Black Sabbath will resume The End Tour on April 15th in Perth, Australia. During the band's current break from the road, bassist Geezer Butler spoke with Cameron Dodds from Australian Rock & Metal Institute; an excerpt follows:

What do you think is the main difference between the music industry today and when you first started?

"The music industry today is unrecognisable from when we first started. I think it is harder than ever to break through the success barrier, especially for rock and metal bands. It is very hard to make a good living out of music for new bands, especially with the access to internet these days, having so many people posting their videos online. Downloading songs from the internet has made it almost impossible to make money from recordings, and live shows. The internet has taken the surprise out of gigs. When we first started, if you wanted to see us you had to go the gig, and if you wanted to hear our music, you had to buy the vinyl record or cassette tape, plus if you were successful you could get backing from your record label. These days what record labels are left are reluctant to gamble on new bands; especially non-pop related acts."

Now that Black Sabbath and several other legendary rock bands are calling it a day, what do you think the future holds for rock and roll?

"I imagine there will be more festival type gigs, and smaller venue gigs where therE will be lots of lesser known bands playing. There hasn’t been a really massive metal band since Metallica, and the current festivals and arena tours seem to be headlined by older bands such as us, Maiden, Priest, Slipknot, etc."

To read the interview in its entirety, visit this location.

Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler wrapped the first dates of Black Sabbath's massive 2016 The End world tour earlier this month (March 7th) in Vancouver, BC to an overwhelming response, from fans and critics alike. The first leg of sold-out North American shows will be followed by a run of summer performances including return visits to Los Angeles (at the iconic Hollywood Bowl), New York, Chicago and 14 additional cities. Tickets for the summer shows are available at Livenation.com.

See Black Sabbath's world wide itinerary below. These dates mark the end of the epic journey that Black Sabbath began nearly five decades ago. The massive 2016 The End world tour by the greatest metal band of all time will take the band to Australia and New Zealand in April, then Europe fora mix of summer headlining and festival performances, before returning to North America in August.

As previously announced, a special fans-only CD featuring original artwork by Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant is being sold at shows along the tour route. 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.

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 remaining 2016 tour dates are as follows:

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

June
1 - Budapest, Hungary - Groupama Arena
8 - Berlin, Germany - Waldebuhne
11 - Donington, UK - Download
13 - Verona, Italy - 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

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