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Black Sabbath


"Reunion" is a live album by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on October 19, 1998. As indicated by the title, the album features the reunion of the original lineup: vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. This album marks their first new release featuring this lineup since 1978's Never Say Die! and Osbourne's subsequent departure the following year. In 2000, Black Sabbath received their first Grammy Award for the live recording of "Iron Man" from Reunion. On October 13, 2023, the album was remastered from the original source tapes and released worldwide, with the two studio tracks remastered by Danny Saber. Six years after Osbourne left Black Sabbath under contentious circumstances, he briefly rejoined his former bandmates for a performance at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, and again in 1992 for the climax of his No More Tours farewell tour. Despite these reunions, fans were disappointed that they did not lead to a full Black Sabbath reunion with a new album and tour. A serious attempt at a reunion in 1993 was unsuccessful due to lingering tensions among the members. However, in 1997, Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler reunited for the Ozzfest shows, though Ward was absent due to health issues and was replaced by Mike Bordin from Faith No More. Ward had briefly returned for a South American tour in 1994 with Tony Martin as the frontman. By late 1997, the four original members set aside their differences and booked two shows at the NEC in their hometown. On December 4 and 5, 1997, they performed together, with the shows recorded for a live album. Due to concerns about Ward's health, Vinny Appice was on standby. Ward successfully performed both shows, although there were incidents, including a gong falling on him, which Iommi humorously recalled. The album features live versions of classics like "Paranoid," "N.I.B.," "Black Sabbath," and "Iron Man," as well as two new studio tracks: "Selling My Soul" and "Psycho Man." These tracks were also released on a CD single in the United States. Music critics praised the band's decision to include unexpected songs that had not been played live in many years, such as "Spiral Architect" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep."