We knew Rick Rubin floated the idea of bringing in Ginger Baker to replace Bill Ward in Black Sabbath, but it turns out the band considered some other famous names too.

Carl Palmer, who rose to prominence with prog trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer before enjoying early '80s chart dominance with Asia, recently discussed his close brush with the Sabbath drum kit, revealing that if it hadn't been for a scheduling snafu, he might have joined the band for its '13' reunion album.

"Tony [Iommi] and I did talk when they were looking for drummers to make the album and he put me forward," said Palmer. "I couldn't do it because I was off with Asia -- we were touring and then something else came up. I couldn't have done it, but I would have loved to. It just wasn't on the cards."

And if you think Palmer's musical past should keep him out of the metal legends' lineup, he insists he's got the chops. "I was classically trained, but basically I'm a rock drummer," he pointed out. "I've never been in a true out-and-out guitar band like Black Sabbath, where it's just big riffs -- very simple, but very dynamic. It would be extremely invigorating. The older I get, the more I appreciate that music. I was late to come to heavy metal. Asia had a bit of that, but we were a little bit more corporate rock and melodic."

More From 107.9 Jack FM