13 is the nineteenth and final studio album by Black Sabbath. It was released on June 10, 2013 through Vertigo Records, acting as their first studio album in 18 years (the longest gap between albums during their run) following Forbidden (1995).
It was the band’s first studio recording with original singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler since the live album Reunion (1998), which contained two new studio tracks. It was also the first studio album with Osbourne since Never Say Die! (1978), and with Butler since Cross Purposes (1994).
Black Sabbath‘s original line-up first began work on a new studio album in 2001 with producer Rick Rubin. The album’s development was delayed over a 10-year period, as Osbourne resumed his solo career while the rest of the band members went on to pursue other projects, including GZR and Heaven & Hell.
When Black Sabbath announced the end of its hiatus on November 11, 2011, the band announced that they would restart work on a new album with Rubin. In addition to original members Osbourne, Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi, the band was joined at the recording sessions by drummer Brad Wilk, of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, following original drummer Bill Ward‘s decision to not participate in the reunion, due to a “contractual dispute.“
The singles “God Is Dead?”, “End of the Beginning”, and “Loner” were released in promotion of the album. 13 received positive reviews from critics; praise was directed at the band’s songwriting and performance abilities several decades after their formation, though the album has been cited as a product of the loudness war, having a compromised sound quality as a result of an overly compressed dynamic range.
At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, the band won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for “God Is Dead?”. Commercially, 13 was a number one album in several countries, including the United Kingdom and United States.
It was later certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The album was also certified platinum in Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Poland.
Tracklist:
A1. End Of The Beginning
A2. God Is Dead?
B1. Loner
B2. Zeitgeist
C1. Age Of Reason
C2. Live Forever
D1. Damaged Soul
D2. Dear Father
Black Sabbath
Ozzy Osbourne: vocals, harmonica
Tony Iommi: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar on “Zeitgeist” and “Methademic”
Geezer Butler: bass
Additional musician
Brad Wilk: drums
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Greg Fidelman: engineering
Mike Exeter: additional engineering
Dana Nielsen: additional engineering
Andrew Scheps: mixing
Stephen Marcussen: mastering
Stewart Whitmore: mastering
