Legendary heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH has released their new album "13". It's the group's first LP with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. The drum tracks on the CD were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk following original drummer Bill Ward's decision to bow out of the reunion.

Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler recorded the album primarily in Los Angeles with producer Rick Rubin.

Ward in May 2012 announced that he was declining to join his former bandmates for its scheduled 2012 dates, as well as recording of a new album, due to contractual dispute.

He also allegedly had his lawyers direct SABBATH to remove him from photos of the band posted at the official BLACK SABBATH web site "so as to not give the public the wrong impression about his involvement in the current BLACK SABBATH lineup," according to a statement issued by the band's publicist.

Butler issued a lengthy retort at his own web site, writing that Ward "hadn't told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us, let alone in public."

Until now, Iommi told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that the members of SABBATH stayed friendly even when there were legal or other issues going on. "We've always been talking. We've always been in touch with each other," he said. "There might be a lawsuit in the thing between us, but we still talk to each other like nothing's happened, you know."

Asked if there is any chance of Ward rejoining the band, Iommi said last October, "We'll always have a heart for Bill, but I think it's gone past that now, because it's gone on so long that I don't see that happening at the moment. Maybe at some point we might [play together again]."

Tracklisting:

1. "End of the Beginning" 8:07
2. "God Is Dead?" 8:55
3. "Loner" 5:00
4. "Zeitgeist" 4:37
5. "Age of Reason" 7:00
6. "Live Forever" 4:46
7. "Damaged Soul" 7:51
8. "Dear Father" 7:20

Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
9. "Methademic" 5:57
10. "Peace of Mind" 3:40
11. "Pariah" 5:34

Best Buy Edition bonus track
12."Naivete In Black"

Order "13" from Amazon.com

07/25 - Houston, Texas - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
07/27 - Austin, Texas - Frank Erwin Center
07/29 - Tampa, Fla. - Live Nation Amphitheatre
07/31 - W. Palm Beach, Fla - Cruzan Amphitheatre
08/02 - Bristow, Va. - Jiffy Lube Live
08/04 - Holmdel, N.J. - PNC Bank Arts Center
08/06 - Detroit, Mich. - DTE Energy Music Theatre
08/08 - Uncasville, Conn. - Mohegan Sun Arena
08/10 - Philadelphia, Pa. - Wells Fargo Center
08/12 - Boston, Mass. - Comcast Center
08/14 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
08/16 - Tinley Park, Ill. - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
08/18 - Indianapolis, Ind. - Klipsch Music Center
08/22 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
08/24 - Seattle, Wash. - Gorge Amphitheatre
08/26 - San Francisco, Calif. - Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
08/28 - Irvine, Calif. - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
08/30 - Phoenix, Ariz. - US Airways Center
09/01 - Las Vegas, Nev. - MGM Grand Garden Arena
09/03 - Los Angeles, Calif. - Los Angeles Sports Arena
10/04 - Santiago, Chile - Estadio Monumental
10/06 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Estadio Unico De La Plata
10/09 - Porto Alegre, Brazil - Fiergs
10/11 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Pama-Campo De Marte
10/13 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Apoteose
10/19 - Bogota, Columbia - Parque Simon Bolivar
10/26 - Mexico City, Mexico - Foro Sol
11/20 - Hartwall Arena - Helsinki, Finland
11/22 - Friends Arena - Stockholm, Sweden
11/24 - Telenor Arena - Oslo, Norway
11/26 - Forum Copenhagen - Denmark, Copenhagen
11/28 - Ziggo Dome - Holland, Amsterdam
11/30 - Westfalenhalle - Dortmund, Germany
12/02 - Bercy - Paris, France
12/05 - Fiera Arena - Milan, Italy
12/07 - O2 Arena - Prague, Czech Republic
12/10 - O2 Arena - London, UK
12/12 - Odyssey Arena - Belfast, Ireland
12/14 - Motorpoint Arena - Sheffield, UK
12/16 - The Hydro - Glasgow, UK
12/18 - Manchester Arena - Manchester, UK
12/20 - LG Arena - Birmingham, UK
12/22 - LG Arena - Birmingham, UK

The end of the year offers the perfect time to reflect on where you're at in life, and you'd have to think that Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has a brighter outlook on things now than he did earlier in 2012. The guitarist confirms as much in a newly posted year-end update.

Things appeared to be on the upswing for Iommi in 2011 as Black Sabbath had reunited and the band was preparing to work on their first new album in years, but then Iommi learned early this year that he had lymphoma that needed to be treated in order for his survival. Suddenly his focus for 2012 had changed, but thankfully his initial plans for the year still appear to be in reach as his post-chemotherapy recovery has gone well.

In his year-end posting, Iommi states:

"What a year! Certainly not the one I was expecting. Thanks to you all for your massive help and support, it was very encouraging. I'm still working on the album and managed to play three shows, not bad given the news a year ago. I'm looking forward to next year, seeing what you think of the record and touring as much as we're able. My best wishes to you all, I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year, most of all, stay positive."

The guitarist did come through his treatment, worked closely with his bandmates on completing a new record which is now due in April and managed to make a handful of high profile shows in England and the U.S. despite the setback. As for what lies ahead in 2013, Iommi will get in his first extended touring since the reunion was announced.

After his lymphoma battle, the guitarist also decided to go back and update his autobiography. The newly reissued paperback version of "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath", includes a chapter on his treatment and recovery. In addition, he's also recorded an audio book with one of his former bandmates providing the voice.

He explained, "I had a go myself but wasn't comfortable when I listened back. Normally you just get an actor to voice it but I didn't want someone who didn't know me or the music business so I asked my old mate Bev Bevan (former Black Sabbath / MOVE / ELO drummer) as he already has a radio show and lived some of the chapters with me! I'm really pleased how it's turned out."

Tony Iommi is considered to be one of heavy metal's greatest guitar gods and many guitar players covet his heavy, solid tone. Conjuring up that signature blues-y dark metal tone, Iommi set the bar for that definitive heavy metal sound and like the guitar wizard that he is, he is known for his amazing, otherworldly riffs. Wicked World, a track off of Black Sabbath's debut album is all about the sheer prowess of Iommi's blues influence. Meanwhile, Children of the Grave could be the song that spawned heavy metal. This track is interlaced with hard driven metal riffs and elements of doom with amazing drum work. Although Iommi lost the tips of his middle and ring fingers during an accident, this hasn't stopped him producing the most incendiary guitar solos known to man, and this changed the face of music history, altogether.

In the grandest sense, Sabbath's self-titled album and Paranoid should be religiously absorbed by the Sabbath fan. But Iommi's two solo albums, Iommi and Fused are also on equal footing when it comes to his outstanding guitar skills. Iommi doesn't use any fancy boutique pedals or the most expensive guitars, in fact he started off with a Stratocaster and a Laney amp. But if you want to emulate Iommi's signature custom guitar, you can do so by getting a Gibson limited edition Tony Iommi Special SG available in both Epiphone and Gibson models with P94 pickups and Signature Tony Iommi humbuckers respectively. Like any prepared guitarist, possessing a guitar tuner such as a Korg AW2G especially during gigs is an absolute must. But if you fail to bring one to your gig, you can download an app for your android phone like this free guitar tuner available from Google Play.

Tony Iommi didn't perform exclusively with Black Sabbath, he also did a Heaven and Hell tour in Casino de Paris with another rock legend, Ronnie James of Dio. Proof that while heavy metal and casinos don't always play in the same circle, beautiful music can be showcased in this setting. Both industries have flourished due to the sudden rise in mobile app demands and now, there are a lot of guitar related apps that you can easily download and also some of the best poker games from sites like partycasino. Some musicians who are also getting into casino games such as Anthrax' Scott Ian considers Tony Iommi as one of his major musical influences. Other heavy metal and casino fusions include heavy metal playing cards and the ever popular Ozzy Osbourne commemorative casino chips in $5, $25, $100 denominations. Issued at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas when he visited there, Ozzy left an indelible mark in casino history and won over casino fans with his charm.

Finally when it comes to Iommi's signature tone, he uses an Engl Powerball head along with his GH 100 TI Laney Tony Iommi Signature amp. He also uses an Ibanez Tube Screamer along with other effects and a Boss OC-3 Super Octave.

Tony Iommi recently clarified the status of the band's new CD: "We've written 15 songs and we've played them all. But now, at the moment, we're recording them. We recorded them at my house first, in England, just as demos, but now we're doing them for real. So we're about six tracks in now, at the moment."

The drums on the disc are being handled by Tommy Clufetos, who has replaced founding drummer Bill Ward due to a contractual dispute between Ward and the rest of the group.

Asked if there is any chance of Ward rejoining the band, Iommi said, "We'll always have a heart for Bill, but I think it's gone past that now, because it's gone on so long that I don't see that happening at the moment. Maybe at some point we might."

Scott Kara of The New Zealand Herald recently conducted an interview with Ozzy Osbourne. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On how Black Sabbath came to be such a respected band:

Osbourne: "It's a really weird thing, because what we did, we just did. We didn't go, 'Oh, we're going to write this way, and we're going to record that way, and it's going to come out like this'. And 45 years up the road who would have thought it's still going to be current and people were going to look upon it as the foundations of heavy metal? I mean, you don't realise that sort of thing, you just do it."

On not being completely confortable with BLACK SABBATH being considered originators of the "heavy metal" genre:

Osbourne: "Not everything BLACK SABBATH did was about the devil, or about heavy metal because 'Changes' was a beautiful song. But all they ever remember is that I sing about the devil and 'Iron Man', you know."

On how the members of Black Sabbath - with the exception of drummer Bill Ward, who is sitting out the band's reunion due to a contractual dispute - are getting along nowadays:

Osbourne: "What's different now is that none of us get drunk or stoned or any of that stuff. We're all clean, and all in control of ourselves, we're not intimidated by each other, there are no arguments, and it's the way it should be. But when we were kids we had egos. When you're 21 and you get some success it takes a while to get your head around. You have an ego, you have the spoils of success, the cars, the houses, the money, the alcohol, the drugs, the groupies, and all the rest of it, and if you go through all of that and you are lucky enough to survive you get married, you get divorced, you get married again, and it's a journey. But we've done it all so what it boils down to now is the music - and that's what got us where we are in the first place. We have come through the other side, we're still able to work together, and that's where the enjoyment comes from. It's been a lot of fun making this record."

On the recording sessions for the new Black Sabbath album, which were interrupted by guitarist Tony Iommi's diagnosis with lymphona at the beginning of this year:

Osbourne: "[The treatment] has been a bit rough on him but he still manages to come up with those great riffs. It's been more than 30 years since I really seriously worked with the guys. We had a try a few years back but nothing came of it. But for some reason the timing is right and we've done about 15 songs. Black Sabbath is very unique in the respect that nothing is formulated. It's very unpredictable. I just hope the people who have waited all these years aren't disappointed."

Ozzy Osbourne's wife/manager Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy over fears she could develop breast cancer.

The 60-year-old, whose son Jack became a first-time dad to daughter Pearl earlier this year, told Hello! magazine that doctors told her she had a genetic mutation which raised her chances of developing breast cancer, which convinced her to have the procedure done.

"As soon as I found out I had the breast cancer gene, I thought: 'The odds are not in my favour'. I've had cancer before and I didn't want to live under that cloud: I decided to just take everything off, and had a double mastectomy," she said.

She added, "For me, it wasn't a big decision, it was a no-brainer. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me. I want to be around for a long time and be a grandmother to Pearl.

"I didn't even think of my breasts in a nostalgic way, I just wanted to be able to live my life without that fear all the time. It's not 'pity me', it's a decision I made that's got rid of this weight that I was carrying around."

Ozzy Osbourne spoke to The Telegraph about the band's first tour of Australia since 1974, which is scheduled to kick off at the end of April. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the recording sessions for the new BLACK SABBATH album:

Ozzy: "Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's great to be back recording with the guys and playing with them."

On how he just wants to have fun:

Ozzy: "I have never wanted to be serious, to have solemn music. It's meant to be fun.

"In actual fact, the way that all happened with the music and the name and everything, if I can remember, is we used to rehearse in a movie theatre so we decided to try to write songs inspired by scary movies. It was all flower power and love, but for us, living in the industrial town of Birmingham, we liked scary movies."

On how he first discovered the reverence with which other musicians regarded BLACK SABBATH when METALLICA joined him on his 1986 tour:

Ozzy: "I came past their dressing room and had to ask one of their assistants if they were taking the piss out of me because they were playing BLACK SABBATH. For someone to tell you 'BLACK SABBATH changed my life' is a weird thing to get your head around."

On touring Australia:

Ozzy: "I have some great memories of Australia; I remember getting off the plane and this little girl comes running up to me with a T-shirt that said 'Bugger Off Pommy Bastards'. I knew we were in the right place."