Noise11.com correspondent Paul Cashmere spoke with BLACK SABBATH guitar legend Tony Iommi recently. During their video chat, they discussed drummer Bill Ward's decision to back out of the reunion due to a contractual dispute:

Iommi: "It's been a on-off thing with Bill for many years with me. It was disappointing. We were all disappointed in it. It happened before with HEAVEN & HELL (with vocalist Ronnie James Dio). We wanted Bill to come in and Bill wanted to do it again. We got him in and he left again. We were used to it, really. It's a shame. We would have liked Bill to be on the album (13), and I'm sure Bill would have liked to have been on it, but it just got to a silly situation. It just didn't happen."

Black Sabbath will release their anxiously-awaited reunion album, 13, on June 11th. The first studio release in 35 years to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, and guitarist Tony Iommi, has RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE drummer Brad Wilk behind the kit in place of Bill Ward.

13 clocks in at nearly 60 minutes and features the following tracks:

'End Of The Beginning' (8:07)

'God Is Dead?' (8:54)

'Loner' (5:06)

'Zeitgeist' (4:28)

'Age Of Reason' (7:02)

'Live Forever' (4:49)

'Damaged Soul' (7:43)

'Dear Father' (7:06)

The deluxe version includes a second disc of exclusive bonus tracks:

'Methademic' (6:00)

'Peace Of Mind' (3:43)

'Pariah' (5:35)

Confirmed dates on Black Sabbath's North American tour (with Ozzy's drummer Tommy Clufetos in place of Bill Ward) are as follows:

July

25 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, Texas
27 - Frank Erwin Center - Austin, Texas
29 - Florida State Fairgrounds - Tampa, Florida
31 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, Florida

August

2 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, Florida
4 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, New Jersey
6 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, New Jersey
8 - Mohegan Sun Arena - Uncasville, Connecticut
10 - Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
12 - Comcast Center - Boston, Massachusetts
14 - Air Canada Centre - Toronto, Ontario
16 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Tinley Park, Illinois
18 - Klipsch Music Center Noblesville - Fishers, Indiana
22 - Rogers Arena - Vancouver, British Columbia
24 - Gorge Amphitheatre - Seattle, Washington
26 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - San Francisco, California
28 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Irvine, California
30 - US Airways Center - Phoenix, Arizona

September

1 - MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, Nevada
3 - Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, California