Black Sabbath Officially Announce Reunion Tour, Album

On Friday, the members of Black Sabbath held a press conference in Los Angeles amid rabid fan speculation of a reunion. The rumors were confirmed at the conference: The gods of heavy metal have officially gotten back together, and in 2012 they’ll embark on an enormous international tour as well as record a brand new album.

The reunion sees the return of all four founding members of Black Sabbath: vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. The band is working on a new studio album, which will be produced by Rick Rubin. Iommi credits Rubin as a major reason they decided to record new material, as reported by Rolling Stone.

Black Sabbath will also headline the metal-oriented Download Festival on June 10, 2012 in Leicestershire, England, joining Metallica as a headlining act. The group will commence their worldwide tour after this festival appearance, but official dates have not yet been revealed.

Check out a video announcing the reunion below.