Producer Andrew Watt says Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were all up for recording a new Black Sabbath album with the original line-up, and that the plan collapsed when drummer Bill Ward could not take part. He disagrees with Iommi, who said in September 2026 that he did not like the idea of a record after «13».
“`Watt had produced Ozzy’s last two solo albums, «Ordinary Man» and «Patient Number 9», and spoke on the «Lipps Service» podcast: the idea came up after those albums were finished, with Ozzy wanting new material but not on the same terms.
Iommi agreed on condition that Bill was involved, Ozzy said that if Bill did it they would do it, and Geezer said that if the others were in he was too. Then came a 40-minute phone call with Ward, one of the strangest and funniest Watt has ever had, which ended with Ward not joining the record after all; he sent them a long email and the matter was closed.
In Classic Rock, Iommi confirmed Watt’s approach but said he was not enthusiastic: he came across as very excited, as if he did not know how the original Sabbath line-up worked or what it is like to work with Bill, and he did not like the prospect of another album after «13».
«13» came out in 2013; it was Black Sabbath’s first studio album in 35 years to bring together Ozzy, Iommi and Butler and it topped the Billboard 200. Ward had been announced for the 2011 reunion but left in 2012 after a contract dispute; on the album the drums were played by Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine.
The four originals never released another album together, but they did share a stage one last time: at «Back To The Beginning» at Birmingham’s Villa Park, on 5 July 2025. It was Black Sabbath’s farewell concert and Ozzy’s final live appearance; he died on 22 July 2025, aged 76.
See also
See also: the trailer for «Back To The Beginning» and Black Sabbath: Jim Simpson on the Earth recordings.
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/ozzy-osbourne-tony-iommi-and-geezer-butler-were-all-into-making-another-black-sabbath-album-but-bill-ward-wasnt-able-to-do-it-says-andrew-watt
