Bill Ward on exiting Black Sabbath in 2012: ‘My heart was ripped to pieces’
Metal legend Bill Ward says his ‘heart was ripped to pieces’ and his ‘love was torn apart’ when he parted company with Black Sabbath in 2012
Originally part of Sabbath’s reunion in 2011, Bill exited the band the following February over a contractual dispute that led to a war of conflicting words between Ozzy Osbourne and himself that was played out in the media.
The drumming legend gave his first ever public poetry reading at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles last Saturday (25th August) where he commented on his departure from the band.
“In 2012, I went through such a departure of love and relationship; something that was really damaging for me and damaging for a lot of people in those relationships,” he told the audience.
“A lot of the things which are kind of emerging in the poetry are really in my recovery from the detachment from something that was very sacred to me. My love was torn apart; my heart was ripped to pieces.”
As JoelGausten.com reports, Bill reassured fans that these negative emotions are now firmly behind him, adding: “I feel very much at peace.
“The things of 2012 are past. I’m in a very enlightened place; I love the people I’ve worked with all my life. I’m through anything that was negative about those times.”
Asked by an audience member what advice he’d give to someone going through a turbulent time, Ward responded: “If you believe in a higher power or if you believe in God, then I would suggest that you go to God and see if you can find some solutions.
“If you don’t believe in God, then try to be as honest with yourself as you possibly can…When I’ve chosen the light of God or self-honesty, my own misery has brought me to a solution.
“My own pain, my own sadness has brought me to a place of surrender, so I’ll surrender to the truth anyway and go, ‘You know what? I need to talk to somebody about this.’ Try not to be alone with your own pain. Try to find someone you can trust your pain with.
“It’s really important that we communally share what’s going on with each other…Otherwise, we’re going to be walking around in a very sorrowful place.”
Bill released his ultra-limited-edition art book ‘Absence of Corners’ earlier this year, which comes complete with a 10-inch vinyl album of Ward reciting his poetry. Originally limited to just 200 copies, a further 50 copies were made available at the poetry reading over the weekend.
Bill read a total of seven poems on Saturday – ‘Indestructible Youth’, ‘Hello, I Don’t Think We’ve Met Yet’, ‘High on a Memory’, ‘Solidarity’, ‘Perfection as a Distortion’, ‘We Focus, We Persevere’ and ‘This Evening’ – alongside answering questions from the audience.
You can read more about it here.