What a difference a year makes. Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi have resolved their dispute over the Black Sabbath trademark. Ozzy Osbourne had sued Iommi, claiming he’d illegally taken sole ownership of the band’s name after filing it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He had been seeking 50% of the profits of the band’s recent activity. They appear to have put it behind them, however, and have issued the following statement:
“Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi of the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath have amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the Black Sabbath name and court proceedings in New York have been discontinued. Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business.”
Of course, this opens things up for a Black Sabbath reunion. The recent death of Ronnie James Dio abruptly put an end to Heaven and Hell, and a Sabbath-headlined Ozzfest next year would be a huge draw. Iommi has stated that he spoke to Ozzy following Dio’s funeral, and wouldn’t rule out a reunion. As far as new music from the re-reunited band, sure, why not? I mean, we’d definitely give it a listen or two, but when was the last time you listened to “Psycho Man” from their 1998 album, Reunion? Yeah, didn’t think so.
