The Prince of Darkness says Black Sabbath will record a new album and head out on a farewell tour next year.

It seem as though everyone inside and outside of the Black Sabbath camp would like to have the founding lineup share the same stage again and possibly even come up with a final studio record, however what appears to be currently standing in the way of such a scenario is a new demand from original drummer Bill Ward.

Ozzy Osbourne’s classic 1983 studio album ‘Bark at the Moon’ remains one of the most widely recognized and celebrated efforts in heavy metal, but as many dedicated followers have contested over the years, has an even darker history behind it’s formation.

As he continues working with the members of Black Sabbath on, what is supposedly, the heavy metal group’s final studio album and world tour, Ozzy Osbourne also wants to progress with his successful career as solo artist, and has been working on new material outside of his current commitments with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler.

Fortunately for dedicated heavy metal fans, an original Black Sabbath reunion is still possible according to recent statements by lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, who recently revealed that he would prefer to have founding drummer Bill Ward back in the band for what is being called their final studio album and tour, due sometime in 2015.

While his main focus has been placed on working with the members of Black Sabbath on their follow-up to 2013’s critically acclaimed ’13,’ lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne says he still has every intention of continuing forward with his solo career later on down the road.

As Tony Iommi previously hinted, it appears as though the Black Sabbath flag will indeed fly once again, albeit for one last run around the world according to Ozzy Osbourne. The frontman has revealed that the band has plans to reenter the recording studio in early 2015 to begin work on their twentieth studio album, which will be followed by a final world tour in support of the effort.

Granted it isn’t the follow-up to 2010’s ‘Scream’ which some fans were anticipating during the recent album cover reveal on social media, however Ozzy Osbourne’s upcoming ‘Memoirs of a Madman’ does hold more weight than your more-than-occasional ‘Greatest Hits’ package. The audio accompaniment to this release is almost equally of classic selections and tracks from The Prince of Darkness’ most recent outings, whereas the DVD version compiles music videos which previously were only made available on rare VHS pressings.

Unfortunately for dedicated Black Sabbath fans, the possibility of an original reunion continues to become increasingly thin, as the relationship between founding members Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne has most recently devolved into a war-of-words. In recent months, Osbourne has said that Ward was “incredibly overweight” and “looked like an old guy,” and now the drummer is responding to these statements.

Despite currently being in the middle of a monumental reunion tour with Black Sabbath in support of their 2013 studio album ’13,’ Ozzy Osbourne solo guitarist Gus G. says that the vocalist still plans to focus on a solo career, whether that’s full time or simply one more album.