Earlier this year, many Black Sabbath fans were abuzz at the sight of estranged drummer Bill Ward joining Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler in accepting an honor at the Ivor Novello awards. But despite the nice moment, Ward remains at odds with the group over his contractual situation and his deteriorated relationship with Ozzy Osbourne. During an appearance at the Q Awards, guitarist Tony Iommi addressed his relationship with Ward and also offered a few tidbits on what to expect from Black Sabbath moving forward.
Speaking with Gigwise on the red carpet, Iommi was asked about the special appearance with Ward earlier this year. He stated, “It was good, it was really great to see Bill. I mean Bill and I stayed in contact, not as much as we used to, but we do stay in contact. But it was really nice to see him and it was just a nice warm feeling to be with him again.” When quizzed if he thought Ward would return for the band’s final tour, Iommi initially offered up a “no,” before backtracking a bit, adding, “To be honest, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But who knows? You never know.”
Black Sabbath are planning to make their live return in 2016, but Iommi revealed that his health will play a large role in how many shows there will be. The rocker has continually received cancer treatments over the last few years and the band has worked around his schedule.
When asked if another album might be coming, the guitarist stated, “We’ve got some tracks that we recorded before with Rick Rubin in LA when we did our last album. We done 16 tracks, but we only put eight on the album so there are tracks there that could possibly show their face at some point.” As for new material, Iommi revealed that the members have not had that discussion yet, but it could happen.
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Source: Loudwire.com
