In a recent interview with Stereogum, BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne reflected on the making of the band’s final album, 13.
Released in 2013, it was the band’s first studio recording with Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler since the live album Reunion (1998), which contained two new studio tracks. It was also the first studio album with Osbourne since Never Say Die! (1978), and with Butler since Cross Purposes (1994).
When asked if he still feels good about where 13 left things, Osbourne responded: “Not really, because, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t really get a charge from the album. Although [producer] Rick Rubin is a good friend of mine, I wasn’t really… I was just singing. It was like stepping back in time, but it wasn’t a glorious period. Though Geezer did a lot of lyric writing for me, which he’s very, very good at. It wasn’t an earth-shattering experience for me.”
As for whether BLACK SABBATH is “totally done” in his mind, Ozzy said: “I would like to say it’s completely done. I think it’s time. The only thing I really regret, to be honest, is that Bill Ward [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] didn’t play on the [13] album. It wasn’t really a BLACK SABBATH album. I’m not saying that one day we might not all go in a room and come up with the perfect BLACK SABBATH album. But I’ll say, [13] wasn’t recorded the way BLACK SABBATH recorded records. We’d gone right back past the point where we took charge, back to when someone else had full control of our recording. Which we never did from Vol. 4 onwards.”
BLACK SABBATH played their final concert on 4 February 2017 in Birmingham. The final song was streamed live on the band’s Facebook page and fireworks went off as the band took their final bow. On 7 March 2017, SABBATH announced their disbandment through posts made on their official social media accounts.
