Original founding member and drummer of iconic heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, Bill Ward has found inspiration through poetry, in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Ward shared his latest poems, via Twitter, on April 6, April 13 and April 15, as previously reported in Blabbermouth, “…inspired by the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe. ‘Unimagined Thoughts’, ‘The Swallow’ and ‘Unworthy Exchanges’…” were the titles released, respectively.
From the band’s formation in the late 1960’s up until the early 1980’s, Ward had recorded nine albums with Sabbath. The four founding members of Sabbath were comprised of legendary frontman Ozzy Osborne (lead vocals), Tony Iomni (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). Ward left the group shortly thereafter the band parted ways with lead vocalist Ozzy Osborne, whom left after the recording of Sabbath’s eighth studio album 1979’s Never Say Die! Ward’s exit with the group came after the release of Sabbath’s ninth studio album, 1980’s Heaven and Hell.
As previously noted in the aforementioned Blabbermouth article, “Ward was on board for the Sabbath reunion when it was first announced eight years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of Sabbath have hinted in other interviews that he wasn’t physically up to the task.”
The group has gone through numerous roster changes in its extensive recording career and featured original members coming, off and on, back into the fold. To date Sabbath as a collective recorded nineteen full length studio albums, including their latest and final studio album 2013’s 13, released via Vertigo/Universal.
As previously reported in the aforementioned Blabbermouth article, “All four original members of Sabbath were present when the band announced its reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an ‘unsignable’ contract, and singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced ‘13‘ LP and extensive international touring without him.”
As recent as last July, Ward expressed an interest in somehow bringing the original members of Sabbath to reunite in some capacity whether recording music or touring. As previously reported here at mxdwn Ward, “…stated that he still loved his former bandmates, putting to rest any ideas of a lasting feud between the Sabbath members. He also said that he would be open to the idea of a reunion of some kind moving forwards. The post was made simply for Ward to make this announcement, making it seem like he really wanted fans to know he had been thinking about the possibility. While the group officially dissolved with the release of their album 13 and the subsequent tour, Ward was not a part of either of those efforts. A new reunion would be a fitting end to the group if all four members were able to be a part of it.”
Photo Credit: Aisha Humphrey
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