End Of Black Sabbath? Final Album Plans Scrapped, Says Ozzy

Could this be the end of Black Sabbath? Ozzy Osbourne said that the previously announced final album will no longer happen. He even went as far to say that it was the end of the band.

Last year, the band announced that it would get back in the studio and record a second reunion album. Fans around the world were excited to hear the news, especially when an announcement of a tour came afterwards. The new album was supposed to be released in 2016, so it is a shock to hear that Black Sabbath will not get back in the studio after all.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Osbourne told the Times Picayune that he thinks it is time to “call it the end of the day” for the band. He is 68 and believes he is just too old to keep going. While he confirmed that it is officially the end of Black Sabbath, it does not mean he will not get back on stage with the other members. There are no hard feelings between them, and it does appear that age is the only factor. He made it clear that all plans to produce another album have been scrapped completely.

The good news for Black Sabbath fans is that the tour will still happen. It will start in Omaha, Nebraska, in January and is the official “last hurrah.” Some fans will be disappointed that no new work will be played during the tour. The last new work came in 2013 when Rick Rubin joined the band for the production. The album, titled 13, reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom in its first week, suggesting that a second reunion album could have done the same, especially if Rubin joined the production team again.

Osbourne had announced that there would be work on the new album in 2014, and it became clear that initially there were no plans to end Black Sabbath. He even said that he would fly to the moon if he really had to so that he got the work done. According to the Guardian, the news has been confirmed by Universal, the band’s label.

Despite the disappointing announcement of the official end of Black Sabbath, the tour aptly called “The End” has been extended. The North American leg of the tour recently added 18 dates, with shows now in Phoenix and new dates in Los Angeles. These dates have been added to September’s line up. San Diego fans are still disappointed to hear that a date has not been added there.

The tour will see three of the founding members on stage together, despite Tony Iommi fighting lymphoma since 2012. Bill Ward is the only founding member not to join the band after being estranged from Black Sabbath for a few years now. He did not appear on the last reunion album either, suggesting that the issues are something none of them can resolve. It is unlikely that they will be resolved in time for January’s initial tour date.

Many fans still want to know whether Compressorhead will appear in the show. This was the band of robots that performed “Iron Man” recently. The band and the label have not yet confirmed or denied the possibility.

“The End” is a world tour, with dates planned in Australia, Canada, and various European countries. It will start and end in the United States, with Phoenix as the end date on September 21. It is possible that the band decided to add the extra dates knowing the disappointment from fans in the announcement of no new album and the official end of Black Sabbath.

[Featured photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]