Earlier this week, drummer Bill Ward broke the news that he would not being joining Black Sabbath on their upcoming live dates, citing an inability to come to terms on a "signable" contract. (Read the statement here.)
Black Sabbath have now issued a brief statement in response to the news.
It reads, "We have decided not to make any detailed comment on Bill's latest statement. There are two sides to every story. We have been working hard at rehearsals making excellent progress after Tony's treatments and we have engaged a substitute drummer for the forthcoming shows. See you at Download."
There is still no word on who the substitute drummer(s) will be.