Well, they’re well and truly back! Tonight legendary Birmingham heavy metal godfathers, Black Sabbath unveiled the first song from their forthcoming album, 13. ‘God Is Dead?‘ is online now and ready to steam over at metal injection.com (link provided below). The song is savage!
Black Sabbath play The Odyssey Arena, Belfast on December 12th. Tickets on sale now for £55.
Heavy metal Godfathers, Black Sabbath have just announced they’re coming to Belfast this year. The legends will be playing the Odyssey Arena on December 12th with tickets going on sale this Friday priced £55 plus booking fees. Sadly, there’s no word of a Dublin gig yet…. ROAD TRIP \,,/
Ozzy, Tony and Geezer are playing as part of their ’13′ world tour. Their new album (and the first to feature Ozzy in over 30 years) is just for release in June. More European dates have been announced and the list can be found at the bottom of this article.
Last week the band unveiled their new album’s art-work using a video posted on YouTube which you can see below. Original drummer, Bill Ward is expected to be absent from the 2013 tour.
Nov. 20 – Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
Nov. 22 – Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Nov. 24 – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Nov. 26 – Forum, Denmark, Copenhagen
Nov. 28 – Ziggo Dome, Holland, Amsterdam
Nov. 30 – Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
Dec. 02 – Bercy, Paris, France
Dec. 05 – Fiera Arena, Milan, Italy
Dec. 07 – 02 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
Dec. 10 – 02 Arena, London, UK
Dec. 12 – Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Ireland
Dec. 14 – Arena, Sheffield, UK
Dec. 16 – Hydro, Glasgow, UK
Dec. 18 – Arena, Manchester, UK
Dec. 20 – LG Arena, Birmingham, UK
Legendary heavy metal Godfathers Black Sabbath, have announced four Australian dates for 2013; sparking hopes the band intend to embark on a worldwide jaunt next year. The group performed three times in 2012 in the U.K. and US after a full scale reunion tour was cancelled due to guitarist Tony Iommi’s diagnosis (no C word here). On top of that the band ran into trouble with original drummer, Bill Ward over contractual issues. Bill still remains absent from the line-up but Ozzy, Geezer Butler and Tony will all be present and correct.
The band are currently working with Rick Rubin to complete their first original album in almost twenty years and their first with Ozzy Osbourne in 34 years. Guitars and drums have been completed with Ozzy and Geezer currently hauled up in Shangri La Studios in Malibu, California to complete vocal parts.
The Australian dates are on sale from Nov. 8th. Live Nation members can avail of a pre-sale that starts 09:00am Saturday.
Apr. 25 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
Apr. 27 – Allphones
Arena, Sydney
May 01 – Rod Laver, Melbourne
May 04 – Perth Arena, Perth
Billboard.com have a list of their Top 10 Halloween songs and we’re after tripping across it (through tireless searching on Google of course…..ok, so I typed Halloween Songs and it was result number 1 or 2 or something. Well, I didn’t see you clicking it!). The list isn’t bad, has the videos etc. Included, but they’re not very terrifying are they? I mean, no-body gets scared when they hear ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ by Blue Oyster Cult or ‘Highway To Hell’by AC/DC. No, they rock out and we feel a Halloween hits list has got to scare the living sh*t out of you. So nappies in hand, let’s see if old Tickets There (with our charming manners, sexy good looks and desperate need for nicotine) can do better.
10: ’Halloween Theme Song’ John Carpenter – Well where else would you start? The soundtrack to 1978’s Halloween still remains on the of the atmospheric and intimidating ever released. The opening notes immediately remind you of good old Michal Myers and his personal demons and family issues. Of course, there was no Frasier Crane in 1978, these days everything would be worked out on the couch.
9: ‘I Love The Dead’Alice Cooper – Alice Cooper is Halloween for music. The original shock rocker spooked more minds than …. SATAN! Alice is your nightmare and all the things that are dark, eerie and sinister. He is the bogey man so trick or treaters be good or Alice is stealing all your candy.
8: ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ Alice Cooper – You didn’t think there’d only be one Alice in my list? did you? Didn’t I just get through saying that Alice is all things sinister and evil…etc,etc? Well anyway – TT has decided to pass up Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer’ and the theme songs from Exorcist and Psycho to include this so you best listen and listen good.
7: ‘I Put A Spell on You’ Screamin Jay Hawkins – Need a good witchy number for Halloween – look no further. Except, we’re not including Screamin’ Jay (no offense), but we find Bette Midler’s version from Hocus Pocus much more appropriate.
6: ‘Bark At The Moon’ OzzY – A little panic, a little thrill – Bark At The Moon is a savage Ozzy tune from a mediocre album. Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Ozz really cemented the mans reputation, but no-one can take away from this tune. Creeeeeeppppyyy.
5: ‘Ghostbusters’ Ray Parker Jr. – We’ll admit, Billboard had this one right. No Halloween would be complete without an airing of Ray parker’s iconic Ghostbusters tune. Along with Bull Murray’s comedy, Dan Aykroyd’s stumbling, loveable silliness, Harold Ramis’ staunch strictness and Ernie Hudson’s total disbelief at the crap he landed himself in – Ray’s song turned Ghostbusters into the most loveable ghost film of all time. On that note, Ghostbusters 1 & II have just been added to this week’s viewing list.
4: ‘This Is Halloween’ Marilyn Manson – Manson is in by the skin of his good graces. While the original is far more fitting as it embraces silliness and fun, creepiness and ghoulishness – it must be said that Manson did a good job, so why not try something new…ish?
3: ‘Black Sabbath’ Black Sabbath – Slayer’s ‘Reign In Blood’ was just replaced by this choice. Easily the most terrifying, dark heavy metal song ever recorded by man. All hail the mighty Sabbath and keep an eye on the blog over the next few minutes for something else Sabbath related.
2: ‘Thriller’ Michael Jackson – Obvious? Maybe, but it just has to be there – and it’s still amazing.
1: ‘The Monster Mash’ Bobby Boris Pickett – The greatest Halloween song of all time. What more can be said?
Think we missed anything? Leave your feedback and discuss. In the mean time, I have a scary halloween everyone…….
Black Sabbath fans around the world are currently reeling at the news that founding member; Bill Ward has dropped out of the band’s forthcoming reunion. In a public letter posted on his Facebook page, Bill announced that he could not, in good faith, continue with the current recording/touring plans until he was presented with a ‘signable contract’ that showed him some level of respect for his contribution to the band.
Since making the announcement, rumours have been rife that ‘certain wife’s’ are behind Bill not getting his well-earned 25% cut but this morning, candidate No.1 Sharon Osbourne came out publicly and denied she had any involvement. To make things worse, the remaining members of Black Sabbath have publicly announced they will continue with their plans with or without Ward and are currently recording in England.
Last year the original line-up of Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler announced they were reforming to record a new album and play live again. Even news that Tony Iommi was seriously ill didn’t seem to throw their plans into doubt but the fracturing caused by this latest split may be enough to undermine the entire comeback.
To show their disapproval, some fans have set up a Facebook page called ‘1,000,000 Black Sabbath Fans Say Yes to Bill Ward’ that currently has over 28,000 members and is growing by an estimated rate of five new members per second. The aim of the page is to stand united against Geezer, Ozzy and Tony until they come to their senses and treat Bill with the respect he has earned and give him back his rightful place as one quarter of the band we all love so much. A Black Sabbath reunion wouldn’t be a reunion without Tony, Geezer or Ozzy and it certainly isn’t a reunion without Bill and that is what people have signed up for. Bring Back Bill – Join the campaign now.
Recession or no recession, this country never stops producing good music and Cork band, Brains are the latest example of that. Formed in 2009, the band play what they describe as ‘blackened rock n roll’ which loosely translated means ‘American styled stoner rock / metal. Not that this comment really does the band justice because their debut EP, Strange Meat is packed with little gems and the odd one we’re still getting our heads around.
Wolfbeast opens things up and we still haven’t decided if we like it or not. It’s a strange one that slips between comical and pretty savage. The chunky bass, the Hammond organ and explosive guitars are excellent and the singer’s voice is powerful during the verses but something happens in the bridge and things go off course a little. Maybe it’s just because the song is called Wolfbeast and we don’t know the band well enough to let them away it.
Second song 3ft Wide 7ft Tall was the other one we weren’t full sure about at first. Given a few spins though it quickly convinced us to keep going with this band. Opening with a doom, piano / guitar – slowed down black metal styled intro, the song quickly changes into a lighter pop rock styled verse before the booming guitars return for the chorus. Pretty funny in places but works well as a serious number because the music’s there to back it up.
Things really kick off with the guitar driven That Awful Witch which is chuck-full of dueling guitar leads, a funky chunky bass line and some very catchy hooks. An excellent number and a welcome sign that this band are not just here to sing about Wolfbeast and massive women (3ft Wide 7ft Tall isn’t about women TT, listen properly next time – Ed)….then again, AC/DC made a career out of doing that.
Black on Black really gets the full on, hard rock buzz going. Opening with another simple yet atmospheric bass intro, the song is once again filled with hooky guitars, riffs, a belting chorus and some dark fantasy lyrics. The guitar explosion at the end is reminiscent of the Thin Lizzy and sits perfectly well with the slowed down, seventies tone on the song.
Muddy Water opens with a riff that’s become synonymous with the band’s sound after just five songs. It gets a little repetitive but the song itself is great, broken down blues rock with some iconic dark metal sounds thrown in. Lovely guitar work and another credible song to make this a damn fine EP.
Things ain’t over yet however as the fine bumpkin (love that word) guitar intro to the EP’s title track kicks in. Strange Meat breaks the trend of the a crunchy bass intro and dives head first into a chaotic, raw guitar driven track. Tender moments, noisy moments – another winner.
Excellent EP, full of very enjoyable moments and definitely a band to watch if you’re a fan of seventies heavy metal or heavy rock. Like we said there’s a few moments in there where you’re trying to figure out which side you’re on but when Tickets There sees these guys live, we’ll be there singing along to Wolfbeast as loud as we can. Oh, and did we mention you can download it for free from This Location?
