Early BLACK SABBATH Albums To Be Re-Released On Vinyl

The first eight albums from the legendary heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH are being re-released on vinyl.

The reissue campaign will kick off on June 22 with SABBATH's self-titled debut album (1970),"Paranoid" (1970) and "Master Of Reality" (1971). They will be followed by the June 29 re-releases of "Vol. 4" (1972),"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973) and "Sabotage" (1975).

On July 13, SABBATH's "Technical Ecstacy" (1976) and "Never Say Die!" (1978) will be reissued.

All eight albums will be made available on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl and CD.

SABBATH's early original-lineup catalog was previously reissued on vinyl in 2012 as a limited-edition box set, "The Vinyl Collection: 1970-1978".

In an interview with Gibson.com, SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi spoke about the band's musical diversity. He said: "To me, BLACK SABBATH were always open to new sounds. On every SABBATH album, there’s always something out the box. We had instrumentals on a hard rock album when everyone was telling us, 'You can't do that!' I love 'Laguna Sunrise' [acoustic instrumental on 'Vol. 4'], for example. I enjoyed working with a choir, I liked getting string sections involved on ['Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''s] 'Spiral Architect'. SABBATH always did something different on each album. But I guess many people don’t remember those tracks so well."

Although SABBATH was briefly announced as performing at Ozzfest Japan this fall, the band is now off that bill and singer Ozzy Osbourne will be headlining as a solo act "with friends."

Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in early 2012, dismissed rumors last month that his health was the reason why the band canceled the Ozzfest Japan show.

Original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward, who has recently engaged in a public war of words with Ozzy over the reasons why Ward did not participate in the SABBATH reunion, has released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled "Accountable Beasts", the record can be purchased on iTunes.