Michael Dwyer at The Sydney Morning Herald recently spoke with legendary Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who discussed the appalling number of deaths in the music world recently and the end of the band. Following is an excerpt from the story:

Sabbath has seen numerous incarnations over the decades, with guitarist Tony Iommi the sole constant. But this year's marathon run through North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand is all about those first three unassailable albums of 1970-71, before the wheels fell off in a state of chemically enhanced exhaustion.

"I mean, living on the road is good in one respect," Osbourne stammers, "but it takes its toll eventually because when you're away from home, you do all sorts of things to pass the time away because you only really work for a couple of hours a day.

"You've got all that free time and I used to f---ing burn the candle at both ends forever."

These days, "none of us get loaded. We all go to bed at a reasonable time and have days off. It's the way it should be and while we're on the subject, it's definitely our farewell tour. If somebody thinks that a couple of years up the road we'll have problems with our memory and do another 90 shows …  this is definitely the end for Black Sabbath."

Go to this location for the complete story.

Osbourne, Iommi and bassist 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