Category: news

German black metal representatives Servant revealed that the work on their next studio record has been completed and will be out later this year via Art Of Propaganda Records. More info in due time.
Read more…

It’s a story as old as, well, the six years since the pandemic: one-man project is given birth during the days of lockdowns and isolation. Eventually, once the lockdowns are lifted, that one-man project slowly gets fleshed and filled out to the existence of a full band where one person had previously spent their forced alone time playing and writing by themselves and staring into the glow of a computer screen. Originally coming to be in Gatineau, Quebec, Volubilis formed in 2020 by multi‑instrumentalist Miguel Marcheterre‑Pina with the first public showing being an instrumental demo issued in 2023. Since then, Marcheterre‑Pina has assembled a lineup — André Dubien (vocals), Jacob Collins (drums), Alexis Rioux (guitar), and Shawn Hillman (fretless bass) — and made the move to Montreal.

Most relevant to today’s posting however, is the band’s forthcoming debut album, Theasterion, an astute masterstroke of progressive melodic death metal wrapped in thoughtful and technical aggression, deep space sci-fi storytelling and stunning amounts of conservatory-level musicianship reminiscent of Obscura, Gorod, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Beyond Creation. You can give the band and Theasterion a spin below, as we’re ponying up the chance to listen to a stream of it in advance of its official release tomorrow.

Here’s what mainman Marcheterre‑Pina had to say about the album and all y’all (hopefully) taking the time to give it a listen (which we’d recommended, because it’s really f’n good): “After a couple of years of composing, recording, and working on the worldbuilding aspects of Theasterion, we’re very proud to finally share it with the metal community! It’s been a long and stressful process, so having Decibel premiere our very first album is a great honour, and we are extremely grateful for this opportunity. Getting our music out in the world is a huge check off the bucket list, and we are excited to see its legacy in our music careers!”

Photo Credit: Jade Weeles & Miguel Marcheterre-Pina

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Spotify

 

The post Album Stream: Volubilis Ride a Tech Rocket Into Space With <em>Theasterion</em> appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

GWAR co-founder Chuck Varga is dying. Facing mortality is one thing, but doing it after a career where staged death and fake blood are part of the job description is something else entirely. Although Varga’s name isn’t as well known as that of the late frontman Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus), Varga’s imprint on GWAR—and, by extension, metal music and pop culture—is just as large.

Varga – known as the “Sexecutioner” – was one of the visionaries responsible for creating the GWAR multiverse from the ground up in the ’80s and an integral part of GWAR’s ascent to public awareness during the pivotal Scumdogs Of The Universe era in the ’90s. Without Varga, GWAR would not exist. In the past decade, however, Varga has been quietly fighting metastatic prostate cancer. The cancer has taken a turn for the worse, and Varga is now in hospice care.

Despite contemplating his own mortality, Varga remains as sharp and funny as ever. Varga says his embrace of Stoicism—a Greek philosophy that teaches adherents to control their reactions to events and emotions—has helped him accept his own mortality and appreciate looking back on what he helped create.

Varga and his wife, Bambi, still need our support. GWAR has launched a fundraiser to help support Varga and his wife, who has pivoted to being his full-time caretaker in his final months. GWAR is selling T-shirts, accepting donations, and offering unique items to fans. Please lend some support to someone who has done so much for metal and underground culture.

Varga is confined to his bed but talked to us about his life, his legacy, and how some extra support will help him and his family navigate this difficult time.

When did you start noticing something wasn’t right?

About 10 years ago. I went to the urologist, and he double-checked my prostate, and it turned out that I had prostate cancer. They did an operation and took out my prostate. They didn’t get it all. Over the course of 10 years, I’ve been taking hormone blockers and some radiation, which kept it in a very stable state.

The cancer found a workaround, and it developed a new strain, and it’s gone gangbusters since last summer, taking away my ability to walk. It left me partially paralyzed from the waist down. I am now in a hospital bed in my house in Florida, in hospice. The doctor said back in March that I had six months or less to live. I’m not really doing much in the way of treatments because they’re ineffective.

So the prostate cancer basically spread to other parts of the body? How did it migrate?

It’s gone everywhere. I have some in my lungs. I had some in the brain that we radiated. It’s all up and down my spine. It’s compressing my spinal cord so that I have no feeling in my legs, and it’s spreading throughout my body. They can’t cure me. It’s just to make me feel a little better.

How is your quality of life right now? You mentioned you can’t really walk.

I’m restricted to a bed I never get out of. A nurse comes by every day to wash me and check me out. I have a catheter. That’s what hospice is; it’s an organization that works with Medicare to help you with these things. They don’t really have a program for people who are paralyzed; most people who have cancer can get up and go to the bathroom. So it complicates my treatment, and I have to pay for that out of pocket. I have to pay for a nurse every day to come by and help my wife flip me around and wash me up. I’m very thankful that they can do that, but yeah, that’s my situation.

How are you maintaining some sort of positive outlook in the face of this, or has it affected your mental health?

My mental health is outstanding. My mood is bolstered by my philosophy. I’m a Stoic. I believe in ancient Greek philosophers and their outlook on life; whatever happens to you, you don’t have to react to it negatively. You can reframe it and actually count your blessings, which I do. I am not in that much pain. I also have a great caregiver in my wife, and my friends and a lot of people have stepped in to show support and help me. I have an embarrassment of friends.

It sucks being paralyzed. But I’m able to adapt to it. I’m grateful that I didn’t die right away. I’ve been able to make a will, get my affairs in order, make my wife the power of attorney, and get my retirement all squared away so that she is the beneficiary. And I did my taxes, believe it or not, from a hospital bed.

I’m working on a fundraiser with GWAR that will help out because the day that I had to go to the hospital, December 28th last year, she had to quit work and take care of me full-time. They put me in the hospital for several months—I had a bunch of stuff going on. The underlying conditions of the cancer compressing my spinal cord are more than the physical therapy can overcome.

When people donate to a fundraiser, they often do so thinking the person will get better. I don’t think people appreciate how much financial support is needed for a terminal illness.

This fundraiser is to help Bambi shoulder the role of being my caregiver. The fundraiser will primarily help Bambi as she goes through this transition. She’s going to go through some real hardship just dealing with my funeral arrangements, and then there’s the out-of-pocket cost of paying for a nurse to come by every day.

That stuff adds up.

It’s so worth it because it’s not something that one person can do. It was really taxing on my wife. She is such a warrior. She’s the one who’s stepped up. It’s difficult for me to do all my logistics from here, and my fingers are numb. So she has to deal with all that stuff. A lot of this fundraiser is for her.

You mentioned Stoicism. Given where you are, you have to be looking at the big picture, right? You helped create this thing that literally transformed all of culture.

Well, thank you. I really like to hear that. I am a modest person. When I first started doing the GWAR stuff, I thought, “We’re making history here. We’re giving the music industry a much-needed kick in the pants.” I was surrounded by people like Dave Brockie, Hunter Jackson, and Don Drakulich. All the core people were living in a shit-hole town, and we’d just gone through art school, and we were not happy with what they said was art, and we were not happy with what was passed off as music, which was bullshit. It was a total artificial construct by MTV and big corporations. We were all part of the underground fight.

We wanted to get our cynicism across. We didn’t like what was going on at the time, politically, with Ronald Reagan and the military buildup. And so, when we started to do GWAR, we were able to get out a lot of the topics that were bothering us. It was all completely new, like, here’s a band that actually does more than try to look pretty and pose on stage. We were going to try to look ugly and not be role models.

One of the things that made GWAR so special, but also gave it organizational problems, was that we never had an adult in the room. We were all a bunch of misfits, and we’re all cramming our ideas together. The fact that we had so much going on captured people’s attention. We thrived despite our disorganization.

How do I feel about having an impact? I’m so glad that we persevered and we kept trying. We stuck to it, and we had just a handful of people. We saved up our money, and we got a decent studio. I feel very instrumental in that because the studio was in my name from the beginning. In 1987, we got a decent GWAR space right across from the local underground rock venue, Rockitz. And we got an old school bus that we scuttled and repurposed, and we would go up and down the East Coast. Once people saw GWAR, they said, “Holy shit, this is completely different.” And it was completely different.

Have you talked to or connected with all of the guys who are still doing it? It sounds like they’ve been super supportive.

It’s astonishing to me because I left the band for a while and moved to New York back in 1997. Brockie had a lot of charisma, and he could be a wonderful leader. Fortunately, when they got back together, other members of the band, who are much more organized, got the reins and sort of changed things up. They were the ones who persevered.

That they still do it and have kept it up has really amazed me. And they’ve always welcomed me back. Back in like 2012, I got back with them, and it just fit like my costume fit. It felt like I’d never left. And I’m so glad I said, “Hell yeah!”

They loaned me some money I needed for my divorce; that was critical. I remember Brad (Derks) saying, “We’re family, you know, we don’t forget about each other.” And so, I’m very happy that I’ve had that family and that they’ve been able to help me.

It also has a particularly ironic ring that I have probably chopped off so many heads and surreptitiously spilled so many thousands of gallons of blood like a madman. Here, I am asking people to give blood. I just thought there was an interesting sort of irony to that. Thousands and thousands of people gave blood. My wife was the first person to run down and do it when she found out.

How do the next six months look for you? What is your timeline?

Well, I don’t have a crystal ball. My cancer is really, really aggressive. My liver and my kidneys are holding up, even though I’ve had it in my liver for over a year. I was supposed to be gone a long time ago.

The GWAR part of me doesn’t want to give up. The chemo, oh my god, did such a number on me—my mouth is so fucked up. I wish I’d never done it. The neuropathy that’s creeping up on me is scary. Eventually, the cancer has to take over. But you must go out on a good note. I don’t know how long I’ve got. I could have a couple of weeks or a couple of months. My organs are keeping me alive. It just seems like nerve damage is creeping up on me.

Could you talk a little bit about how important it is to have that support, even if you’re not going to beat the cancer?

The bills are piling up. And my wife is going to be stuck with a lot of the bills and a lot of the dealing with the funeral arrangements. I’m not going to bounce back from this. The real tactile things are like being able to pay for my care and quality of life while I’m still alive, and to be able to help my wife with the other expenses that have accrued from her being my caregiver and not being able to work.

This fundraiser could be the difference between her keeping our house and everything, so we’re not completely out of cash paying for the nurses. My 401(k) is getting sucked away pretty hard. So that’s it, to help pay for the nurses and help my wife support herself. She has been a saint. My nurses cost me close to $3,000 a week. The hospice covers one or two visits. For the last several months, that adds up. I don’t want my wife to have to sell the house or anything else because of bills. This fundraiser could be the difference.

Eventually, the cancer’s got to take over. My body won’t be able to keep up with the toll that the cancer is taking, and I’ll get sleepier and sleepier. As I understand how it runs its course, you kind of go into a sleepy mode for a couple of weeks until you breathe your last. I thought I was going to ride out the apocalypse, and that my wife and I would eventually be sharing a glass of Zinfandel laced with Nembutal—you know, some other euthanasia drug- and we’d die in each other’s arms. But that’s not how it’s going to work out.

The post “I Thought I Was Going To Ride Out the Apocalypse:” GWAR Co-Founder Chuck Varga On His Terminal Cancer Battle appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Don’t Let Go, Fantastic Cat (from the Missing Piece Records release Cat Out of Hell) A scream-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs anthem about holding on to your dreams. Nothing you can buy can save what you soldSo hold on tight to the light in your soulDon’t look down, baby don’t let… Don’t let go Suffer, Boy Golden (from the […]

Solace are veterans of the metal world. They first formed in 1996 from the ashes of the alt-metal band Godspeed, who made their name by being managed by Geezer Butler and were the backing band for Bruce Dickinson on a Black Sabbath tribute album. Solace’s metal credentials are undeniable, even if it was under a different name. Their output in the intervening years has been fairly sparse, with their newest, Fading Failing Ruin, being only their fifth album. 

Since their inception, the New Jersey quintet has been refining a style of metal they refer to as “dirt metal.” It’s a combination of stoner metal, doom, and elements of hardcore. Certainly, the stoner metal is the most apparent element: heavy, bluesy riffs are all over the album. It’s no languid, fuzzed-out drug trip, though–Fading Failing Ruin is much more of a hard rock album. It’s at its best when fusing the stoner doom with pieces outside the blues scale for a more powerful and in-your-face sound. “Culling the Herd” is a good example here, a concise, hard-driving rocker that owes a little bit of its DNA to hardcore and alternative metal. 

…

…

There are some fantastic ideas on Fading Failing Ruin. Dual guitars are layered well to create harmonies and arrangements, and the band makes great use of extended riff structures to vary up the pacing of the songs. A guest musician provides slide guitar, which subtly adds a little more texture in certain moments. 

However, one of the album’s issues is the length of some of the tracks. There are a few instances where the band just sits on a bluesy stoner rock groove for an extended period of time and loses momentum. For example, “Fettered to a Stone” has a long, two-minute outro sequence where Justin Goins sings the same phrases over the riff. Similarly, the intro to “Wrath’s Object (The Big Fall)” is lengthy and moody as sparse guitars noodle over a hypnotic bassline for nearly seven minutes. It’s cool, but the rest of the 14-minute track is somewhat underwhelming. It feels disconnected to said intro and it’s hard not to believe it could have been trimmed by a couple minutes or made a separate track altogether. These issues crop up often enough that the album loses a fair bit of energy, especially towards the end as “Malengine (The Scaffold)”, “Every Day Is a Loaded Gun,” and “Ridden” all pile up. 

That doesn’t mean every longer song is in need of a trim though. The seven-minute “Beyond Below” is an absolute delight from start to finish, changing tempo multiple times over its run and offering a catchy chorus to book. It begins as a sludge metal rocker, then transforms into a proggy, melodic anthem, before descending into menacing doom metal with swirling Hammond organs, then finally finishing back where it started.

There are also shorter tracks that absolutely rip. In fact, there are three songs under five minutes long and all are great. Opener “Spiral Will” is a fantastic way to start the album–it’s a meaty doom metal song with an infectious vocal hook, and the aforementioned “Culling the Herd” is fast-paced, aggressive, and direct. 

Overall, Fading Failing Ruin is a bit of a mixed bag. Its finest moments are great. Solace fuses a range of ideas into some extremely high-energy songs, even leaning into a bit of a progressive flair in fleeting dashes. On the other hand, there is a lot of fat that could be trimmed. Tightening up a couple of the tracks would go a long way towards creating a more cohesive album. Still, the best songs on here are absolutely worth a listen. 

…

Fading Failing Ruin is available now via Magnetic Eye Records.

Last month Sam and Louise Sullivan charmed us with their addictive Love & Devotion lead single “Down On Love.” The nostalgic folk-rock duo is doing it again today with the release of the easily enjoyable, ’60s-inflected title track.

The post Sam And Louise Sullivan – “Love & Devotion” appeared first on Stereogum.

Bonnie Tyler, one of rock ‘n’ roll history’s all-time great maximalist wailers, has passed away. The New York Times reports that Tyler, best known for hits like “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” and “Holding Out For A Hero,” died on Wednesday at a hospital in Portugal, where she lived and where she recently went through emergency intestinal surgery. She remained in intensive care after emerging from an induced coma. Tyler was 75.

The post Bonnie Tyler Dead At 75 appeared first on Stereogum.

Warren Haynes has announced the release of his new live album, Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey, arriving September 18 via Evil Teen Records in the U.S. and Provogue/Artone Label Group in Europe. Along with the announcement, Haynes has released “Raven Black Night (Live),” the latest preview from the 16-track collection.

Originally appearing on Gov’t Mule’s 1998 sophomore album Dose, “Raven Black Night” has been reimagined with full orchestral backing, transforming the stripped-down original into an expansive symphonic performance.

“I had come up with this arrangement that went from ‘Raven Black Night’ into ‘Silent Scream Pt. 2’ and back into ‘Raven Black Night’,” shares Haynes. “The way those two things married together is really cool, and the way the orchestra accepted that challenge was really amazing. I think the way those two songs work together kind of lend themselves to orchestration, in some ways, more than anything else on this recording. They sound like the orchestration completes the thought, like the orchestration sounds like part of the composition, which is a tall order and very high praise indeed. I love the arrangement for the piece and really enjoyed singing ‘Raven Black Night’ in that light, because the original recording had no drums and was very stripped-down. It had a little percussion thing in the middle and no bass. Whereas this arrangement is just full-bodied, full orchestration – the opposite of the original – and it really takes it to a place that completes it and turns it into another thing.”

Co-produced by Don Was and Haynes, Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey was recorded in 2019 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Haynes’ hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. The performance featured Haynes alongside the 64-piece Asheville Symphony Orchestra and an all-star backing band that included Oteil Burbridge on bass, John Medeski on organ and keyboards, Jeff Sipe on drums, Greg Osby on saxophone, and background vocalists Edwin McCain and Jasmine Muhammad.

The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and spans Haynes’ more than three decades of music, featuring orchestral reinterpretations of material from Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, his solo catalog, and more. Orchestral arrangements were created by David Campbell, Jim Gray, Tom Matta, Vince Mendoza, Sean O’Loughlin, and Chris Walden.

“Raven Black Night (Live)” follows the previously released orchestral versions of the Grateful Dead classic “Shakedown Street” and the Gov’t Mule favorite “Banks of the Deep End.”

Since debuting in Asheville in 2019, the Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience has expanded into a recurring concert event, with performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and in cities including New Orleans, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. The next performances are scheduled for March 11-12, 2027, at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Before then, Haynes will return to the road with Gov’t Mule. The band’s Kicking In Your Stall Tour begins July 22 and runs through August 23, including nine co-headlining performances with Joe Bonamassa. Gov’t Mule will then launch the Dreaming The Same Dream Tour with Ziggy Marley on September 23, featuring guest DJ YOLA.

Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey Track Listing

1. Dreams & Songs (Part 1)
2. Dreams
3. Banks Of The Deep End
4. Spots of Time
5. Broken Promised Land
6. Thorazine Shuffle
7. It Makes No Difference
8. Terrapin Station > Slipknot! > Terrapin Station
9. Raven Black Night > Silent Scream > Raven Black Night
10. Just Another Rider
11. Black Peter
12. Instrumental Illness
13. One
14. Shakedown Street
15. Whipping Post
16. Dreams & Songs (Reprise)

Gov’t Mule – Kicking In Your Stall Tour

July 22 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre *
July 24 – Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park *
July 25 – Tuscaloosa, AL – Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater *
July 26 – Memphis, TN – Radians Amphitheater *
July 29 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park *
July 31 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre *
August 1 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center *
August 2 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion *
August 4 – Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront *
August 6 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
August 7 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
August 8 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC *
August 11 – Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena
August 12 – Burlington, VT – Waterfront Park
August 14 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl
August 15 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage
August 16 – Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Event Center
August 18 – Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank Pavilion
August 19 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
August 20 – North Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery
August 21 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
August 22 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
August 23 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound

Co-headlining with Joe Bonamassa.

Gov’t Mule & Ziggy Marley – Dreaming The Same Dream Tour

September 23 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17
September 24 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
September 26 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann
September 27 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap
September 29 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
September 30 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
October 2 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Pavilion
October 3 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
October 6 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
October 8 – Salt Lake City, UT – Granary Live
October 9 – Boise, ID – Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden
October 11 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
October 12 – Woodinville, WA – Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
October 14 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
October 16 – San Diego, CA – Gallagher Square at Petco Park
October 17 – Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

The post Warren Haynes announces “Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey” appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

Bill Ward, the original Black Sabbath drummer, has confirmed he now relies on a wheelchair “more and more” for airports and public events, nearly one year after the death of his longtime bandmate Ozzy Osbourne. The 78-year-old shared the Bill Ward wheelchair update himself on Wednesday, July 8, posting a photo of himself smiling in an all-black outfit while seated in the mobility device, and insisting in the same breath that he is “not in retirement.”

STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

Scott Penfold provides the latest, up-to-the-minute hard rock and metal news weekdays on The Metal Breakdown Daily Podcast. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play to stream it live.

Bill Ward’s Full Statement, In His Own Words

Ward posted a lengthy, candid message to fans explaining the change, opening with a direct address: “Dear Friends, Fans, Families, and people I’ve not met yet, I’m announcing today somewhat sadly but nonetheless truthfully, that I’ve reached a place where publicly more and more I need to use a wheelchair, mostly in airports, or public events.”

He was careful to draw a clear line for fans, writing, “I can still walk, let there be no doubt, but I can’t walk very far without needing to rest, meaning I need to sit down.” According to Ward, the transition wasn’t sudden — he said the wheelchair has quietly been part of his travel routine for a year and a half already, mostly for getting through airports.

‘Not In Retirement’: What Ward Wants Fans To Know

The heart of Ward’s message is a rejection of the assumptions people tend to make when they see a longtime musician using a wheelchair. Ward, who turned 78 on May 5, addressed that head-on: “I was a long distance walker, I’ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I’m still a drummer. I can still play pretty good for 78 years old. My talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now.”

He continued, drawing a distinction between mobility and identity: “I’m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I’m just catching a ride, I’m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs.” Ward closed the post with an invitation rather than a warning: “If you see me in the airports or visiting friends in the music arenas or theatres say hi, I don’t bite, I’ll just look different, as pictured here.” He signed off, “I’ll keep rocking until I’m dead. Rock forever and ever.”

Check It Out – The Earth Tapes Secured: Sharon Osbourne Settles Legal War Over Black Sabbath’s “Legendary” 1969 Demos

A Tribute Still Raw: Remembering Ozzy Osbourne

Ward’s decision to go public now, nearly a year after Osbourne’s death, adds context to the timing. Osbourne passed away in the summer of 2025, and in the aftermath, Birmingham’s Black Sabbath Bench became an impromptu memorial site for fans from around the world grieving the loss of the Prince of Darkness. Ward posted his own emotional tribute at the time, writing, “Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart,” before adding, “Deepest condolences to Sharon and all family members. RIP. Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”

That loss followed closely behind one of the most significant nights of Ward’s career. Black Sabbath’s original lineup played its final show together, Back to the Beginning, at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5, 2025 — Ward’s first time behind the kit with Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler in nearly two decades. The wheelchair news lands as a reminder that the surviving members are still processing that closure in real time, on their own terms.

Also – BLACK SABBATH’s ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’: The Haunting Story Behind a Heavy Metal Masterpiece

The Long Road Back To Black Sabbath’s Final Bow

Ward’s presence at that farewell show mattered more than casual fans might realize, because for over a decade it wasn’t a given he’d ever share a stage with Sabbath again. In May 2012, Ward announced he was declining to join his former bandmates for reunion dates and the recording of what became the “13” album, citing a contractual dispute. The band’s search for a replacement drummer took a strange detour: producer Rick Rubin floated CREAM’s Ginger Baker for the sessions, an idea Iommi shot down flatly. “I thought, ‘Bloody hell?’” Iommi told Rolling Stone. “I just couldn’t see that.” Rubin’s next suggestion was Rage Against The Machine’s Brad Wilk.

Seen against that history, Ward actually making it back onstage for Sabbath’s true final bow in 2025 — and now choosing transparency over silence about his health in 2026 — tracks as part of the same pattern: a drummer who’s always done things on his own terms, even when it costs him the easier path.

Bill Ward’s Solo Legacy: Accountable Beasts

Ward’s own catalog outside Sabbath is worth remembering here too. His most recent solo album, ‘Accountable Beasts’, arrived in 2015 via iTunes — his first solo record in 18 years. The album featured Ward’s own drumming on seven of its nine tracks, alongside longtime collaborators Keith Lynch on guitar and keyboards, bassist Paul Ill, drummer Ronnie Ciago, drummer Walter Earl, and an array of session singers, including Ward’s daughter, Emily.

Ward closed his wheelchair announcement with a line that reads like a thesis statement for the whole post: “And the secrets we hide, can be dangerous to our health, I’m letting transparency prevail, with love and progression.”

TL;DR

• Bill Ward, 78, says he now needs a wheelchair “more and more,” mostly in airports and at public events
• He’s used it for about 18 months already, but is going public with it now for the first time
• Ward insists he’s “not in retirement,” can still walk and still drums “pretty good”
• The update comes nearly a year after the death of bandmate Ozzy Osbourne, whom Ward called “forever in my heart”
• Ward played Black Sabbath’s true final show with the original lineup at Back to the Beginning in July 2025
• His last solo album, ‘Accountable Beasts’, came out in 2015 after an 18-year gap

Recommended – Black Sabbath’s Tony Martin Era Albums Ranked: The Most Underrated Sabbath Era Finally Gets Its Due

FAQ

Are you Team “let people age publicly and honestly” like Bill Ward just did, or did this catch you off guard? Sound off in the comments. Follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward Reveals He Now Needs a Wheelchair appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Last month, I shared one of those photo gallery videos that I often do when events like Anime NYC and the New York Comic Con are at their general public … Continue reading Flashback: Geeks OUT’s “Flame Con” 2025 Photo Gallery Video →