Music

For the first time in 43 years, Black Sabbath have a number one album

by Aaron Zorgel

After forty-three years as a band, and eighteen albums released, Black Sabbath finally have a number one album on both the UK Charts and the Billboard 200.

The reunited lineup of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, assisted by Brad Wilk (of Rage Against The Machine) on drums, released 13 on June 10th, their first studio recording in just over eighteen years. 13 sold 155,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan, easily clobbering Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, which sits at number two, selling just 48,000 copies.

Black Sabbath had a number one album in the UK with 1970’s Paranoid, but the record peaked at #12 in the US. Ozzy has never had a number one solo record either — the closest he came was with 2007’s Black Rain, which peaked at number three.

155,000 is nothing to scoff at, but if you want a little context, early projections are saying that Kanye West’s Yeezus is on track to sell between 375,000 and 400,000 copies with no radio single, video, or traditional promotion.

Regardless, congrats to Geezer, Ozzy, and Tony. Rock and roll is gonna be fine. You can go back to your crypts now. Listen to the hilariously-titled single “God Is Dead?” (they aren’t even sure what it means!) below: