A lost Black Sabbath jam titled "Slapback" surfaced online a few days ago thanks to Gary Rees, the executor of longtime Black Sabbath collaborator Geoff Nicholls' estate. Rees said at the time that the song "doesn't sound like a typical Sabbath song," but figured it was one considering it was on a Heaven & Hell rehearsal cassette.
Now in an interview with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler confirms it was indeed a lost Black Sabbath jam. He adds the song never really went anywhere, and the band "jammed it and didn't think anything more of it. It didn't really work."
"Yeah, that was one of the songs that we did before I left. It's probably the reason I did leave. [Laughs] It was just one of those songs that didn't make the grade."
Butler added he was still pretty psyched to hear the song after 40 years, adding that the recording is "quite good quality as well."
The cassette with "Slapback" also contained a Heaven & Hell demo.