Black Sabbath Bassist Geezer Butler Issues Statement Ahead of Band's "Homecoming" Show

Tomorrow, three quarters of the classic Black Sabbath lineup — Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi — will perform together in Birmingham, England, aa a homecoming show and a warm-up gig for their upcoming headlining performance at Download Festival.

While there's still no word on who will be manning the drums for Sabbath (It looks like we'll find out tomorrow), bassist Geezer Butler has issued an update via his official Facebook page. It reads:

"Well, rehearsals are finally finished, and now for the nervous part, playing our home town gig. Since it is a warm up show, there will probably be a few glitches , but remember it’s all in a good cause, since we’ll be donating to the 'Help For Heroes' charity, a fantastic charity that helps our troops who have been wounded in recent wars. No matter what your feelings about the wars are, these men and women willingly dedicate their lives for our defence and freedom. I hope the people who are making profits by re-selling the tickets to real fans find it in their hearts to do the right thing and donate at least some of their gains to the charity. Here is their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HelpforHeroes

• "Thanks for caring.
• Geezer"

Earlier this week, it was announced that original Bill Ward would be sitting out Sabbath's scheduled live dates for 2012.

"It is with a very sad heart that I bring you this news," he said in a lengthy statement. "I am sincerely passionate in my desire to play with the band, and I’m very, very sorry that it’s fallen to this. This statement is even more painstaking to write, as I was particularly excited to play alongside Tony Iommi after the recent treatments he underwent. I wanted that to become a reality."

Black Sabbath would not issue a direct response to Ward's statement, but merely announced that they would be moving forward with a "substitute drummer" in the interim.