BLACK SABBATH Bassist: New Album 'Has To Be Great' Before It Can Be Released

Metal Edge magazine recently conducted an interview with BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler. An excerpt from the interview follows:

Metal Edge: It's been 27 years since the last studio album from the original band, and the set remains pretty much unchanged from year to year. At this point, for you, what keeps SABBATH interesting?

Geezer: "Well, I'm always praying we'll do something different. And, you know, I really am hoping we can put in some stuff that we can't play backwards. It's always a bit of an uphill battle to try and change the set around."

Metal Edge: Are there anby songs in particular that you would like to play?

Geezer: "Anything. I'll even do BRITNEY SPEARS songs, just to make it different. [laughing] Just to do something different. I mean, the songs are great — you know, playing the old songs and everything — but it would really be nice to put something different in, to make it a bit of a challenge for us."

Metal Edge: Would you like to do another BLACK SABBATH album?

Geezer: "Only if it comes up to standard. We did come up with some stuff a few years ago, but I thought maybe two or three of the tracks were good, and the rest of it wasn't great. It has to be great for a new SABBATH album. I'd like to be able to do a new SABBATH album, but it has to be really good."

Metal Edge: At this point, would BLACK SABBATH be able to do something spontaneous, like the way you recorded [your new solo album], "Ohmwork", or the way the first albums were made?

Geezer: "I'm not sure. You can never tell with this band. A lot of Tony's [Iommi, guitar] new [solo] album could have easily been a really good SABBATH album, so it's still there somewhere. Whether it will ever come out, I don't know."