H! Everyone.

I have been trying to come to terms with putting my thoughts and experiences of 2010 onto paper, and sadly, on the Eve of Christmas, I find myself exhausted from the sheer weight of life on life’s terms. To recall anything positive is arduous without bumping into the loss and lingering sadness I’ve felt over those who have died this year, and of most recently, my wife’s father, Richard. It’s difficult to smile when you’re not smiling inside.

However, melancholy aside, I have much to be grateful for. I’m alive, sober, and surrounded by loving people, children, animals and the critters that live outside the house. I feel blessed to still have a roof over my head and a fire in the hearth. I think a lot of you know already that for a while in 1983, I lost and ran away from most of which I just spoke of, asking for spare change to buy a drink and walking aimlessly through dismal streets. The pickings of my days were most ungratifying.

In 2010, I’ve tried to be very patient with my ongoing projects, which at times seem trapped by circumstances beyond human control. Frustrations erupt as we move slowly towards finishing points, only to be stopped again by another unforeseen event. I, along with my colleagues, have been painstaking in the workplace. We have actually accomplished much in PR, documentaries, book interviews and multimedia opportunities, etc., etc. Some of the biggest projects are still slightly out of reach. I’m OK knowing we came as far as we could before Christmas loomed and demanded attention.

This year, I’ve tried to do the “right thing,” and I hope I haven’t stood in the path of someone else’s life flow. I have continuously lowered my expectations of what I think I deserve or what I want. I’ve especially focused on what I think America, my wife, my friends, my kids or God ought to do for me. I’ve pretty much had to surrender each day to “reality,” whether I like it or not, and again, I keep the expectations surrendered. It’s hard work, especially when there are a lot of challenges heading straight for me. It works out eventually – it all works out.

Watching America, Britain, and many other countries get their ass kicked even more this year has been a heartbreak. So many are hurting – beautiful people – it’s all very sad. If “now” is a modern saviour, then I hope it’ll save the countless who are living up the road and round the corner ten years from now in order to maintain their “security.” It’s a tough lesson – “financial security” will let us down every time; from time to time, it’ll let us down, and if you’re in the memories of the good old days or when life was much better, then make an attempt to find “now” because surely you will perish in “yesterday.”

I have to remember to kiss someone who needs kissing today, hold someone who needs holding today, and if I eat, I’ll remember to say thank you and be grateful. I think compassion, hope today, surrender and forgiveness are a part of love, and love is a true, positive energy source, even for the most fragile amongst us. Love is a survivor; love pulls us through. We all have the components that create love; some like me have to dig a little deeper to allow love to flourish. I hope you will find love, and I hope it will serve you well and bring laughter and joy back to you. Hold love close to your heart because surely we will continue to face another reality-biting new year.

As always, I raise my glass of water, and I wish you all happiness and health and love in 2011.

Stay safe. Stay Strong.

–Bill Ward

Last month Bill made an appearance on the Classic Rock & Metal Podcast, talking about his 40 years since Paranoid‘s release, how he views life after his drink and drug problems, plus his solo projects and the possibility of a Sabbath reunion.

Head over to the CRMP website to listen to the show online.

H! Everyone,

I hope you’ve enjoyed our shows throughout 2010. We’ve had some sad moments with the deaths of Ronnie James Dio, Peter Steele and Paul Gray. On a more private level, I have said goodbye to a number of longstanding friends, also. We’ve played some great bands and heard many new albums.

The Christmas show is always dedicated to those who will find it hard this year to make ends meet, and I think that goes for a lot of people all around the world. What I’ve put together in the way of music is sort of a mixture of different artists whom I hope will enlighten you and brighten your day. There will be some of our regular artists who appear each Christmas – Type O Negative, Foo Fighters, Annie Lennox. I’m also going to play about 40 minutes of Beatles music and solo music from George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. There will be some hardcore music, but the show will be very different from our regular hardcore shows.

Check us out, and may peace and cool be in your hearts this Christmas.

Stay safe. Stay strong.

–Bill

The show is this Saturday the 11th of December from 11AM to 1PM Pacific Time.  Check out my Rock 50 page for a link to listen.

A couple of weeks ago, Bill Ward’s episode of “That Metal Show” aired on VH1 Classic. If you missed it, you can view the entire episode online. We have a streaming version of the episode available for you to play right here:

Additionally, this Saturday night the 11th is the season finale of “That Metal Show”. The final episode of each series is called “Scrap Metal”. This is where they take clips and bits from the episodes that made up the most recent series that didn’t quite make the cut, and use them there. While we do not know precisely what content will be in “Scrap Metal”, it’s worth tuning in, as some unaired Bill Ward footage is likely to be shown. The initial showing is 11PM Eastern Time, and there are several re-runs over the next few days, so if you miss the first one, you can re-catch it.

There’s been a couple of updates today to Bill’s site, thought we’d take a moment and point them out. First of, the merchandise page is back online. The merch page was down for awhile, as the person who was handling this had some surgery and was unable to fill any orders. She’s OK now, and you can now order Bill’s merch again. Check out the merch page here for all of Bill’s items.

Second, the archive of songs that Bill played on the November 2010 edition of his Rock 50 show is now online. You can view the full playlist on the playlist page at the following link. There is also a song sampler widget you can view here, too. Check it out:

A reminder, if you can’t see the widget, turn off ad blocking for this website. We run no advertisements here, and things like AdBlocker for Firefox will prevent this website from working properly. Thank you.

As we’ve been telling you, Bill’s appearance on That Metal Show is on Saturday night at 11PM Eastern Time the 20th. The folks from VH1 Classic were kind enough to send over this video clip of Bill from the show. Check it out:

Hi Everyone!

Our next radio show will air November 20, 2010, and as usual, we’ll be dedicating the show to Veterans Day/Remembrance Day (Nov 11th).

In the first hour of the show, we’ll have some great Metal bands, including Anthrax, Soilwork and Ministry. We change out the Metal format in the second hour of the show, as we’ll be playing Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel’s pinnacle song “Goodnight Saigon.”

We dedicate the show to those who fell, to all the millions who have suffered from war, and to those who serve and protect.

At 11:00 AM, November 11, 1918, the big guns of World War I ceased firing, and a fragile peace was sought. The Armistice show will illuminate through the songs played, passion, experience, and thoughts and feelings towards the dire consequences of the most destructive act of mankind – total war.

— Bill

H! Everyone,

The Halloween show airs Saturday, October 30. I’ve put a little bit of Halloween in the show with some of the songs. There’s an almost “Best of Metal” kicking ass in the first hour, and we have an eerie segue with Celtic Frost, Behemoth, and Arch Enemy in the second hour. “Sympathy for the Devil” wears its crown, and the Murder Dolls and The Used give their all.

If you like Metal and Halloween, then check us out – hell awaits you.

Stay safe,
Bill Ward

Bill has recently completed filming his appearance on the VH1 Classic show, “That Metal Show”, hosted by Eddie Trunk.

Bill’s episode will air on November 20th, 2010 at 11PM Eastern Time here in the US.

Also appearing on that episode will be Danzig, as well as Richie Kotzen. Bill will have a lot to say, and when we have a more specific content preview, we’ll bring it to you. But we wanted to alert you to the airdate of Bill’s episode as soon as we knew it!

Shockwaves Skull Sessions Episode #42:

On this episode Skullsessions returning guests Monte Conner (VP of A&R for Roadrunner Records) and legendary Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, along with newcomer to the Skullsessions and thrash-metal drummer extraordinaire Gene Hoglan (Fear Factory/ Deathclock), join Skullsessions host Bob Nalbandian on this astounding and diverse conversation about modern-metal bands, the art of drumming and the use of dynamics, the metal music business of today, modern recording techniques vs. analog, the great John Bonham and much, much more!

Check out the podcast and listen to Bill at this link!