Black Sabbath's big reunion plans seem to be cursed. First, guitarist and the only consistent member of the band Tony Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma. Then they had to drop out of playing Coachella due to Iommi's diagnosis. The latest speed bump for them is that last week founding drummer Bill Ward dropped out of the reunion citing a lack of respect in the terms of the contract presented to him by the Sabs camp. Sabbath has pledged to move on with the reunion without him. Dates, however, have been taken off of the official website and the only one they have confirmed will happen is Download Festival in their official statement on the Bill Ward matter.
I personally feel that Ward is irreplaceable. Simply put, without him it's not a true Sabbath reunion. I'll still go see them. But it won't feel completely right without him. That being said, since the band is committed to continuing without him despite the objections of purists like me, I decided to consider their options. After all, there's plenty of superstar drummers that could fill Ward's shoes that, while lacking the history with the band, may even add a thing or two to their new sound. Here's my top five.
