Over the weekend, on January 13th to be precise, a press release arrived in my mailbox announcing that Black Sabbath have named their new album 13 and that the album is due in June.
That wasn't the most interesting part of the press release.
For me, the kicker was that Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk was hired by the band for the studio sessions. I think everybody assumed that Tommy Clufetos would be playing on the album, seeing as though he is Ozzy's drummer and played with the band at their reunion shows over the summer. Perhaps Clufetos was already booked?
I'm assuming Wilk was recommended by producer Rick Rubin, who produced Rage Against The Machine's cover album, Renegades, as well as their live album, and all of Wilk's work with Audioslave.
Ultimately, I'm taking a wait and see approach with this. While Wilk never stood out to me as a mind-blowing drummer, maybe his laid back approach is just what Sabbath needed?
How do you feel about this? Is Wilk a suitable replacement for Bill Ward, who seems like a distant memory? Does this make you more excited or less excited for the new Black Sabbath record?
