Black Sabbath Surprises Listening Party

Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler surprised a crowd of fans and journalists by showing up unannounced at the end of a listening party for their new album 13 in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (April 10th). According to Loudwire, the three band members were greeted with cheers and thanked the audience for listening to the eight tracks aired at the event, which was introduced earlier in the evening by Ozzy's son Jack.

The cuts aired for the crowd were "End Of The Beginning," "God Is Dead?" "Loner," "Zeitgeist," "Age Of Reason," "Live Forever," "Damaged Soul" and "Dear Father."

Loudwire noted the "bluesy," groove-oriented and heavy feel of the songs, saying, "Upon first listen, it's clear that Black Sabbath's 13 will be a standout metal album of 2013. Fans will hear a lot of what has made the band legends in the first place while experiencing the freshness of some new music. "

13 comes out on June 11th and is the first Sabbath album in 35 years to feature Ozzy, Iommi and Butler playing and recording together. Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine provided drum tracks in lieu of original drummer Bill Ward.

Sabbath will begin a world tour later this month in Australia, with North American dates coming in the summer and European gigs penciled in for the fall.