Black Sabbath Officially Reunited (New Album + Tour)

We've followed the rumors, we provided a hilarious and detailed account of the band's fucked up history, and now the day has finally arrived. Heavy metal titans Black Sabbath today announced that they are officially reuniting in their original four-man formation, putting out their first new album of original material since 1978, and embarking on a world tour in 2012.

Yep, that's quite a bit of news to pack into a Los Angeles-based press conference, but there you have it. Black Sabbath's first reunited performance will be a headlining slot at the Download Festival in the UK on June 10 (betting they're gonna want to update their website), with performances around the world to be announced. Tickets for the Download Festival are on sale next Friday 11/18 at 9am GMT. The tour will support said new Rick Rubin-produced album and will likely be completely nuts, so make that happen.

Check out the teaser video the band made about their near future after the jump, and happy Friday!

Black Sabbath… Reunion rumors and their very weird history

As reported by every music outlet on Tuesday (except this one), heavy metal gods Black Sabbath have supposedly been working on a new studio album in secret since June, which would be their first release (with Ozzy) since 1978. Well, at least according to an article written by Birmingham Mail reporter Andy Coleman. The story has since been debunked by Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. It appears that a conversation Coleman had with Iommi back in June was misconstrued and reported two months (WTF?) later. Shame on him… I guess.

Either way, if you’re confused about the hype surrounding a full on Black Sabbath reunion, here’s an abridged (and weird) breakdown of the band’s on-again/off-again history, and why a reunion with Ozzy is actually kinda sorta special:

Review: Weezer / The Flaming Lips @ PNC Bank Arts Center, 7/28

Editor's Note: Wow, you guys. Wow.

by Geanna Barlaam and James MacFie

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A recipe for Nostalgia.

Combine the following in an outdoor setting:
-1 Part amphitheatre you’ve been going to since you were 9 years old
-2 Parts bands you’ve been listening to since you were 12 years old
-1 Part concert-going-buddy-for-life, who you’ve been seeing shows with since you were 15 years old

Mix well and serve with the chance of rain.

Yes, friends, it finally happened. Weezer and The Flaming Lips performed together on the same stage for about 3.5 hours, giving us and our adolescent selves something we never knew we wanted. But before we get down and dirty, we would be remiss if we didn’t at least mention the opening band.

Yeasayer opened and played about 4 (or was it 5?) songs from their most recent album, Odd Blood. If you are familiar with Yeasayer, then you know exactly what that sounded like. If you are not familiar with this band, all you need to know is that they are one of the most derivative, hyped-up bands of the last couple years, playing music that sounds at once like 1980’s synthesized pop, reggae, and attempted psychedelic rock. While this mix may seem appealing to you, Yeasayer puts these sounds together with such obvious, intentional efforts, that it comes off like they’re going through their own musically nostalgic check-list.

Now let's move on to the big guns! With not even 30 minutes for sound check and set-up, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne was on stage, riling up the crowd and explaining how the night would unfold. No one in the audience (except for the very savvy writers of this review) seemed to know what was in store, so he laid out the plan very clearly: “We’re gonna play some songs, then Weezer will come out and play some songs, then we’ll all get on stage together for the end... we’ll see how it goes.”

It was obvious that neither band really knew what was going to happen, but their apparent confidence in the other’s performances was what would keep the night going strong. We were promised, however, that shit was gonna get weird.