UK's The Telegraph recently spoke to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. The band discussed several topics, mostly related to the unparalleled success of their new album, 13, which was released June 11.
The album sold more than 155,000 copies in its first week, 100,000 more units than the No. 2 album on the Billboard album charts. It also topped the charts in the UK, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland.
"I knew it was a fucking good album, but when somebody just told me it's gone top in 50 countries — I didn't know there were 50 countries, and I'm No. 1 in all of them! I'm just devastated," Osbourne told The Telegraph.
When asked if the touring cycle for 13 will mark the end of the band, Osbourne responded: "It depends on Tony. At the moment, we're doing so many weeks on the road, then he has to go back for more treatment [after being diagnosed with lymphoma]. He's had chemo and radiotherapy, and now he's on a thing to boost his immune system. I really hope it's gone for good. I'm sure it has. But you never know with that stuff."
When asked about why Black Sabbath's attempt to record together more than a decade ago failed, Osbourne responded: "[It was] my ego — I was riding on this fucking cloud of being television's new megastar for five minutes. I was doing well on my own, so it took me a while to get that balanced out in my head. I mean, it's not Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. It's fucking Black Sabbath. It's different from me doing my own thing."
Head here for the rest of the Telegraph's interview with the band.
The band will launch a 20-city North American tour July 25 in Houston, Texas. It will wrap up September 3 in Toronto, Canada. After that, the band will head to South America and Mexico in the fall with dates in the UK and Europe to follow in the winter.
Getting back to the album's success for a moment, 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). Damn!
