“13” is proving to be a lucky number for BLACK SABBATH.
OZZY OSBOURNE, TONY IOMMI and GEEZER BUTLER have scored their first-ever U.S. #1 release in the legendary band’s 45-year career with their album, 13. Produced by Rick Rubin and released June 11 on Vertigo/Republic, the album sold more than 155,000 copies in its first week, 100,000 more units than the #2 album on the Billboard album charts. The album also topped the charts in the U.K., Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland. Here are additional Top Five global chart positions, with more to come as international charts are finalized: Australia (#4), Austria (#2), Belgium (#5), and Ireland (#5).
“The news is absolutely amazing–we couldn’t have imagined this would happen,” says TONY IOMMI. “We have the greatest fans.”
“There have been so many amazing highlights in our long career,” says OZZY OSBOURNE. “To finally have our first #1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath. Thank you to all of our fans for their support and loyalty.”
GEEZER BUTLER says, “I’m absolutely stunned. Thank you all world wide for being the best, and most patient, fans ever.”
BLACK SABBATH will launch a much-anticipated 20-city North American concert tour in support of 13. Kicking off July 25 in Houston, TX, the tour will include shows in Holmdel, NJ (NY-area), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Tinley Park (Chicago), San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto, ON before wrapping up September 3. The Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will then head to South America and Mexico this fall, with tour dates in the U.K. and Europe to follow this winter.
For more than three decades, rock fans have hoped for the return of the original BLACK SABBATH, but few could have predicted the forceful return-to-form of 13, which was produced by seven-time Grammy-Award winning producer Rick Rubin. The band that defined the heavy metal rock genre pick up immediately where they left off, delivering eight sprawling songs (five of them are over eight minutes) that possess every ounce of the maniacal vitality of their trailblazing work in the ’70s. On 13, BLACK SABBATH are joined by drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine) on such epic songs like “God Is Dead?” (the album’s first hit single) and “End of the Beginning” (the new single). 13 is a testament to the enduring relevance of BLACK SABBATH’s long-running reign.
