Black Sabbath didn’t say much in response to original drummer Bill Ward’s decision not to accept the financial terms offered to him for a reunion tour and album. However, the fact that they’ve removed him from seemingly all of the vintage images on their new website seems to make a pretty clear statement.

The new site is very attractive — filled with scrolling pictures, easy-to-use navigation, and a lovely collection of vintage videos. But all of the live and posed photos that form the backdrop of the pages have been edited or creatively covered in such a way as to completely remove Ward. He is fully present in photos and words on the history page.

All four original members of Black Sabbath — Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler — appeared at the November 2011 press conference to announce the band’s 2012 reunion tour and album plans.

However, in a series of messages posted on his website over the past few months, the drummer revealed they could not come to what he considered a fair contract for his participation. Earlier this week, Ward announced that his “final effort” had failed and he would not be appearing at any of the band’s shows. The remaining members responded with a brief statement of their own yesterday.

At least, they didn’t remove the drummer’s image from the cover of their albums on the discography page, as Van Halen briefly did with departed bass player Michael Anthony‘s likeness when they launched a new website back in 2007. (Ever wanted to see what their self-titled debut would look like with Wolfgang Van Halen, who wasn’t even alive when it was recorded, taking Anthony’s place on the cover?)

 

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