Sabbath has been hinting about retiring for some time, but now they have made it official. On Thursday, Black Sabbath announced that they will be launching their farewell tour next year.

The band revealed the initial dates for their final trek including legs in North America as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The band plans to announce additional dates next month.

It appears that the tour will not include original drummer Bill Ward who left the group prior to the release of their reunion album, "13," due to a contract dispute.

As it stands now, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler will kick off the North American farewell tour leg on January 20th in Omaha, NE at the CenturyLink Center and conclude the trek on February 25th in New York City, NY at Madison Square Garden.

The tour of Australia and New Zealand is scheduled to begin on April 15th in Perth at the Perth Arena and wrap up on April 30th in Dunedin at the Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Black Sabbath North American Farwell Tour Dates

1/20 - Omaha, NE - CenturyLink Center
1/22 - Chicago, IL - United Center
1/25 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
1/28 - Saskatoon, SK - Sasktel Centre
1/30 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Centre
2/1 - Calgary, ON - Scotiabank Saddledome
2/3 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
2/6 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
2/9 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center
2/11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
2/13 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
2/15 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
2/17 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
2/19 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
2/21 - Hamilton, ON - FirstOntario Centre
2/23 - Montreal, QB - Bell Centre
2/25 - New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden

Australia/New Zealand Tour Dates
4/15 - Perth - - Perth Arena
4/17 - Adelaide - Entertainment Centre
4/19 - Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena
4/23 - Sydney - Allphones Arena
4/25 - Brisbane - Entertainment Centre
4/28 - Auckland - Vector Arena
4/30 - Dunedin - Forsyth Barr Stadium