Reunion (Black Sabbath album)

1998 live album by Black Sabbath

Reunion

Live album by

Black Sabbath

Released| 19 October 1998[1]
Recorded| 4–5 December 1997 (live tracks)
April–May 1998 (studio tracks)
Venue| NEC (Birmingham)
Studio| A&M (Hollywood)
Genre| Heavy metal
Length| 107:36
Label| Epic
Producer| Thom Panunzio (live tracks), Bob Marlette (studio tracks)
Black Sabbath live albums chronology
| Cross Purposes Live
(1995)  | Reunion
(1998)  | Past Lives
(2002)

|
|

Singles from  Reunion

1. "Psycho Man"
Released: 20 October 1998

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
Entertainment Weekly| (B+)[3]
NME| 7/10[4]
Pitchfork| 2.1/10[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [6]

Reunion is a live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 19 October 1998. As implied by the title, the album features a reunion of the original lineup of vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward for the first time since Never Say Die! (1978). "Psycho Man", one of two studio tracks on the album, was the last to feature Ward on drums. Black Sabbath received their first ever Grammy Award in 2000 for the live recording of "Iron Man" taken from Reunion.[7]

On 13 October 2023, the album was released, remastered from the original source tapes and released world-wide with the two studio songs remastered by Danny Saber.[8][9]

## Background

[edit]

Six years after founding member Ozzy Osbourne departed Black Sabbath under less than amicable circumstances, he briefly rejoined his former bandmates for a single performance on 13 July 1985 at the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia, and again in 1992 for the climax of his No More Tours farewell tour.[10] Much to the dismay of fans, neither brief reconciliation had resulted in a full-fledged Black Sabbath reunion resulting in a new album and tour. A serious attempt at a reunion in 1993 proved fruitless as the band members lamented the reappearance of old animus. In 1997, Osbourne, Iommi and Butler reunited for the 1997 Ozzfest shows as Black Sabbath. Ward was absent due to health issues, and he was replaced by Faith No More's Mike Bordin. Ward had made a brief return to Black Sabbath for a short South American tour in 1994, but it was with Tony Martin fronting the band. Anticipation for a full and meaningful reunion of the Osbourne-era version of the band was high.

## Recording

[edit]

By late 1997, all four original members put aside their differences and misgivings and two shows in their hometown at the NEC were booked. On 4 and 5 December 1997, the four original members of Black Sabbath performed together with the shows recorded for a highly anticipated live album release. Ward had a heart condition, and concern regarding his health and ability to perform at a high level meant that another former Black Sabbath drummer, Vinny Appice, was on standby for the two homecoming shows. "We hadn't done a show with Bill for 18 years," remarked Iommi. Ward made it through both shows – albeit not without incident:[11]

> Bill hit a gong and it fell on him, I creased up. His arm was black and blue in the morning, because those things weigh a ton. When it hit him and fell onto the kit, it sounded like someone was throwing pots and pans around. We were waiting for something like that to happen.

— Tony Iommi

Along with live versions of classics such as "Paranoid", "N.I.B.", "Black Sabbath" and "Iron Man", the double album also included two newly recorded studio tracks: "Selling My Soul" and "Psycho Man". These two new tracks were also released on a CD single in the United States. Music critics applauded the band's decision to surprise fans by including unexpected songs which had not been played live in many years, such as "Spiral Architect" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep".

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward, except where noted.

Disc OneNo.| Title| Original album| Length

|
|
|

1.| "War Pigs"| Paranoid (1970)| 8:28
2.| "Behind the Wall of Sleep" ("Bassically" starts at 3:28)| Black Sabbath (1970)| 4:07
3.| "N.I.B."| Black Sabbath| 6:45
4.| "Fairies Wear Boots"| Paranoid| 6:19
5.| "Electric Funeral"| Paranoid| 5:02
6.| "Sweet Leaf"| Master of Reality (1971)| 5:07
7.| "Spiral Architect"| Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)| 5:40
8.| "Into the Void"| Master of Reality| 6:32
9.| "Snowblind"| Vol. 4 (1972)| 6:08

Disc TwoNo.| Title| Original album| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"| Sabbath Bloody Sabbath| 4:43
2.| "Orchid/Lord of This World"| Master of Reality| 7:07
3.| "Dirty Women"| Technical Ecstasy (1976)| 6:29
4.| "Black Sabbath"| Black Sabbath| 7:07
5.| "Iron Man"| Paranoid| 8:21
6.| "Embryo/Children of the Grave"| Master of Reality| 6:30
7.| "Paranoid"| Paranoid| 4:28
8.| "Psycho Man" (Iommi, Osbourne)| Reunion (1998)| 5:18
9.| "Selling My Soul" (Iommi, Osbourne)| Reunion| 3:10

## Personnel

[edit]

Black Sabbath

* Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
* Tony Iommi – guitars
* Geezer Butler – bass
* Bill Ward – drums (all except "Selling My Soul")[12]

Additional personnel

* Geoff Nicholls – keyboards (live tracks)

Technical personnel

* Thom Panunzio – producer, engineer (live tracks)
* Bob Marlette – producer and engineer (studio tracks), mixing at Rockfield Studios and A&M Studios
* Greg Hackett, Barry Clempson – engineers
* Phil Ault, John Aguto, Phil Hopkins – assistant engineers
* Andrew Garver – digital editing
* David Collins – mastering
* Glen Wexler – cover design and photography

## Charts

[edit]

### Album

[edit]

Chart (1998)  | Peak
position

|

Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] | 6
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] | 29
French Albums (SNEP)[15] | 65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 40
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[17] | 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] | 59
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 11
UK Albums (OCC)[20] | 41
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[21] | 2
US Billboard 200[22] | 11
2023–2025 chart performance for Reunion Chart (2023–2025)  | Peak
position

|

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 32
Greek Albums (IFPI)[24] | 53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 84

Singles – Billboard (North America)[26]

Year  | Single  | Chart  | Position

|
|
|

1998  | "Psycho Man"  | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3
1999  | "Selling My Soul"  | Mainstream Rock Tracks  | 17

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[27] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Silver  | 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[29] | Platinum  | 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 17 October 1998. p. 28. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Black Sabbath Reunion review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
3. ^ Farber, Jim (27 November 1998). "Black Sabbath Reunion review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
4. ^ Udo, Tommy (20 October 1998). "Black Sabbath Reunion review". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
5. ^ Sandlin, Michael. "Black Sabbath Reunion review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
6. ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
7. ^ "Reunion". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
8. ^ "Reunion Grammy Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
9. ^ Entry at Discogs
10. ^ youtube.com/watch?v=GlA_IPXBMWw
11. ^ Elliott, Paul (February 1998). "Paranoid? Who's asking?". Q #137. p. 27.
12. ^ "Black Sabbath Online: Reunion". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
13. ^ "Black Sabbath Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
14. ^ "Black Sabbath: Reunion" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
15. ^ "Lescharts.com – Black Sabbath – Reunion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Sabbath – Reunion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
17. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Black Sabbath – Reunion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
21. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
22. ^ "Black Sabbath Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Sabbath – Reunion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
24. ^ "Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 17/2025" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Sabbath – Reunion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
26. ^ "Reunion Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Black Sabbath – Reunion". Music Canada.
28. ^ "British album certifications – Black Sabbath – Reunion". British Phonographic Industry.
29. ^ "American album certifications – Black Sabbath – Reunion". Recording Industry Association of America.

* v
* t
* e

Black Sabbath

* Geezer Butler
* Tony Iommi
* Ozzy Osbourne
* Bill Ward

* Dave Walker
* Ronnie James Dio
* Geoff Nicholls
* Craig Gruber
* Vinny Appice
* Ian Gillan
* Bev Bevan
* Ron Keel
* David Donato
* Eric Singer
* Gordon Copley
* Jeff Fenholt
* Dave Spitz
* Glenn Hughes
* Ray Gillen
* Tony Martin
* Cozy Powell
* Neil Murray
* Bobby Rondinelli

Studio albums|

* Black Sabbath
* Paranoid
* Master of Reality
* Vol. 4
* Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
* Sabotage
* Technical Ecstasy
* Never Say Die!
* Heaven and Hell
* Mob Rules
* Born Again
* Seventh Star
* The Eternal Idol
* Headless Cross
* Tyr
* Dehumanizer
* Cross Purposes
* Forbidden
* 13

Extended plays|

* The End

Live albums|

* Live at Last
* Live Evil
* Cross Purposes Live
* Reunion
* Past Lives
* Live at Hammersmith Odeon
* Live... Gathered in Their Masses
* The End: Live in Birmingham

Compilations|

* We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
* The Collection
* The Sabbath Stones
* Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
* Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
* Greatest Hits 1970–1978
* The Dio Years
* The Rules of Hell
* Greatest Hits
* Iron Man: The Best of Black Sabbath
* The Ultimate Collection
* Anno Domini 1989–1995

Unofficial albums|

* The Sabbath Collection
* The Ozzy Osbourne Years
* Under Wheels of Confusion
* The Best of Black Sabbath
* Club Sonderauflage

Singles|

* "Evil Woman"
* "The Wizard"
* "Paranoid"
* "Iron Man"
* "Children of the Grave"
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
* "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"
* "Neon Knights"
* "Trashed"
* "Psycho Man"
* "God Is Dead?"
* "End of the Beginning"

Other songs|

* "Black Sabbath"
* "N.I.B."
* "War Pigs"
* "Planet Caravan"
* "Hand of Doom"
* "Fairies Wear Boots"
* "Sweet Leaf"
* "Into the Void"
* "Changes"
* "Supernaut"
* "Hole in the Sky"
* "Symptom of the Universe"
* "Children of the Sea"
* "Heaven and Hell"

Videos|

* Never Say Die
* Black and Blue
* The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1
* The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2
* Cross Purposes Live
* The Last Supper
* Inside Black Sabbath - 1970–1992
* Hangin' with Heaven and Hell
* Live... Gathered in Their Masses
* Black Sabbath: The End of the End

Tours|

* Technical Ecstasy Tour
* Never Say Die! Tour
* Heaven & Hell Tour
* Mob Rules Tour
* Born Again Tour
* Ozzfest
* lineups
* Black Sabbath Reunion Tour
* The End Tour
* Back to the Beginning

Managers|

* Don Arden
* Patrick Meehan
* Wilf Pine

Related|

* Discography
* Members
* List of cover versions of Black Sabbath songs
* In These Black Days
* Nativity in Black
* Heaven & Hell
* tour
* The Devil You Know
* Bob Daisley
* Terry Chimes
* Jo Burt
* Laurence Cottle
* Rob Halford
* Mike Bordin
* Adam Wakeman
* Tommy Clufetos
* Brad Wilk
* Mythology
* Velvett Fogg
* GZR
* Rainbow
* Dio
* Deep Purple
* Electric Light Orchestra
* Kiss
* Badlands
* Whitesnake

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template