Black Sabbath announced an original-lineup reunion, a new studio album and a world tour on November 11, 2011. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward appeared together at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, with Henry Rollins hosting the press conference and Rick Rubin joining them as the album’s producer.
The prospect of new material gave the reunion its weight. Their previous studio album together was 1978’s Never Say Die!, although the quartet had reunited onstage in the intervening years. The 1998 live album Reunion, drawn from their Birmingham concerts the previous year, also included two new studio songs. European shows and Ozzfest dates followed in 2005. What they were proposing in Los Angeles was a full album, extending a partnership that had returned to the stage without delivering another complete studio record.
There was already writing to discuss. At the press conference, Osbourne said they had seven or eight new songs, while Rubin described the band as roughly halfway through developing the material. Iommi credited the producer’s persistence with helping bring them together. “He phoned us every five minutes,” the guitarist joked, as reported by Blabbermouth. Universal Music’s announcement set out a fall 2012 release target for the untitled record. It also named a Download Festival headline appearance for June 10, 2012, with a worldwide arena tour planned to support the album. The wider tour itinerary remained to be announced.
The following months changed those plans. In January 2012, the band announced that Iommi had been diagnosed with lymphoma, and album work moved to the UK to accommodate his treatment. A February tour update retained Download but dropped the other previously scheduled European Sabbath dates. Ozzy & Friends were announced for most of those engagements, allowing performances to continue while Iommi’s health took priority. The band’s update also said writing and recording were continuing in the UK.
Ward’s participation became a separate issue. In a statement on his website that February, he said he wanted to record and tour but could not proceed without a “signable” contract. He described himself as ready to travel to England and maintained that the terms needed to respect his contribution as an original member. Negotiations continued, but in May he confirmed that he would not play the announced Sabbath shows. The four-man lineup presented at the Whisky did not carry through to the finished album.
13 arrived in June 2013, with Osbourne singing, Iommi on guitar, Butler on bass and Brad Wilk playing drums. Rubin remained the producer, and most of the recording took place in Los Angeles. The project delivered the first Black Sabbath studio album with Osbourne since Never Say Die!, but its release year and drummer differed from the original plan.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Black Sabbath’s first release to top that chart.
