OZZY OSBOURNE Talks To 98.7 THE GATER About BILL WARD, '13' And Upcoming BLACK SABBATH Tour

Earlier today (Tuesday, June 25),Andy Preston from the 98.7 The Gater radio station in West Palm Beach, Florida conducted an interview with BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne. You can now listen to the chat below.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, BLACK SABBATH's new album, "13", is such a success for the reunited band that Ozzy wants to make another one — and hopes that original drummer Bill Ward can join the group in the studio this time. When asked by NME about the chances of Ward returning, Ozzy answered, "It's a strong possibility. We would have loved to have Bill on this album. Maybe we can work things out by the next one. But it won't take another 35 years. I'm 65 now. There's no fucking recording studios in the afterlife. We're all even closer for all this shit so there's one positive, one fucking silver lining."

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk played drums on "13" after Ward sat out the sessions. While money was believed to be an issue, Ward was reportedly also upset that the group wanted another drummer around anyway to back him up if he was physically unable to get the job done.

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio that Ward being out of shape was the main reason he's not on the record. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper. I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something. But I suppose it was something to do with finances as well."

SABBATH's future also depends on guitarist Tony Iommi's health. Iommi was diagnosed with a form of cancer in early 2012 and continues to undergo treatment for it. Ozzy told NME, "At the moment, we're doing so many weeks on the road, then he has to go back for more treatment. He's had chemo and radiotherapy, and now he's on a thing to boost his immune system. I really hope it's gone for good. I'm sure it has. But you never know with that stuff."

"13", the first SABBATH album in 35 years to feature Ozzy, Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler all playing together, sold 155,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, giving the group its first chart-topper ever in America.