Tony Iommi was "shocked" that Bill Ward opted out of the Black Sabbath reunion album and tour.
He says, "We were hearing stuff from lawyers, like, 'I'm not happy with this. I'm not happy with that.' We waited a long time for Bill and we wanted to sort it out. But at the end of the day, especially after I was diagnosed [with lymphoma], I thought, 'Bloody hell, that's it. We've got to get a move on. I might pop off next year!' So I E-mailed him and said, 'Bill, we can't wait any longer. We've got to get on with it.' And that was it."
Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine took Ward's place on the album, 13, which comes out on June 11th. Ozzy Osbourne's drummer, Tommy Clufetos, is playing on the tour.
