Black Sabbath

On Saturday night, Black Sabbath played a concert for the first time in seven years -- and the 4,000 fans in attendance hung on their every note.

On the morning of their reunion concert at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler took the band's official website to give his side of the story of the band's falling out with original drummer Bill Ward, and to announce the

The reunited Black Sabbath are set to perform their first gig tonight at the O2 Academy in their hometown of Birmingham, England. With so many eyes focused on the band right now, bassist Geezer Butler released a statement on their website that lowered expectations but reminded the audience of the reason for the gig.

Black Sabbath didn't say much in response to original drummer Bill Ward's decision not to accept the financial terms offered to him for a reunion tour and album. However, the fact that they've removed him from seemingly all of the vintage images on their new website seems to make a pretty clear statement.

Black Sabbath have released a brief statement in response to Bill Ward's lengthy statement from earlier in the week. In his lengthy screed, the band's original drummer declaring that his "final effort" to reach an agreement that would enable him to join the band's upcoming reunion shows had failed.

Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has issued a lengthy statement declaring that a "final effort" to reach an agreement with the management of his former band has failed, and that as threatened back in February, he will not be joining the band's upcoming reunion shows.