In 2013, Black Sabbath released 13 , their first album with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. The album was produced by iconic producer Rick Rubin , although, almost ten years later, bassist Geezer Butler still doesn't understand the producer's role on the record.
Rubin, who has worked with Slayer, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails , Johnny Cash, System of a Down, Metallica, Slipknot and many more, is known for his unorthodox practices and, above all, for not having much influence on the artists' decisions.
Butler said, during an interview with Eddie Trunk (via Blabbermouth ), that it was a strange experience and that Rubin's direction on the album was "ridiculous." He explained: "It was strange, especially after hearing that we needed to forget we were a heavy metal band. That was the first thing [Rick] told us. He put on our first album and said, 'Put yourselves back in a time when there was no heavy metal or anything like that, and pretend you're going to make the successor to this album,' which was ridiculous to think about."
Trunk then said that some artists who had worked with Rubin were disappointed with the producer's practices. Butler then responded: “I still don’t know what he did. It’s like, ‘yeah, that’s cool’ or ‘no, don’t do that.’ And then you question the reason and he just says ‘just don’t do that.’”
The bassist then went on to explain that he wasn't the only one who saw problems with Rubin's way of working. "I think one day Ozzy snapped, because he had already recorded a vocal in 10 different ways and Rick kept saying 'this is good, but do it again'. And then Ozzy asked 'if it's good, why am I doing it again?' He freaked out. And that's how the whole process went," he said.
“ Tony [ Iommi ] wasn’t happy with some of the things Rubin was making him play,” he continued, “He was making Tony use 1968 amplifiers, as if that would make it sound like it did in 1968. It’s crazy. But it was good for publicity and for the record label. If you have Rick Rubin involved, then it must be good, that’s how it works.”
Despite the recording process being difficult for the band members, Black Sabbath cannot deny its commercial success. 13 reached the top of the Billboard 200 in the United States and many other countries.