A History Of Black Sabbath's Drummers ::Black Sabbath News ::antiMusic.com

A History Of Black Sabbath's Drummers

01/17/2013
. (Radio.com) Black Sabbath recently announced their new record 13 will be released in June, and revealed that former Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk played on the album. So it's the perfect time to review some of the many musicians who bashed the skins for the metal legends over the decades. We could give our takes on them� but we thought we'd leave that to the band's guitarist, leader and the only guy to play on every Sabbath album, Tony Iommi (via his autobiography, Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath).

WHO: Bill Ward, the founding drummer. For many fans, he's the only guy who belongs behind the kit.

ERA: He's the original, and played on all the albums during the "Ozzy era," from 1970′s Black Sabbath through 1978′s Never Say Die. He lasted a little longer than Ozzy, staying for the first album of the "Dio Era," 1980′s Heaven And Hell. He reunited with the band for 1983′s Born Again (featuring former Deep Purple singer Ian Gillian), and has been with the band on and off since they got back together with Ozzy in 1997. Read more about Ward's recent history of battles with his former band here.

B.S. (Before Sabbath): There is no "before Sabbath" for Bill Ward!

A.S. (After Sabbath): Other than a few solo albums, he hasn't done much outside of Sabbath.

WHERE IS HE NOW: Hosting an internet radio show Rock 50.

TONY SAYS: "He was good, but he had his own style, he created his own thing. Very unorthodox. Bill wouldn't play a straightforward beat, he always put some little bits in, like a percussionist. He would hear these symphonies in his head and try to play like he had eight hands." Also: "We called Bill 'Smelly.'" Read the rest here.

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