According to a post on
BLACK SABBATH's official
Facebook page, the band's bassist,
Geezer Butler, "is all set to record some more bass tracks on the new album today."
BLACK SABBATH guitarist
Tony Iommi clarified the status of the band's new CD in an interview with
"The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show". Although it has been reported that the band has recorded 15 songs,
Iommi explained, "That's wrong . . . We've written 15 songs and we've played them all. But now, at the moment, we're recording them. We recorded them at my house first, in England, just as demos, but now we're doing them for real. So we're about six tracks in now, at the moment."
Iommi,
Ozzy Osbourne and bassist
Geezer Butler are recording their first album together under the
SABBATH name since 1978's
"Never Say Die".
The drums on the disc are being handled by
Tommy Clufetos, who has replaced founding drummer
Bill Ward due to a contractual dispute between
Ward and the rest of the group.
Asked if there is any chance of
Ward rejoining the band,
Iommi said, "We'll always have a heart for
Bill, but I think it's gone past that now, because it's gone on so long that I don't see that happening at the moment. Maybe at some point we might [play together again]."
Meanwhile,
SABBATH has announced an Australian tour for next April and has also revealed that it will headline the first-ever Japanese version of
Ozzfest on May 11-12, with
SLIPKNOT also on the bill.
