Black Sabbath To Reunite For Download Festival 2012 - Tickets

Black Sabbath are set to headline next year’s Download Festival on June 10, it has been announced.

The original line-up of the band - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler - announced at a press conference today (November 11) that they will reunite for new material and a world tour next year.

Speaking at the conference frontman Osbourne said: "It was time. The timing was right."

Tony Iommi added: "It's now or never for us... We're getting on great."

Osbourne revealed that the group have already written "seven or eight" new songs for the album.

The new album will be released in autumn 2012 after their Download show before they head out on a world tour.

Butler added that the new songs are "back to the old Sabbath style and sound. The stuff that Tony's been playing is absolutely brilliant."

The Birmingham band played their first Los Angeles show at the Whisky A Go Go 41 years ago today.

Black Sabbath join Metallica as headliners of next year's Download Festival. The three-day event gets under way at Donington Park from June 8-10 2012.

Download 2011 was headlined by Linkin Park, Def Leppard and System Of A Down, with The Darkness, Frank Turner and Bullet For My Valentine.

For more information about Download and all next summer's festivals, check out the Gigwise Festival Guide.