ozzfest Archives - Metal Bell Magazine

It’s no secret that Iron Maiden are not the biggest fans of Sharon Osbourne. When the NWOBHM legends performed at Ozzfest, the band clashed with Sharon. Now, frontman Bruce Dickinson has taken a moment during a recent spoken-word engagement to say that he doesn’t think Black Sabbath exists without founding drummer Bill Ward — and that he thinks Sharon is the one to blame.

As published by Blabbermouth, during his March 3rd spoken-word engagement at the Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, Dickinson was asked what he thought about Black Sabbath existing without Bill Ward. The singer didn’t mince words:

“I’m a massive lover of Bill Ward’s drumming style, I think it’s inspired. ‘Cause he’s not really a rock drummer; he’s more like a jazz drummer playing rock. And I love that kind of style, it’s kind of like drums that kind of wander around the rhythm and everything else. But he’s on it, he’s brilliant. And I met him. He’s a lovely bloke as well. Slightly mad, but very nice. But then aren’t we all? All of us are on the madness spectrum a little bit.”

“Does Black Sabbath exist without Bill Ward? Well, it’s not a matter of… I don’t think Black Sabbath exist at all now. I think Sharon’s made sure of that.”

Bruce has some truth and we all agree with him. The omission of Bill Ward from Black Sabbath’s final album and tour felt really weird and out of place, especially with how often the presence of Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler was touted as making this the “original” Black Sabbath. Then again, knowing Dickinson’s previous beef with Ozzy, Sharon, and their whole organisation, this feels a little like berating someone to a captive audience.

Go see Iron Maiden live:

5/22 – Zagreb, CROATIA – Arena Zagreb (Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
5/24 – Belgrade, SERBIA – Stark Arena (Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
5/26 – Bucharest, ROMANIA – Romexpo Open Air (Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
6/13 – Sofia, BULGARIA – Arena Armeec (Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
6/16 – Athens, GREECE – Olympic Stadium (Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
9/7 – Mexico City, MEXICO – Foro Sol (Special Guests to be announced) [tickets]
9/11 – El Paso, TX, USA – Don Haskins Center (Trivium) [tickets]
9/13 – Austin, TX, USA – Moody Center (Trivium) [tickets]
9/15 – Tulsa, OK, USA – BOK Center (Trivium) [tickets]
9/17 – Denver, CO, USA – Ball Arena (Trivium) [tickets]
9/19 – Salt Lake City, UT, USA – USANA Amphitheatre (Trivium) [tickets]
9/21 – Anaheim, CA, USA – Honda Center (Trivium) [tickets]
9/25 – Chula Vista, CA, USA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre (Trivium) [tickets]
9/27 – Concord, CA, USA – Concord Pavilion (Trivium) [tickets]
9/29 – Seattle, WA, USA – Climate Pledge Arena (Trivium) [tickets]
9/30 – Spokane, WA, USA – Spokane Arena (Trivium) [tickets]
10/3 – Sioux Falls, SD, USA – Denny Sanford Premier Center (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/5 – Chicago, IL, USA – United Center (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/7 – Columbus, OH, USA – Nationwide Arena (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/9 – Detroit, MI, USA – Little Caesars Arena (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/11 – Toronto, ON, CANADA – Scotiabank Centre (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/12 – Hamilton, ON, CANADA – FirstOntario Centre (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/15 – Ottawa, ON, CANADA – Canadian Tire Centre (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/17 – Worcester, MA, USA – DCU Center (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/19 – Belmont Park, NY, USA – UBS Arena (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/21 – Newark, NJ, USA – Prudential Center (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/23 – Washington, DC, USA – Capital One Arena (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/25 – Greensboro, NC, USA – Greensboro Coliseum (Within Temptation) [tickets]
10/27 – Tampa, FL, USA – Amalie Arena (Within Temptation) [tickets]