If you weren’t excited enough about legendary forefathers of metal Black Sabbath heading out on one final tour, get ready. The band have just announced that they’re releasing a new album, too, but there’s a catch: copies will only be available for purchase at the band’s upcoming tour dates. The lengthy The End Tour is slated to be Black Sabbath’s last ever live performances, and will see them visit the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond.
The album will consist of eight tracks, and includes outtakes from the 13 recording sessions with legendary super-producer Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Kanye West, AC/DC, Eminem, Slayer and more,) titled Season of the Dead, Cry All Night, Take Me Home and Isolated Man, alongside unheard live versions of God Is Dead? Age Of Reason, Under The Sun and End Of The Beginning.
Their last album, 13, was released in 2013, and marked the return of former frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who had left the band previously in 1979.
Speaking to Billboard, bassist Geezer Butler shed light on the new album: “We thought we’d put out an album of 13 songs, but when we were in the studio we wrote another three songs, which brought it up to 16 and then we left it to Rick Rubin to pick which songs would go on the album, and to give it some light and shade he picked the eight songs that were on the 13 album. We put a few songs on deluxe versions of the album and then we had the four left over, and we decided to do a gig-only CD.”
The eight track album will be available to purchase on Sabbath’s final tour, which kicks off on 20th January in Omaha, Nebraska.
Tickets and more can be found on the band’s official website.
Black Sabbath 2016 Tour Dates:
20th Jan – Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center
22nd Jan – Chicago, IL @ United Center
25th Jan – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
28th Jan – Saskatoon, SK @ Sasktel Center
30th Jan – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Centre
1st Feb – Calgary, ON @ Scotiabank Saddledome
3rd Feb – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
6th Feb – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
9th Feb – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
11th Feb – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
13th Feb – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Events Center
15th Feb – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
17th Feb – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
19th Feb – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
21st Feb – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
23rd Feb – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
25th Feb – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
15th April – Perth, AU @ Perth Arena
17th April – Adelaide, AU @ Entertainment Centre
19th April – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena
23rd April – Sydney, AU @ Allphones Arena
25th April – Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre
28th April – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena
30th April – Dunedin, NZ @ Forsyth Barr Stadium