Listen to the New Black Sabbath Album ‘13’ Now

Black Sabbath, ’13’. Courtesy of Vertigo Records

Black Sabbath’s new album 13 won’t be released until June 11th in the US, but you can go over to iTunes right now and listen to a free stream: From their iTunes artist page, click on “View in iTunes” to access the stream to 13 in its entirety.

The LP is Black Sabbath’s first studio album with Ozzy Osbourne at the helm since 1978’s Never Say Die, but it doesn’t reflect the original lineup. Founding drummer Bill Ward was excluded from the band due to business disagreements, and Rage Against The Machine’s Brad Wilk took his place behind the kit for recording 13.

“I didn’t know Bill was having these issues when we got together ”“ he never even mentioned it to us,” Tony Iommi told ROLLING STONE in February. “It was quite confusing. We wanted him involved, but it was just getting too hard.”

Shortly after their spat with Ward became public, Iommi announced that he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. “I couldn’t believe it,” Osbourne told ROLLING STONE. “After all this time, we’re all in the same boat. And bang.”

Iommi’s treatment delayed the 13 sessions, but he was determined to carry on. Producer Rick Rubin shared his passion: “I wanted to make an album that stood alongside their first four albums,” Rubin told ROLLING STONE. “The first album wasn’t a straightforward heavy metal record. You could hear the jazz influence, so that was the goal, and to capture that live interaction.”

The band is spending the year on the road supporting the album, with Tommy Clufetos handling drum duties. The group is mixing hits like “War Pigs” and “Paranoid” with deeper cuts like “Into the Void” and “Behind The Wall of Sleep.” They are only playing one new song a night at this point, but they’ll probably add more in once the album officially comes out. For now, check it out on iTunes.