Geezer Butler Says the Closing Bells on ’13’ Are ‘Really Cheesy’
The headline of Spin's new interview with Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler promises that they "answer the hard questions." And the heavy metal duo approached the occasion with the proper spirit, pulling no punches with their responses.
In fact, not even the band's new music was spared from their unflinching honesty. When asked about 'Dear Father,' the final track from their just-released '13' album, and the way it closes with the same sounds of rain and bells that opened their classic debut LP, Butler responded that it was producer Rick Rubin's idea. "I thought it was really cheesy," said Butler.
That doesn't mean they don't stand behind their work. Looking back on his last studio album with Sabbath, 1979's 'Never Say Die!,' Osbourne described himself, Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward as "just a f---ing bunch of guys drowning in the f---ing ocean." In contrast, he said about '13,' "If we never do another thing together, I can rest my head on the pillow and say it went full circle ... I can honestly rest my head and say, 'We pulled it off.' The only sad part is Bill never came around."
The subject of Ward's acrimonious departure from the lineup came up once again, and this time, Osbourne claimed that he "can't really remember" how things fell apart. "There was the business side of it and the money side of it," he said. "We just didn't have the time to keep the people waiting another f---ing 10 years. The drummer thing was a pain in the butt. We would have loved Bill Ward to step up to the plate, but it never worked out.
"I still love him to death," Osbourne insisted. "It's sad that it didn't work out. But hey, we've got an album, we're all really happy. I don't suppose Bill is that happy."