SABBATH lineup. " He continued: "Why is this BLACK SABBATH, but HEAVEN & HELL wasn't BLACK SABBATH? I mean, we all know the real reason for it. But it's not a true BLACK SABBATH reunion without Bill Ward. And if they need to do it without Bill, then they do it without Bill. But don't call it a reunion. It's just BLACK SABBATH 2013. " Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 27 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

BLACK SABBATH Bassist On ’13 3D’ Maze: ‘It Will Probably Frighten Us All To Death’

Michelle Mills of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently spoke to BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler about the making of the band's new album, "13" — the first in 35 years to feature Geezer, singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi — and their current North American tour. "For the first time in years, we're finally doing some new material on stage with the new album we've got out," Butler said. "It's a definite change for us because it's the first time in 30 years that we've actually come up with something new and the crowd is really loving it. It's good playing it and it fits in really well with the old stuff." Butler also talked about the physical demands of touring and how being on the road has changed over the years. "We take it a lot easier now — we do one show on and then we have a day off," Butler said. "So we only play every other day and that keeps the whole thing much fresher instead of wearing ourselves out." Regarding the songwriting process for "13", which earned the band its first No. 1 album in the U.S., Butler said: "In the past, we'd just go to a rehearsal situation and jam until we came out with something that we liked and then we'd work on that. But this time was different because when we got together, Tony had about 40 or 50 different riffs that he had written, so we were able to pick some of those riffs and immediately have a starting point on them."

WATAIN Frontman: Being In A Black Metal Band ‘Has To Go Beyond Just Playing Songs’

David E. Gehlke of DeadRhetoric.com recently conducted an interview with WATAIN mainman Erik Danielsson. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. DeadRhetoric.com: It seems like everything you've done of late has been on a bigger scale. I think a lot of us can remember you coming up with "Casus Luciferi" and "Sworn To The Dark", but leading up to "The Wild Hunt", things are of greater scale. Erik Danielsson: It's the way it goes, I guess. We've been doing this for 15 years and people have come to understand that we're a force to be reckoned with and you have to let the fans do that, and business people, too. To be honest, things have changed very literally in the world in WATAIN. To us, it's very much the same thing, the same purpose in our lives. From where we stand, nothing has really changed, but at the same time, we have more and more people working, we have tour agencies and management and whatever that are taken care of this and this. So I suppose it's a reflection of how people relate to the band. It's rather something that matters more for other people than us. DeadRhetoric.com: What's your take on people who think bands have to stay within certain parameters to be black metal? Danielsson: I very much agree with them. To the extent of that to me, it's not a matter of staying true to a musical spine; that spine is one rather of atmosphere and ideology rather than a musical one. And that's what defines WATAIN. Black metal music is music that, in essence, is diabolical and has diabolical energies and that is where the definition lies to me. Incorporating elements like keyboards… it only takes away from the diabolical aspect of it, because we're talking about the wild, the untamed, ferocious, predatory aspect of it, the tribe within this music. You cannot really get into that permutation with those things if you have a sound that opposes those things. DeadRhetoric.com: In North America, we have a lot of what is called "Cascadian" or post-black metal bands who don't look the part whatsoever. Have you caught wind of them?

TONY IOMMI: Performing Live With BLACK SABBATH ‘Is Better Than It Was 40 Years Ago’

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi recently spoke to the Hartford Advocate about the band's comeback album, "13", and their current North American tour, which will hit Mohegan Sun Arena on August 8. Asked what it feels like playing with singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassistGeezer Butler again, Iommi said: "It's a great feeling. You can't beat that feeling of walking onstage, especially with your old mates, you know. I think it's better than it was 40 years ago." He continued: "You know, we've been through a lot of experiences, family things and so on. I think when it comes back to the original guys again, it feels really comfortable. You do get — it comes along with age, I suppose — anxieties and different other things. But when you get onstage and start playing, it all settles down. Iommi also spoke about how the new songs fit with the more classicSABBATH material during the band's live show. "I think the songs fit in great with the old stuff, and it's also great to have new songs to fit in, because we haven't had any for so many years," he said. "As far as [playing] the whole album [live at some point]: we haven't tried that yet. We are playing four songs off the album, but

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: Third ‘Gigantour’ Webisode

The third in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's participation in this year's Gigantour can be seen below. Also appearing on the bill are headliners MEGADETH, along with HELLYEAH, DEVICE, NEWSTED and DEATH DIVISION. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's new live DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Video,"Unblackened", will be released on September 24 by Eagle Rock Entertainment. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde's label home, eOne Music, will also release the audio version of the"Unblackened" DVD under the same name. The double disc release will have six additional tracks not found on the DVD, including

BLACK SABBATH Kicks Off North American Tour In Houston; Video Available

BLACK SABBATH kicked off its 20-date North American tour last night (Thursday, July 25) at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands (a suburb of Houston), Texas. The band's setlist was as follows: 01. War Pigs 02. Into The Void 03. Under The Sun 04. Snowblind 05. Age Of Reason 06. Black Sabbath 07. Behind The Wall Of Sleep 08. N.I.B. 09. End Of The Beginning 10. Fairies Wear Boots 11. Methademic 12. Rat Salad/Drum Solo 13. Iron Man 14. God Is Dead? 15. Dirty Women 16. Children Of The Grave 17. Paranoid Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. After 35 years, three original members of BLACK SABBATH released a new disc on June 11 called "13". The first SABBATH record since 1978's"Never Say Die!" to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, along with guitaristTony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, it's their second attempt at new music together after a previous effort failed in 2001. The new disc does not feature founding drummer Bill Ward, who has sat out the reunion over contractual issues.

BLACK TUSK: ‘Truth Untold’ Video Released

"Truth Untold"BLACK TUSK, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Brad KremerTytan Creates Commented BLACK TUSK James MayTytan "Truth Untold"BLACK TUSK's new EP, "Tend No Wounds", which was released on July 23 via Relapse Records. The disc was recorded with producer Phillip Cope (KYLESA, BARONESS) at the Jam Room in Columbia, South Carolina. The artwork was created by Brian Mercer(EYEHATEGOD, LAMB OF GOD, ZOROASTER). "Tend No Wounds" is a six-song, 20-minute blast of high-octane, raging Southern rock/metal that merges the classic original backwoods metallic hardcore BLACK TUSK sound with the newer more polished rock based tunes the band has honed after years on the road on the road with bands like BARONESS, SKELETONWITCH, MASTODON and KVELERTAK. "Tend No Wounds" track listing: 01. A Cold Embrace