Black Sabbath Set Release Date for '13'

BY Alex HudsonPublished Mar 13, 2013

Black Sabbath have had some serious setbacks in their recent reunion — namely Tony Iommi's lymphoma battle and a falling out with drummer Bill Ward — but now the heavy metal pioneers have finally confirmed a due date for their long-awaited 13.

The album will drop on June 11 via Vertigo/Universal. It's available to pre-order now from BlackSabbath.com.

Format options include a standard CD, a deluxe two-CD set, a 180-gram vinyl record, and something called a "Super Deluxe Box Set." The box set includes both the CD and LP, an exclusive DVD called Black Sabbath — The Re-Union that also includes five behind-the-scenes videos, photo prints, hand-written lyrics, and a download card with a track-by-track interview with the band about the new album. This set costs $100.

Peruse your purchase options and, if you're so inclined, pre-order 13 here. Those who pre-order will be eligible for a draw to win two VIP tickets to an album launch event in the UK in June.

We're guessing that the album cover on the pre-order site is just a placeholder, since it consists solely of the band's classic wobbly typeface and looks exactly like the cover of Master of Reality (minus the title, of course).

Technically speaking, 13 marks the band's first studio album since 1995's Forbidden, although it's the first since 1978's Never Say Die! to feature iconic singer Ozzy Osbourne and the first since 1994's Cross Purposes with bassist Geezer Butler.

You can see some new studio footage of Black Sabbath working on 13 below.

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