Tony Iommi was 'shocked' by Bill Ward's decision to bow out of Black Sabbath reunion

Tony was interviewed by Guitar World on drummer Bill Ward opting out of the band's reunion in early 2012 over some well-publicized contractual disagreements:

"I was shocked. We were hearing stuff from lawyers, like, 'I'm not happy with this. I'm not happy with that.' We waited a long time for Bill and we wanted to sort it out. But at the end of the day, especially after I was diagnosed, I thought, Fucking hell, that's it. We've got to get a move on. I might pop off next year! So I emailed him and said, 'Bill, we can't wait any longer. We've got to get on with it.' And that was it."

On recruiting Brad Wilk to play on the new album, "13":

"We had our doubts, because they play a different, funky sort of music. But after a few days of rehearsal, we knew Rick [Rubin] was right. Brad was a really good player, and he was getting it. We liked his style and the way he tried different things instead of being regimented. It was sort of jazzy and loose, like Bill."

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Blabbermouth.net, 23 May 2013