Black Sabbath's Bill Ward Has Buried The Hatchet With Bandmates

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward is addressing his split from the legendary heavy metal band following the completion of the group's farewell tour earlier this year.

Ward - who chose to sit out the Sabbath reunion in 2012 and the farewell run over contractual issues - says he has come to terms with events of the past five years that saw Ozzy Osbourne's solo drummer, Tommy Clufetos, join the singer, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for global concert tours.

Ward felt forced to defend himself against some the accusations made by the band in the media about his health, including a public exchange with friend and singer Osbourne that became personal, at times.

"I feel very compassionate towards them," explains the drummer. "I just disagree with them when they send something in the world press and I look at it and I go, 'You know what, that's not quite accurate.' Then I have to defend. Because I have to defend, it doesn't stop me from loving them. And when I think about them, I don't think about them with resentment in my heart or revenge in my heart or anything like that. I don't have any of that whatsoever."

"I'm at peace with those guys," Ward says of his current status. "If something comes up that I feel is contradictory, I'll always make a statement back in defense of whatever I need to defend But my general outlook towards them is not of resentment, it's not of fear, it's not of hatred or anything like that. I actually really, really, really love these guys. I wish them absolutely nothing but the very best, I wish them nothing but the best in their lives. Every day, I say prayers and I wish for them health and happiness and just nothing but good things to befall them. I [don't] in any way... have any grudges or any arrogance or anything else. It's been like that for a while.

"At first, I was really upset but I've cooled off a lot. I'm in a different place; I've moved on. But I haven't moved on from the idea of if [they] ever wanted to play again. I've not moved on from that idea. That would be something that would have to be worked out. But if they've moved on from that idea, then that's fine, I'll support that." here.

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