Ozzy Osbourne Addresses Bill Ward’s Contract Issue + Black Sabbath’s Concerns

The Black Sabbath-Bill Ward saga continues, with Ozzy Osbourne holding back less and less about the reasoning behind the contract squabble between the group and their estranged drummer.

In past interviews, Ozzy Osbourne has expressed his concern about Ward's ability to handle the band's duties and the group themselves admitted that there came a time when they could no longer wait on the Ward situation to work itself out and had to proceed with new music.

In an interview in the latest Classic Rock Magazine, Osbourne is a little more blunt concerning his thoughts on Ward. He explains, "Here's the bottom line: being a drummer is the most physical part of any band. And when Bill turned up, he looked like an old guy. I don't think he had the stamina to play for an hour or so on stage. If I'd had a heart attack like Bill had, I'd go, 'F---, I'm going to lose some weight.' I train -- I work my arse off. So you can't expect someone who's been sitting on their f---ing arse, eating s---, to come along and go, 'Equal split.' It's insane."

The frontman added, "I honestly don't know what went down with that deal, but I suppose it's something along those lines. There wasn't any other reason. We didn't gang up on him. And it wasn't like, 'Bill's just the drummer.' I didn't go, 'Oh, if Bill's not here, I get more money.' I don't f---ing need any more money, man."

Continuing not to hold back, Osbourne added, "I'd be a f---ing liar if I said I'm glad Bill never made the album. It's kind of a Sabbath album to a point, but it would have been great if Bill could have worked on it. But if we'd had Bill, I honestly don't think we'd be this far up the road. It was time to s--- or get off the pot."

Ward exited the reunion plans in May 2012, stating that he was presented a contract that was "unsignable." Both sides held firm and the group has continued with Tommy Clufetos handling the group's live duties and Brad Wilk recording the drums for the '13' album. Black Sabbath are currently touring North America, promoting the '13' disc.