Black Sabbath — 13: Sabbath Reunited Rick Rubin And The Number 13

Sabbath Reunited Rick Rubin And The Number 13 — the Vault Deep Dive on Black Sabbath — 13 (2013).

The Story

By the late 2000s, the idea of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler back in a studio felt like wishful thinking. Yet here it was: the first Black Sabbath studio album with Ozzy on vocals since 1978's Never Say Die. The reunion arrived under a cloud, though. Original drummer Bill Ward stepped away over a contract dispute that was never resolved, and Tony Iommi was fighting lymphoma throughout, flying between chemotherapy and recording. That the record exists at all is remarkable, and it debuted at number one in multiple countries, a genuine late-career triumph for founding fathers of heavy metal.

The Sound

Producer Rick Rubin pushed the band toward their roots, reportedly playing them their own 1970 debut and asking them to think like a young band again. The result is deliberately raw and heavy, built on Iommi's downtuned riffing and Butler's rolling low end, with long doom-laden passages that recall Master of Reality more than the polish of later decades. Ozzy's voice sits high and mournful. The songwriting leans into slow, crushing tempos and extended arrangements, several tracks stretching past seven minutes. It is unmistakably Sabbath: bluesy, ominous, and unhurried, resisting modern metal's speed in favor of weight and space.

The Sessions

Recording took place largely in California, with Rubin at the helm and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine handling drums after Ward's departure. Rubin favored a live, in-the-room feel, capturing the trio playing together rather than layering endless overdubs. Iommi wrote riffs between medical treatments, and sessions were structured around his health. The band worked to keep tones vintage, chasing the sound of their earliest records rather than contemporary production tricks. Additional touring drummer Tommy Clufetos would later join the live lineup, but Wilk played on the album itself, a detail collectors still debate at the counter.

The Legacy

13 gave Black Sabbath their first US number-one album, an astonishing feat more than four decades into their career. It won a Grammy, and the accompanying tour served as a long farewell before the band's eventual retirement shows. For fans, it closed a circle: the original singer, guitarist, and bassist delivering one final statement true to where they began. It silenced doubters who assumed a reunion could only be nostalgia. The album stands as proof that the founders of the genre still understood better than anyone what made their sound eternal: patience, dread, and a riff that refuses to hurry.

What the pressing tells us

The part most listings skip. This is how we grade and how you can tell copies apart:

• This is the Deluxe Edition digipak issued on Republic/Vertigo.
• Pressed in the United States, CD format, in Near Mint condition.
• The Deluxe Edition adds bonus tracks beyond the standard album.
• Digipak packaging distinguishes this issue from standard jewel-case copies.

Session file

• Produced by Rick Rubin, largely recorded in California.
• Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine played drums.
• Tony Iommi wrote and recorded while battling lymphoma.
• Rubin sought a raw, live, vintage-Sabbath sound.
• First Ozzy-fronted studio album since 1978's Never Say Die.

Who played on it

• Ozzy Osbourne — Vocals
• Tony Iommi — Guitar
• Geezer Butler — Bass
• Brad Wilk — Drums

Vault Trivia

1. Which drummer performed with Sabbath on the 13 tour, not on the album?

1. Tommy Clufetos
2. Brad Wilk
3. Vinny Appice
4. Bill Ward

Reveal the answer

Tommy Clufetos — Tommy Clufetos toured; Brad Wilk recorded the album; Ward exited over contracts.

2. What health battle did Tony Iommi fight during the sessions?

1. Lymphoma
2. Heart surgery
3. Diabetes complications
4. Throat cancer

Reveal the answer

Lymphoma — Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012 and recorded between treatments.

3. On which chart did 13 give Sabbath their first number-one album?

1. Billboard 200 (US)
2. UK Albums Chart
3. Australian ARIA
4. German charts

Reveal the answer

Billboard 200 (US) — It was their first-ever US number-one, though it also topped the UK.

4. Which award did 13 win?

1. Grammy for Best Metal Performance
2. Brit Award
3. Kerrang! Album of the Year
4. Mercury Prize

Reveal the answer

Grammy for Best Metal Performance — God Is Dead? took the Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

5. Which classic Sabbath record did Rubin reportedly play the band as a reference?

1. Black Sabbath (1970)
2. Paranoid
3. Master of Reality
4. Vol. 4

Reveal the answer

Black Sabbath (1970) — Rubin played them their 1970 debut, urging them to think young again.

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