Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler revealed during an interview with Billboard that his new band, Deadland Ritual - also featuring drummer Matt Sorum, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, and singer Franky Perez (Apocalyptica, Scars On Broadway) - will perform some Sabbath songs live. Following is an excerpt from the chat. 

Q: Did you bring any of the songs you were working on for G/Z/R into Deadland Ritual?

Geezer: "Yeah, we're doing two of them. I made a CD of about five different ideas that I had, just to see if there was any interest in them, and we've ended up doing two of them so far. It's good to have Steve's feedback on it; I had in my mind how it should go, then Steve suggested this, that and the other. And I was like 'yeah, I never thought of that,' and it made the whole thing come alive. Which is what I miss working on me own; that bounce-back. We were working on it yesterday. It's really very heavy. Probably the heaviest one we've done so far."

Q: What songs will fill out Deadland Ritual's live set?

Geezer: "We're thinking about doing seven original songs, which we've done up to now, unless we write more between now and May. Probably three or four Sabbath songs. 'N.I.B.', because that's what I'm associated with particularly; the bass intro and all that kind of stuff. And some stuff that Sabbath didn't do, like 'Symptom Of The Universe'. Steve loves that one. And Franky likes 'Heaven And Hell' and we might do one or two others; see which ones work out best in rehearsals. But more obscure Sabbath songs, rather than 'Iron Man' or 'Paranoid', that's been done a million times. A couple Velvet Revolver. 'Slither' definitely, I'm not sure bout the second one, and I think we're going to do 'Rebel Yell', Billy Idol! [Laughs] I have to learn them all between now and May!

Q: How far into the future do you look with Deadland Ritual?

Geezer: "At the moment we're just going to see how it goes. We've written seven songs up to now, so we have to get those recorded. We've got quite a few record companies interested. But at first, it was 'have a jam, and let's do some festivals.' But it seems to have gone beyond that, people are taking it more seriously now. So if things work out with the gigs that we do we'll carry on. I'm excited about it. I really like the music we're doing, not restricted to any kind of formula. And as I say, each track stands on its own, different in its own way. I'm really looking forward looking to it."

Read the complete interview here.

Deadland Ritual will make their US debut on May 28th at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA. They have also announced the following string of European dates in June.

June
4 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
5 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
6 - Sölvesborg, Sweden - Sweden Rock Festival
10 - Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus
11 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
14-16 - Donnington, UK - Download Festival
17 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
18 - Paris, France - Trianon
19 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
21-22 - Vitoria, Spain - Azkena Festival
21-23 - Clisson, France - Hellfest Festival

The band's debut track, “Down In Flames” is available here. A video can be seen below.

Produced by Greg Fidelman (Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica), “Down In Flames” features the lush and powerful vocals of Perez, alongside Stevens’ signature thundering guitar conjugating with the hard-driving tribal rhythm section of Butler and Sorum. Watch the official video for “Down In Flames” below:

Drawing inspiration from the ritual symbolism of desert badlands paired with Sorum’s love of the idea of a ‘ritualistic forgotten space,’ the name Deadland Ritual felt appropriate for the darker tone of the music the group was making. “Obviously we’ve been through some stuff,” Perez says. “If you’re being honest artistically, all the turmoil of love, loss, happiness and pain in life makes its way into the music.”

Sorum’s longtime friendships with Stevens and Perez helped to form the initial core of the lineup, but it was a pivotal moment when Butler agreed to join. Butler admits there was a lot to think about when he got the invitation. “I had to get used to the idea of starting from scratch again, which is good,” he says. “But I really liked the music I was hearing. It’s not your typical hard rock or metal stuff.”

For Stevens, it was a revelation the first time he found himself recording with Butler. “There's a lot of times in the studio as a guitar player, you get a guitar sound and you're trying to make it work, tweaking it,” Stevens says. There was none of that bullshit. It just fit against his bass sound and it was really exciting to me. I get to hear my guitar against a bass guitarist that I've idolized forever."

Sorum was determined to take things to the next level. “I wanted to get the best drum sound I’ve ever gotten, and play the best I’ve played,” says Sorum. “I think I’ve achieved that. As a drummer I’ve morphed through a lot of decades of rock and roll.”

The initial recordings are only the beginning of what fans can expect in the coming months. The band is focused on quality vs. quantity and letting the muse carry them in the appropriate direction. With festival appearances booked and headline dates in the works, they’ll use the time leading up to that trek to continue writing and recording, releasing singles along the way and perhaps, a LP.

Deadland Ritual promises the live shows will be something special, mixing the original material with deeper cuts from their collective past. “Not the typical songs you would expect,” according to Sorum.

No egos, no bullshit. Deadland Ritual is ready to take the world by storm.

(Photo - Jonas Akerlund)