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" Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has announced his departure from the band&amp;#039;s upcoming reunion shows. The group - which also features Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler - started working on a new album and preparing for their comeback gigs last year.  However, Ward has backed out of the project as he was unable to agree a contract, which meant he would only play a selection of shows. &amp;#039;&amp;#039;I sincerely regret to inform you that after a final effort to participate in the upcoming Sabbath shows a failure to agree has continued,&amp;quot; he stated on his official website. &amp;#039;&amp;#039;It is with a very sad heart that I bring you this news. I have to stand for something, and as painful as it is, I&amp;#039;m doing it.  &amp;quot;This statement is even more painstaking to write, as I was particularly excited to play alongside Tony Iommi after the recent treatments he underwent. I wanted that to become a reality.&amp;quot; He continued: &amp;#039;&amp;#039;I can&amp;#039;t prioritise the Sabbath fans making one show more important than the other. All of you are important. It&amp;#039;s all the gigs or none at all. &amp;#039;&amp;#039;I hold no malice or resentment towards the other band members. I love them; I&amp;#039;m tolerant of them; I&amp;#039;m frustrated with them, as they may be with me. My fight has never been with them. I&amp;#039;ll love them forever. In my opinion, nobody wins this time.&amp;#039;&amp;#039; Black Sabbath will play a homecoming show at Birmingham&amp;#039;s O2 Academy on May 19, before headlining this year&amp;#039;s Download Festival in the UK between June 8-10. Watch Black Sabbath perform &amp;#039;Paranoid&amp;#039; live below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a381921/black-sabbath-drummer-bill-ward-pulls-out-of-reunion-shows/>