Headbangers’ Brawl is a weekly column where Metal Insider’sBram and Zach take a moment to debate and analyze two opposing sides of a topical issue occurring in the world of metal and/or the music industry.
Bram and Zach have a lot of fun discussing, and sometimes arguing, about certain hot topic issues in the metal world. But lately the two have been looking for ways to spice Headbangers’ Brawl up (not in an old married couple kind of way though…). Then they realized a way that might make things a little funner: getting you, the readers, involved! So starting next week, we’re asking you to submit questions or topics for them to discuss/debate in the column. There may even be a special prize given to whoever emails us the question/topic that Bram and Zach choose that week. So email the questions that you want to see Bram and Zach duke it out over to tips [at] metalinsider.net with the header “Headbangers’ Brawl Suggestion,” and then come back the following week to see if your suggestion was used!
In this week’s Headbangers’ Brawl, though, Bram and Zach take a moment to ponder whether Black Sabbath will indeed finally record a new album. Ozzy recently revealed that the four of them (including Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward) have been talking about it once again, but this wouldn’t be the first time that talk has lead to anything. So will the Ozzy lead-era of Black Sabbath finally record a new album soon, or should we stop holding our breaths?
Bram: I can’t say I put too much stock in this. Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill haven’t put out a full album together since 1979. They did have two studio songs come out on the Reunion live album in 1998, but two songs in 32 years doesn’t have me thinking it’s going to come together too quickly
Zach: I pretty much agree. Them performing together again in the next two years: a 95% sure thing. A new album: Less likely. Yeah, they’ve all pretty much said they’d like to do it, but Ozzy has made it clear in the past that he still has at least another year of touring behind Scream. Also, it’s not entirely sure whether they’d even be able to agree on anything. When Geezer also said that a reunion wouldn’t happen this year in an interview with Noisecreep, he also jabbed at Ozzy by saying “I’m sure Ozzy will say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ every week for the next year while he’s on tour. It’s one thing to want to do something like that just before you go out to tour a record. You say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m gonna tour for the next five years.’ And then six weeks into it, you can’t wait to get home. So we’ll just see how he feels when he finishes his Ozzy Osbourne tour.” Ouch! And this isn’t the first time Geezer and Ozzy have had less than nice words to say to each other. Not too long ago, Ozzy said that Butler needs to stop “whining” in order to make it work. Zing!
B: Well, Iommi proved that he’s a riffmaster, with The Devil You Know coming out pretty quickly after the three songs on The Dio Years. But Iommi and Ozzy just mended fences last year after settling a lawsuit. It’s nice that they’re open to working with each other again, but Ozzy just assembled a brand new band. I would imagine that since Zakk wrote a lot of the last record, the new band is probably chomping at the bit to record their own Ozzy album.
Z: True, and also, as proven before, touring behind a new Ozzy album can last as long as two years (maybe even more). And while it takes Iommi little time to record new music, Ozzy has proven less than speedy (though it took about three years in between Black Rain and Scream, with an even longer gap between new albums prior to that).
I guess another question, though, is do we feel that a new Sabbath album with Ozzy will be good? Sure The Devil You Know was a great album, but would it still be great with Ozzy? Plus, would it even compare to previous Sabbath albums?
B: I liked “Psycho Man” and “Selling My Soul” when they came out, but I sure as hell haven’t listened to either song in a long time. I think that a Sabbath album will likely be the same. Then again, the Heaven and Hell album was pretty solid, and the only difference is Dio vs. Ozzy, which is an argument for another time.
