The Black Sabbath reunion has certainly had its share of complications, but as far as Ozzy Osbourne is concerned, the relationships between the members of the band are better than ever.

What's different now is that none of us get drunk or stoned or any of that stuff," he pointed out during a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald. "We're all clean, and all in control of ourselves, we're not intimidated by each other, there are no arguments, and it's the way it should be. But when we were kids we had egos. When you're 21 and you get some success it takes a while to get your head around."

Reflecting on the way that success contributed to his firing from the band he helped co-found, Osbourne talked about "the cars, the houses, the money, the alcohol, the drugs, the groupies, and all the rest of it, and if you go through all of that and you are lucky enough to survive you get married, you get divorced, you get married again, and it's a journey."

But now, says Osbourne, "We've done it all so what it boils down to now is the music -- and that's what got us where we are in the first place. We have come through the other side, we're still able to work together, and that's where the enjoyment comes from. It's been a lot of fun making this record."

Although the interview didn't contain too many details about Sabbath's upcoming reunion record, Osbourne did admit that guitarist Tony Iommi's lymphoma treatment "has been a bit rough on him," hastening to add that "he still manages to come up with those great riffs."

Looking back on all the bumps in the road that led to the reunion, Osbourne mused, "It's been more than 30 years since I really seriously worked with the guys. We had a try a few years back, but nothing came of it. But for some reason the timing is right, and we've done about 15 songs."

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