In a new interview with Classic Rock Revisited’s Jeb Wright, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler discusses the band’s final tour. Read an excerpt below:

Q: Black Sabbath is about to do their final tour. A lot of band’s say it is the end Geezer, but then it isn’t the end. Is THIS tour really the end of Black Sabbath?

A: “It is one hundred percent the end. We’ve all agreed that this is it.”

Q: How did you come to decide to call it quits? Was it Tony’s illness?

A: “It was our decision. Tony’s condition was an influence on it, but we all felt the same. The 13 tour went great. We just felt we’d do one more tour… to make it official, we called it The End. We are all in agreement that this can’t go on forever so we should go out on the top.”

Q: If this is really the conclusion, then it is nice that three out of the four of you can stand arm in arm and go out and do it just one more time.

A: “We have enjoyed being together so much, this time. We are all glad that we are friends again. It is good to keep it like that. It is nice to leave on top rather than to drag it out and not be into it anymore. We can all play well, still. It is just our time to go out.”

Q: Are you looking ahead to the date where you are playing that last gig? Or is that just too much to think about right now?

A: “No, I have not thought about it yet. I won’t think about it until that last date is confirmed. We don’t know where and when it will be. We are still going to finalize where the last gig is going to be. It is better not to think about it yet. We are just taking it one day at a time at the moment. We are always looking forward to the gig that comes next. We take it one gig at a time.”

Find the complete interview at Classic Rock Revisited

Black Sabbath spent Monday (January 18th) rehearsing for the launch of their The End tour tonight in Omaha at the Century Link Center. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne also took some time to speak with the media about the tour and the end of the band. MSN Video has posted KETV Omaha’s full unedited interview (7:22) with the trio at this location.

“It's going to be hard at the end to say ‘that's it’ but it has to end someday,” Iommi remarked. “But we're going to enjoy it until then. And given the fact that it's The End tour, we’ve dugout a lot of the classics we haven’t played in a long time.”

When asked if they ever reflect on the mark Black Sabbath will leave on music history Ozzy responded: “When you're on the inside looking out - and I know it's been going on and on for years - you don't really think about it. When we first began I thought this would be great for a couple years, but I had no idea that 40 odd years later, we would still be here. It’s mind-blowing. What a good idea that was.”

Black Sabbath have released the full video taking you behind the scenes of rehearsals for their final tour ever. Check it out below:

With Black Sabbath’s 2016 The End Tour launch now just a week away, comes exciting news about a new special limited edition CD, The End, to be sold exclusively at shows on the legendary band's massive worldwide final tour.

Featuring original artwork by Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant, the CD is comprised of eight previously unreleased tracks: four songs are outtakes from Black Sabbath’s worldwide #1, Grammy Award-winning album 13 and four live songs from the band's critically acclaimed 13 World Tour.

The CD features Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass), along with Brad Wilk (drums) on tracks 1-4, Tommy Clufetos (drums) on tracks 5-8, and Adam Wakeman (keyboard) on tracks 5-8. Tracks 1-4 were recorded at Shangri La Studios in Malibu, CA and produced by Rick Rubin, mixed by Andrew Scheps at Punkerpad West and recorded by Greg Fidelman. Tracks 5-8 were recorded and engineered by Greg Price and mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Studios Mastering.

The End tracklisting:
 
“Season Of The Dead”
“Cry All Night”
“Take Me Home”
“Isolated Man”
“God Is Dead?” (Live Sydney, Australia 4/27/13)
“Under The Sun” (Live Auckland, New Zealand 4/20/13)
“End Of The Beginning” (Live Hamilton, ON Canada 4/11/14)
“Age Of Reason” (Live Hamilton, ON Canada 4/11/14)

Beyond the collaboration with Shepard Fairey, Black Sabbath will celebrate artists each night of the tour by commissioning exclusive posters for each market on The End tour. An example of the artwork is below:

On the heels of their much-anticipated performances in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, Black Sabbath will end the epic journey they began nearly five decades ago with another run of North American dates in fall 2016. These shows will follow a mix of summer headlining and festival performances throughout Europe.
 
The second run of North American dates kicks off August 17th at Jones Beach Amphitheater in New York and includes stops at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (where the band last performed a sold-out show on their wildly successful 13 world tour in 2014), Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Detroit, and Dallas, among others, before wrapping September 21st at AK-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, AZ.

The massive 2016 world tour by the greatest Metal Band of all time marks The End for Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler as they close the final chapter in the final volume of the incredible Black Sabbath story with this tour. Black Sabbath's The End farewell tour promises to surpass all previous tours and will feature the band's most mesmerizing production ever. An updated video announcement can be found below.
 
When this tour concludes, it will truly be The End, The End of one of most legendary bands in rock 'n roll history... Black Sabbath.
 

Black Sabbath's 2016 Tour Dates are as follows:
 
North America
 
January
20 - Omaha, NE - CenturyLink Center
22 - Chicago, IL - United Center
25 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
27 - Winnipeg MN - MTS Centre
30 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Centre

February
1 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
3 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
6 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
9 - San Jose, CA - SAP Pavilion
11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
13 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay
15 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
17 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
19 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
21 - Hamilton, ON - First Ontario Centre
23 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
25 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
27 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
 
Australia/New Zealand

April
15 - Perth, AU - Perth Arena
17 - Adelaide, AU - Entertainment Centre
19 - Melbourne, AU - Rod Laver Arena
23 - Sydney, AU - Allphones Arena
25 - Brisbane, AU - Entertainment Centre
28 - Auckland, NZ - Vector Arena
30 - Dunedin, NZ - Forsyth Barr Stadium
 
Europe

June
1 - Budapest, Hungary - Groupama Arena
8 - Berlin, Germany - Waldebuhne
11 - Donington, UK - Download
13 - Verona, IT - Arena Di Verona
15 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadon
17 - Dessel, Belgium - Graspop
23 - Halden, Norway - Tons of Rock
25 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhell
28 - Vienna, Austria - Stadthalle
30 - Prague, Czech Republic - 02 Arena

July
2 - Krakow, Poland - Tauron Arena
5 - Riga, Latvia - Riga Arena
7 - Helsinki, Finland - Monsters of Rock
9 - Stockholm, Sweden - Monsters of Rock
12 - Moscow, Russia - Olympisky Arena

North America

August
17 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
19 - Philadelphia, PA - Susquehanna Bank Center
21 - Washington, DC - Jiffy Lube Live
23 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
25 - Boston, MA - Xfinity Center
27 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
29 - Toronto, ON - Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
31 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater

September
2 - Indianapolis, IN - Klipsch Music Center
4 - Chicago, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
9 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Ampitheater
11 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Ampitheater
13 - Portland, OR - Sunlight Supply Arena
15 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
17 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
19 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl
21 - Phoenix, AZ - AK-Chin Pavilion

Details on Tickets, VIP packages and more for the North American shows can be found at Livenation.com.

(Photo: Mark Weiss)