BLACK SABBATH Guitarist: We'd Never Worked With Anybody Like RICK RUBIN Before

April 12, 2013

Jack Osbourne, the son of BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, has filed a video report for Fuse on the invite-only listening party for the band's new album, "13" — the first in 35 years to feature Ozzy, bassist Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi — which was held on Wednesday (April 10) at The Montalban in Los Angeles, California. The three-minute clip, which includes an interview with all three musicians, can be seen below.

Asked if there was any sort of trepidation about recording a new album, Ozzy replied: "The pressure was on us, because it had been so long since we'd worked together. It's, like, now or never. This album, for me, was probably the most important of my career." Iommi stated about the writing process for the LP: "I had a bunch of riffs on CDs and played it to everybody, and then everybody decided, 'We like this one' or 'We don't like that,' and the ones we liked, we started work on them, built them up."

Jack also asked SABBATH if they had any apprehensions about working with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who is notorious for being very "in and out" of the studio while records are being made. "It was funny at first, because coming to rehearsals, when we were actually writing the songs, he'd come down for like, five or ten minutes and then go," Iommi said. "Then he'd go, 'Call me when you've got another one.' So it was really strange. We'd never worked with anybody like that before."

Ozzy, Tony and Geezer surprised a crowd of fans and journalists by showing up unannounced at the end of the listening party. According to The Pulse Of Radio, the three bandmembers were greeted with cheers and thanked the audience for listening to the eight tracks aired at the event, which was introduced earlier in the evening by Jack.

Loudwire noted the "bluesy," groove-oriented and heavy feel of the songs, saying, "Upon first listen, it's clear that BLACK SABBATH's '13' will be a standout metal album of 2013. Fans will hear a lot of what has made the band legends in the first place while experiencing the freshness of some new music."

"13" is due out June 11 on Vertigo/Republic. This marks BLACK SABBATH's return to Vertigo, their original label, and the group's first studio album together since 1978's "Never Say Die!" They have sold more than 70 million albums together.

Ozzy told an Australian radio station that "13" is "mind-blowing," adding, "It's better than my wildest dreams; it's so good."

The drum tracks on the album were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk following original drummer Bill Ward's decision to bow out of the reunion.

BLACK SABBATH will make a rare television appearance when the band performs a new song on the season finale of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". The episode is set to air on Wednesday, May 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS-TV. The band will world premiere a song called "End Of The Beginning" from "13". The episode's plot follows the "CSI" team as they investigate a series of murder that resemble the sins in "Dante's Inferno", with the trail leading the detectives played by Ted Danson and Marc Vann to attend a SABBATH concert.

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