British heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath will reunite for the first time since 2001 for Ozzfest, which begins July 10 in Hartford, Conn., a spokeswoman for the annual road show said on Tuesday.
Ozzfest co-founder and headliner Ozzy Osbourne will revisit such hard rocking classics as “War Pigs” and “Paranoid” along with guitarist Tony Iommi and bass player Geezer Butler. But original drummer Bill Ward will be replaced by Mike Bordin, who backs Osbourne on his solo gigs.
Along with three-quarters of the original Black Sabbath, Ozzfest will also feature four-fifths of the original Judas Priest, and such acts as Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, Superjoint Ritual (featuring former Pantera singer Phil Anselmo) and Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society.
Black Sabbath, with Ward on board, last played live during the 2001 version of Ozzfest, but plans to play its own shows afterwards were canceled because Osbourne had to finish work on his solo album.