Classic BLACK SABBATH Albums Re-Enter BILLBOARD Chart

According to Billboard.com, several of BLACK SABBATH's catalog of albums made their digital debut a week ago, thus sparking a return to the chart for two of their classic titles. Both "Black Sabbath" and "Paranoid", released in 1970, return to the chart this week. "Paranoid" re-enters at No. 121 with 2,935 (up 183%) and "Black Sabbath" returns at No. 184 (2,130; up 229%).

BLACK SABBATH's sales breakdown:

* "Paranoid"

This week: 2,935
Last week: 1,038

* "Black Sabbath"

This week: 2,130
Last week: 647

* "Greatest Hits 1970-1978"

This week: 1,973
Last week: 372

* "Vol. 4"

This week: 1,498
Last week: 751

* "Master Of Reality"

This week: 1,463
Last week: 249

* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"

This week: 887
Last week: 205

* "Sabotage"

This week: 774
Last week: 186

When Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward formed BLACK SABBATH in 1969, they created a signature sound that set the blueprint for heavy music and influenced generations of disciples for years to come. For the first time, the full catalog from the original BLACK SABBATH lineup is now available digitally in the U.S. and has been mastered specifically for iTunes, ensuring the delivery of the music to listeners with increased audio fidelity, more closely replicating what the artists, recording engineers, and producers intended. Available exclusively on the iTunes Store worldwide, fans now have the ability to download all albums in one newly created bundle ("The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978"),eight legendary studio albums, two classic compilations, or simply purchase each song individually.

"It's about fucking time the first eight BLACK SABBATH albums were made available on iTunes in the U.S.," said Ozzy Osbourne.

"Great news. [It's] been a long time trying to explain to fans why the music wasn't available," Tony Iommi commented.

"It's going to be great to finally have the catalogue accessible on iTunes," Geezer Butler noted.

"Black Sabbath: The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978" features the band's collected studio works for Warner Bros. Records from the 1970s, including their iconic eponymous debut (1970),the multi-platinum landmark "Paranoid" (1970),the platinum albums "Master Of Reality" (1971),"Vol. 4" (1972),and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973),and the gold-certified "Sabotage" (1975),"Technical Ecstasy" (1976),and "Never Say Die!" (1978). Also available is their classic 1976 compilation "We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll" as well as 2006's "Greatest Hits 1970-1978", which was released in connection with their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Following wildly successful shows in North and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe, BLACK SABBATH will kick off another North American tour with dates starting March 31 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The trek will hit ten cities in Canada, including stops in Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, before wrapping April 26 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. These dates will be part of the band's final shows of their 2013-2014 world tour in support of their first studio album in 35 years, "13", which entered the charts at #1 in 13 countries (including their first #1 in the U.S.). Another run of European festivals and headlining shows will follow this summer.

First formed in Birmingham, England, BLACK SABBATH's doom-laden sound pioneered a new kind of heavy rock music, a sound that would later influence hundreds of other bands. Many consider BLACK SABBATH to be the godfathers of heavy metal, but SABBATH were capable of surprising their fans with songs that showed other facets of their skills besides darkness and monstrous decibels. Thirty years after their initial impact, guitarists are still stunned by Tony Iommi's jaw-dropping riffs, Geezer Butler's swooping bass lines, and Bill Ward's thunderous drums. And, of course, in Ozzy Osbourne the band had one of the most magnetic and unpredictable front men ever in rock, with a maniacal voice like few others before or since.

BLACK SABBATH titles now available at iTunes:

* Black Sabbath (1970)
* Paranoid (1970)
* Master Of Reality (1971)
* Vol. 4 (1972)
* Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
* Sabotage (1975)
* Technical Ecstasy (1976)
* We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll (1976)
* Never Say Die! (1978)
* Greatest Hits 1970-1978 (2006)
* The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978 (2014)