BLACK SABBATH Bassist Talks New Album, Upcoming Tour In Video Interview

Frankie DiVita, radio personality at Southern California's 96.7 KCAL Rocks, conducted an interview with BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below. A few excerpts from the chat follow.

On BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi's cancer treatment:

Butler: "Tony's responding really well. He's been having his treatment now for 14 months, and he's really responding well to it. So he'll be alright. You can never stop Tony."

On the incident at SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne's home in Beverly Hills earlier this month which resulted in Ozzy burning his hand:

Butler: "He's doing alright. He burnt his hand when he was putting the fire out. He's got it in a plaster cast."

On BLACK SABBATH's new album title, "13":

Butler: "Well, it was sort of a temporary name, that we had something to refer to the album as, and I think it kind of stuck. But I don't know if that's gonna be the final title or not. [It was named partly because it's coming out in the year 2013] and originally, we were gonna put 13 tracks on the album. We ended up doing 16 tracks, so I'm not sure what's gonna on the album and what isn't."

On the recording process for "13":

Butler: "This is the first time we've done an album together sober; none of us have been drinking or doing drugs or anything, so it's been more professional in that way. And we've stuck to a schedule every day. We'd go in at one o'clock and finish at six, just to keep everything fresh. Five hours a day — that's it."

On the inspiration for the new BLACK SABBATH album:

Butler: "It's sort of got the feel of the first three albums — back to the basic rawness. And the lyrics are very… They're just about life…. Life and death and doom and everything else. You get Prozac with every album."

On BLACK SABBATH's touring plans:

Butler: "We start in New Zealand and Australia in April, and then we do Japan. Then we do album promotion in June and then USA in July and August. Then South America and then Europe … [The USA trek] will be strictly [a] BLACK SABBATH [tour and not an Ozzfest run]."

On having RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk play on the new BLACK SABBATH album:

Butler: "That was [producer] Rick Rubin's idea, 'cause he wanted to have… He didn't want a typical heavy metal drummer on the album, 'cause it's not really a heavy metal album; it's more of a rock… heavy rock. And Rick Rubin suggested having Brad, 'cause he's more in the vein of [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] Bill Ward. So we jammed with him and he sounded great with the stuff, so we went with that … It's sort of back to the way we used to be in the '70s; that's his feel — sort of a jazzy, bluesy feel to him, and that's the way the music is now. It was great working with him."

On who the touring drummer will be:

Butler: "We haven't decided yet."

BLACK SABBATH first LP with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978 will be released in June via Vertigo/Universal Republic in the U.S. and Vertigo in all other territories.

Ward in May 2012 announced again that he was declining to join his former bandmates for its scheduled 2012 dates, as well as the recording of a new album, due to a contractual dispute.