Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler believes heavy metal “is here to stay” and that festivals will continue to be vital to the genre.
Taking the opposite view to artists such as Gene Simmons – who famously said “rock is dead” – Butler insists there is still an appetite for metal and that there will always be a demand.
He tells Tulsa World: “I think metal is here to stay, in some form or other. The metal festivals in Europe are massive events, attracting 100,000 plus audiences. And I think that is the future for metal – huge gatherings with several bands.”
Earlier this year, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo said he and Butler had discussed the state of metal and that they both feared that there might be no big acts to carry the torch once Sabbath and Metallica call it quits.
Trujillo said: “I ran into him on a flight from London and he was like, ‘Who’s going to carry the torch? When Metallica’s done and we’re done, who will it be?’ I was like, ‘Let me think about that.’”
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Sabbath are on the road on their The End tour, which will wrap up with two shows in their hometown of Birmingham, England, in February of next year.
Butler says he has been amazed by the reaction of the audiences on the tour and that is is playing better than he ever has.
He adds: “The fans have been great on this final tour. It’s almost like a party atmosphere as it’s the end of an era. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel that I’m playing better than ever, knowing that this is how fans will remember us.”
Black Sabbath The End tour remaining dates 2016⁄2017
Nov 08: Oklahoma BOK Center, OK
Nov 10: Houston Toyota Center, TX
Nov 12: San Antonio AT&T Center, TX
Nov 16: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Nov 19: Santiago Estadio Nacional, Chile
Nov 24: Cordoba En El Orfeo Superdomo, Argentina
Nov 26: Buenos Aires Estadio Velez, Argentina
Nov 30: Curitiba Pedrerira Paulo Leminski, Brazil
Dec 02: Rio Praca Da Apoteose, Brazil
Dec 04: Sao Paulo Estadio Do Morumbi, Brazil
Jan 20: Dublin 3 Arena, Ireland
Jan 22: Manchester Arena, UK
Jan 24: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
Jan 26: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Jan 29: London O2, UK
Jan 31: London O2, UK
Feb 02: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
Feb 04: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
