It has been rumored for some time, but yesterday it has been made official: the original Black Sabbath line-up is back together for a new tour (their first together since 1997) and their first full studio album since 1978’s Never Say Die. The press conference announcement — embedded at the bottom of this post — was hosted by Henry Rollins, a long-time Sabbath fan.

The next Black Sabbath release is to be produced by Rick Rubin, famous for his work with Slayer, for his work with Johnny Cash during the Man In Black’s final years, and bringing Metallica back to form with their Death Magnetic album.

Occupy Wall Street dominates discussion on this week’s edition of Social Blend, among other topics including the sad news of Steve Jobs passing away, and the anniversary of Nirvana‘s Nevermind.

Click here to listen to the latest episode.

Joining the discussion for this episode is Jeremy Rosen from Roadrunner Records (who kindly brought along some Opeth and Dream Theater for us to play) and musician Terr Ciavarra aka Media Nox.

It’s not often I’m compelled to write about another site’s Top 10 list, but when I saw Ozzy Osbourne‘s Bark At The Moon made Yahoo’s list of Ten Worst Heavy Metal Albums of All-Time, I was flabbergasted.

Seriously, Bark At The Moon? Worst of ALL TIME? No way!

According to the intro to the Yahoo! list, which also bafflingly includes Iron Maiden‘s Fear Of The Dark, to be considered for inclusion the band has to be “somewhat famous,” stating “After all, why kick a band when it’s down, who were never up in the first place?” That means, heavy metal bands people aren’t really familiar with really wouldn’t qualify, which makes their number 6 choice, Raven‘s The Pack Is Back, an odd selection considering they were less famous than their counterparts Anvil BEFORE the Anvil! The Story Of Anvil award-winning movie was released. So, until Raven!: The Story Of Raven becomes the breakout hit at Sundance, I’d say leave the band alone in their obscurity.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne
Directed by Mike Fleiss, Mike Piscitelli
Schweet Entertainment
Released date: September 16, 2011 (UK) Limited

My local multiplex is usually full of spiky-haired teenagers queuing up for the latest horror or comedy (not that there’s anything wrong with that) often hand in clammy hand with their first date. Tonight, however, is different: there are bikers in the car park and men with long hair, leather jackets, and Iron Maiden trainers in the ticket queue. Tonight, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is in town.

After the success of MTV show The Osbournes and his brilliant autobiography I Am Ozzy, a documentary about the Prince of Darkness was always going to happen. Being a big fan of Ozzy Osbourne I thought I knew exactly what sort of film I was in for. I was wrong.

The biggest surprise for me was not watching a comedy. Sure it will make you laugh out loud, but God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is a very honest film about a very troubled man. For all of Ozzy’s crazy behaviour it is easy to forget that he is someone’s dad. All five of his kids (including his and Sharon’s oldest daughter Aimee who refused to be part of The Osbournes) are interviewed and none could say with any certainty that he was a good dad. When the rock world was being entertained by Ozzy, his lifestyle had a big and lasting effect on them. They all still clearly love him very much and are all really proud of the way he has turned his life around and finally gone sober. It takes the cartoon character sheen off and makes him instantly more human.

You may not recognise the name, but I guarantee that you have seen (or own) his work. For over 30 years, Steve ‘Krusher’ Joule has designed album covers for the likes of Hawkwind (Live “˜79), Ozzy Osbourne (Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon), Black Sabbath (Born Again), and more.

For 10 years he was the art director for Kerrang! Magazine that Metallica’s Lars Ulrich once called “the most important magazine for us.”

I called up the “van Gogh of metal” for an extensive chat about his work, comics, and his dear friend, guitar hero Würzel. He’s funny, he’s sweary, and he tells it like it is.

Geeks of Doom: First of all, do I call you “˜Krusher’ or Steve?

Steve “˜Krusher’ Joule: Most people call me Krusher.

Geeks of Doom: Where did that come from?

Steve “˜Krusher’ Joule: It was when I was working on Kerrang [magazine]. I just wanted a nickname for a week and thought it would be clever to have Krusher spelled K-E-R-R – as in Kerrang – and U-S-H-E-R. Somebody changed it at the printers to Krusher thinking it was a spelling error…and it just stuck! [laughs]

Geeks of Doom: You’re most well known, to me at least, for designing Ozzy Osbourne album covers particularly Diary Of A Madman and Bark At The Moon. How did that come about?