{"id":816265,"date":"2026-10-28T07:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816265\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T07:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:04:22","slug":"tony-iommi-interview-black-sabbath-and-from-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816265\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Iommi interview: Black Sabbath and From The Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Iommi<\/a>\u2019s house. Instead of pointing their smartphone cameras at his place, they photograph the honey limestone walls and horse chestnut trees lining this picturesque village street, unaware that the godfather of heavy metal<\/a> is nearby.<\/p>\n

As a tour guide corrals the party back to their bus, Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2019s guitarist appears, defying the glorious sunshine in his all-black garb, and offers a firm handshake and a cheery \u201cAlright?\u201d in his soft Brummie burr.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The tourists don\u2019t bother Iommi. However, any overzealous fan rifling through his dustbins might be in for a surprise. The teenage Tony famously lost the tops of two fingers in an industrial accident, and fashioned their first replacements from a melted-down washing-up liquid bottle. These days he gets his bespoke \u2018thimbles\u2019 via his local hospital\u2019s prosthetic department. God bless the NHS and all that.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the thing is, they send me a whole rubber arm,\u201d he says, cracking a smile. \u201cI\u2019ve asked them: \u2018Why not just send a hand?\u2019 But apparently they can\u2019t do that. And they sometimes send me five arms at a time. So I chop the fingers off and throw the arms in the bin. The dustmen must be thinking: \u2018What the bloody hell\u2019s going on here? Has he bumped someone off?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Iommi overcame his damaged fingers to become one of the world\u2019s greatest hard rock guitarists and songwriters, with Black Sabbath defining the genre\u2019s sound and iconography. War Pigs, Children Of The Grave, Heaven And Hell, the inverted crosses, the gothic script, those riffs \u2013 Iommi and Sabbath invented it all. Visitors are reminded of Iommi\u2019s high standing when they enter his home studio.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

The kitchenette is lined with awards and photographs \u2013 Tony and fellow guitar hero Jeff Beck<\/a>, Tony with Dracula actor Christopher Lee \u2013 and a poster advertising the 1963 horror movie Black Sabbath. \u201cThis is the NIGHT of the NIGHTMARE!\u201d it screams, and shows four terrified women gazing at a horseman carrying his own severed head. More dismembered body parts, then.<\/p>\n

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\"Black\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: American International Pictures\u00a0)<\/p>\n

The studio door eases open to reveal an Aladdin\u2019s cave of guitars and more memorabilia, including figurines of the classic Sabbath but as a five-piece with an extra Tony (\u201cThat would have been better\u201d). Even the Dark Lord has the occasional day off, though, and in one corner hangs a VIP laminate for the virtual pop show ABBA Voyage.<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

The studio console bears Iommi\u2019s signature cross, and a similar image graces the artwork for his new album, From The Dark<\/a>, his first studio release since Black Sabbath\u2019s 13<\/a> in 2013, and the follow-up to 2005\u2019s Fused solo record.<\/p>\n

While full of Iommi\u2019s trademark riffs, From The Dark also sounds like a band album, due largely to Norwegian vocalist J\u00f8rn Lande, whose performance evokes good stuff like Die Young, Children Of The Sea and The Sign Of The Southern Cross from the Ronnie James Dio<\/a> era of Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n

From The Dark was made in this studio, but has unusual origins. In 2021, Iommi collaborated with the Italian perfume house Xerjoff to create his first signature fragrance, Tony Iommi Monkey Special (named after his 1964 \u2018Monkey Special\u2019 Gibson SG guitar), and recorded an instrumental, Scent Of Dark<\/a>, to advertise the product.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cThe owner of the company [Sergio Momo] was a fan,\u201d Iommi explains. \u201cHe asked if I\u2019d do a charity record with them, but I couldn\u2019t at the time. But by then he\u2019d sent over a box of perfumes, and I felt so guilty I phoned him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

During their conversation, Momo asked if Iommi would consider launching his own aftershave range. \u201cHe knew I had this hobby of collecting perfumes when I was touring the world. I was surprised but agreed to do it, and he told me to write down a list of the smells I liked \u2013 coffee, roses, bergamot, leather\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi \u2013 World Alone (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Tony<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

So well received was Monkey Special that Xerjoff launched Tony Iommi Deified<\/a> in 2024 (where \u201cthe warmth of saffron meets accents of spiced apple\u201d, according to their website), which Iommi advertised with an instrumental of the same name.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was a starting point for the album,\u201d he says. \u201cI was considering making it an instrumental album, maybe with an orchestra. But for a while I didn\u2019t know what to do. Should it be instrumental? Should I have guest vocalists?\u201d<\/p>\n

The pieces gradually fell into place. Iommi and his long-time collaborator, co-writer and co-producer Mike Exeter discovered the drummer who plays on the album, Karl Brazil, through an unlikely source: Robbie Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a place in Sandbanks,\u201d says Iommi, referring to the Dorset peninsula \u2013 nicknamed \u2018Millionaires\u2019 Row\u2019 \u2013 where a number of famous names own property. \u201cI was walking down the road and this chap came up to me and said: \u2018How are you, Tony?\u2019 I said: \u2018Yeah?\u2019 He said: \u2018It\u2019s Karl.\u2019 I didn\u2019t have any idea who he was, but he said he knew Mike Exeter and played with Robbie Williams.\u201d In May 2025, Iommi added some oomph and a solo to Williams\u2019s single Rocket<\/a>. \u201cI think Robbie wanted to go a bit heavier,\u201d he suggests.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s these offbeat projects that led to From The Dark. With Black Sabbath laid to rest after 2025\u2019s Back To The Beginning charity show<\/a> and Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>\u2019s death, there was no pressure to make an album at all: \u201cI didn\u2019t even have a deal when we started.\u201d Instead it happened slowly and organically. And there\u2019s a Birmingham connection too. Karl Brazil was born in Solihull, and the album\u2019s bass guitarist Becky Baldwin lives in Sabbath\u2019s home city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea of it being a Birmingham project,\u201d says Iommi, who considered having ex-Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler play on the record. \u201cBut I think Geezer was doing something else. Mike knew Becky and she\u2019s got Geezer\u2019s style of playing, and it\u2019s been great having her involved.”<\/p>\n

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\"Tony\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Leo Baron)<\/p>\n

Iommi began working with J\u00f8rn Lande (who had previously worked with the operatic supergroup Avantasia, among others) in 2010. That summer, Lande sang in Iommi and Butler\u2019s band Heaven And Hell at a tribute to their late singer, Ronnie James Dio, at London\u2019s High Voltage Festival. But Lande had been on Iommi\u2019s radar for years. \u201cI considered having him sing on Fused,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Much like Dio\u2019s delivery, Lande sings everything on From The Dark like he\u2019s trying to raise the dead, and, like Geezer Butler\u2019s lyrics for Sabbath have done, Lande\u2019s address pollution, nuclear war and crooked politicians. \u201cFifty, sixty years later, and I\u2019m looking at the world and thinking: \u2018Oh fuck, we\u2019re still dealing with the war pigs,\u2019\u201d says Iommi.<\/p>\n

Regardless of writing credits and contributions, it\u2019s Iommi\u2019s name on the cover, though. He once said that the main drawback with being a bandleader is that \u201cyou always become the arsehole\u201d. Did that happen here?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, because I always knew it was my album,\u201d he says, grinning. \u201cBut it was a pleasure to work with musicians who\u2019d do a take and then say: \u2018I can do a better one\u2019, rather than: \u2018Oh god, do I have to do another?\u2019 They wanted to make it better. But then I\u2019m also very self-critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you always been like that?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Mike Exeter would give me a copy of what we\u2019d done, I\u2019d go home and come back the next morning and want to change it. You tend to think if it comes too easy it\u2019s not good enough. But that\u2019s not always the case. Look at Paranoid, the throwaway song that became the hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a doomsday survivalist hoarding provisions for the approaching apocalypse, Iommi has been stockpiling riffs since the last century. \u201cI\u2019ve got CDs and cassettes full of them, thinking that if I ever get stuck I can go back and get one. But I rarely do. Though saying that, I\u2019ll probably never come up with another riff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t jinx it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing is, I don\u2019t have to do this,\u201d he stresses. \u201cIt\u2019s not about the money, because we don\u2019t need the money. But this\u2026\u201d He gestures towards the studio. \u201cThis is what I do. I just can\u2019t get away from it. I have things I want to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi \u2013 Stormwatcher (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Tony<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Tony Iommi\u2019s journey from his first group, 1964\u2019s The Rockin\u2019 Chevrolets (who played Buddy Holly covers and wore red lam\u00e9 suits) to Black Sabbath took just four years. In December 1965, the 17-year-old was about to quit his job as a sheet metal welder to become a professional musician when a machine sliced off the tips of two fingers. The story of how he discovered a new way to play guitar is well documented. And it illustrates the resourcefulness that has helped define Iommi\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

Within a year of the injury, he\u2019d joined local group The Rest, whose other guitarist was also missing the top of one digit (\u201cI thought: \u2018Bloody hell! Both in the same band?\u201d), and whose drummer Bill Ward was so skint he couldn\u2019t afford new drumsticks and often played with broken ones.<\/p>\n

By 1968, Iommi and Ward had moved to Carlisle, joined a band called Mythology, and the Buddy Holly covers had long been usurped by blues and progressive rock. Mythology broke up after being busted for dope, and Iommi and Ward skulked back to Birmingham to face their parents. \u201cBut Bill and I stuck together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the new members in the pair\u2019s next adventure, the Polka Tulk Blues Band, were bassist Terence \u2018Geezer\u2019 Butler and vocalist John \u2018Ozzy\u2019 Osbourne. Iommi, Ward, Butler and Osbourne then became Earth, until December 1968 when Iommi left to join Jethro Tull<\/a>. But that didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

It was certainly a life lesson. On his first day, Iommi sat down in the studio canteen to eat lunch with vocalist, flautist and band boss Ian Anderson, only to be told by his bandmates that he\u2019d broken protocol and to sit with them instead. Iommi stayed long enough to appear with Tull in the Rolling Stones\u2019 Rock And Roll Circus<\/a> movie before leaving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t for me,\u201d he says. Although he learned a valuable lesson. \u201cIan had us rehearsing at nine in the morning, and god help us if we were late. I don\u2019t think any of us in Earth were even awake at nine in the morning, but I realised that\u2019s what we needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Tony\n<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi (right) with Jethro Tull at the Rolling Stones’ Rock And Roll Circus (Image credit: Photoshot\/Avalon)<\/p>\n

Earth\u2019s four dysfunctional musketeers reunited, changed their name to Black Sabbath and started to rehearse more. \u201cTony was definitely the alpha male,\u201d recalled Geezer Butler.<\/p>\n

Today, a 120-foot Sabbath mural and a mechanical bull named Ozzy greet visitors to Birmingham\u2019s New Street Station, and a stainless steel bench on the city\u2019s Broad Street bears stony-faced images of them all. The band were given the Freedom Of The City award in 2025, and Iommi the Lord Mayor\u2019s award earlier this year. \u201cBlack Sabbath has become Birmingham,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Back in 1969, however, the city didn\u2019t want to know them. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get arrested,\u201d recalls Iommi. \u201cWell, we could\u2026 but not in the way we wanted. There was nowhere for us to play \u2013 maybe the occasional blues club. But what we were doing was so different to pop or soul or what you heard in clubs. So we ended up going to Europe and trying to get gigs there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Black\n<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath in 1970 (Image credit: Neil Zlozower \/ Atlas Icons)<\/p>\n

In August 1969, Black Sabbath began a residency at Hamburg\u2019s Star Club, where The Beatles<\/a> had served their apprenticeship. \u201cThe first time we played, there were half a dozen people in, but by the end of the run it was sold out,\u201d Iommi remembers. \u201cIt was all word of mouth, and we built a reputation with pockets of people everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The critics were rarely on side, though. \u201cClich\u00e9-ridden\u2026 a conglomerate of occult hype,\u201d carped Rolling Stone\u2019s review of Sabbath\u2019s self-titled 1970 debut album. \u201cOh god, we had everything against us,\u201d Iommi sighs. \u201cWe got pounded by the press.\u201d<\/p>\n

This hostility fuelled Iommi\u2019s determination and cast Black Sabbath as perennial outsiders. But there were enough \u201cpockets of people\u201d to put the album in the Top 10 in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n

Iommi\u2019s guitar playing was the cornerstone of Black Sabbath, and is still the dominant force on From The Dark. He\u2019s always used lighter-gauge strings as they were easier on his damaged fingers, but compensated by cranking up the distortion and volume. He also deployed the \u2018devil\u2019s interval\u2019 tritone on some songs. Known historically as the \u2018diabolus in musica\u2019, it\u2019s that tense, ominous interval that made songs such as the first album\u2019s title track and N.I.B.<\/a> sound positively evil.<\/p>\n

The title track of Sabbath\u2019s second album, 1970\u2019s Paranoid<\/a>, propelled by one of the most famous riffs in popular music, gave them a UK No.6 hit. \u201cIt all took off after Paranoid, and it didn\u2019t matter that people knocked us,\u201d says Iommi. \u201cAnd then America stepped in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath – Children Of The Grave (California Jam 1974) (4K 60fps) – YouTube
\n\"Black<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Black Sabbath were four twenty-somethings from post-war, working-class England eager to explore everything the so-called Land Of The Free had to offer. \u2018Smoking and tripping is all that you do,\u2019 Ozzy sang on Fairies Wear Boots. But in the States, dope and LSD took a back seat to cocaine, the drug du jour in showbiz circles. \u201cAmerica changed us,\u201d says Iommi.<\/p>\n

The making of Sabbath\u2019s fourth album, 1972\u2019s Vol. 4<\/a>, supposedly racked up a \u00a355,000 coke bill. The wheels started to come off soon after, when Iommi collapsed with exhaustion at the Hollywood Bowl. Doctors prescribed Valium and told him to go home. Sabbath returned to Birmingham like wounded soldiers: Bill Ward had contracted hepatitis, and Geezer Butler had been misdiagnosed with Vietnamese syphilis, which turned out to be kidney stones. Incredibly, Ozzy was unscathed.<\/p>\n

Regrettably, what happened in America didn\u2019t stay in America. In November 1973, Iommi married his first wife, Susan. Led Zeppelin\u2019s drummer John Bonham was his best man<\/a>, and arranged a stag night so riotous the groom wondered if either of them would make it to the wedding. On the day, Susan\u2019s mother asked Tony why his friends kept slipping out of the church every few minutes. \u201cThey were round the back sniffing and snorting,\u201d he says, laughing.<\/p>\n

Drug habits, ruined marriages, incredible wealth and subsequent financial ruin all became part of Black Sabbath\u2019s chaotic existence. Today, Iommi recounts these war stories with a knowing grin and a raise of the eyebrows. The good old bad old days are long behind him.<\/p>\n

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\"Classic\n<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi and Brian May at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards, Park Lane Hotel, London, November 2, 2009 (Image credit: Brian Rasic\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Iommi\u2019s friend Sir Brian May recently visited Tony\u2019s studio, and played on the new album\u2019s Death Watch. \u201cI\u2019d already done a solo, but I took mine off,\u201d Iommi says. \u201cBefore then, I got the CDs out with the riffs on \u2013 five hundred, six hundred riffs. Brian couldn\u2019t believe how many I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a different story when Iommi experienced writer\u2019s block making 1973\u2019s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath<\/a>, though. He eventually found his inspiration, and Sabbath\u2019s fifth LP included pianos, harpsichords, an orchestra, and Tony playing bagpipes. This catholic approach continued on 1975\u2019s Sabotage<\/a>, which featured the English Chamber Choir. \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of choir on this new album too, like on Sabotage,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked to experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has he ever written anything and thought it was too experimental for a Sabbath or Tony Iommi album?<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably, if it was a bit too lightweight. But then Sabbath used to get criticised for the acoustic stuff we did. I wrote a couple of acoustic things for this album, but we didn\u2019t have room for them. It\u2019s odd. I end up writing things like Fluff [Sabbath Bloody Sabbath\u2019s piano and acoustic guitar interlude] all the time, but I don\u2019t like playing acoustic. I find it too fiddly with my fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

On cue, Iommi picks up a worn-looking Golden Virginia tobacco tin from the side of the studio console, and reveals his collection of thimbles. Some look brand new, others like he used them at the Hollywood Bowl in 1972. There\u2019s a lot of history in that box.<\/p>\n

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\"Tony\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ross Halfin)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a song on From The Dark called Stormwatcher<\/a>, in which J\u00f8rn Lande sings: \u2018My ship is loaded with darkness, the years of our world in demise.\u2019 It\u2019s the sort of lyric one could imagine Ozzy\u2019s Sabbath replacement, Ronnie James Dio, belting out on 1980\u2019s Heaven And Hell. As successful as it was, Dio-era Sabbath lasted only three years, and Ozzy re-emerged as a solo star just as Sabbath\u2019s star began to wane.<\/p>\n

Iommi recalls Kiss<\/a>\u2019s producer Bob Ezrin overseeing auditions for Dio\u2019s replacement. \u201cOtherwise, me and Geezer would have been sitting there like a couple of spare dinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently, future superstar balladeer Michael Bolton made it through the first round with sterling renditions of War Pigs and Neon Knights, but went no further. \u201cNow Michael denies he ever auditioned for Sabbath, but I still have the tape here somewhere.\u201d Instead, Sabbath brought in ex-Deep Purple<\/a> frontman Ian Gillan<\/a> for 1983\u2019s Born Again<\/a>. \u201cWe had a lot of fun with Ian. But that line-up had a short shelf life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of the 80s were not good for Sabbath. On 1986\u2019s Seventh Star, even Butler was gone, leaving Iommi the last man standing. He\u2019d wanted the album to be a solo project, but bowed to record company pressure, hired another member of the \u2018Midlands mafia\u2019, ex-Purple bassist\/ vocalist Glenn Hughes<\/a>, and called it Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn hindsight we should have changed the name,\u201d Iommi allows, \u201cbut the name had weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that Iommi spent the next 10 years overseeing a dizzying number of line-up changes. \u201cGeezer\u2019s been in and out I don\u2019t know how many times. [Drummer] Vinny Appice\u2019s been in and out, [bassist] Neil Murray\u2019s been in and out, and [vocalist] Tony Martin\u2026\u201d He pauses. \u201cOh, it\u2019s been a right old game.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his autobiography, Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath, Iommi admitted to having little in common with some of his younger bandmates, and resenting them saying: \u201cI\u2019m in Black Sabbath\u201d when they hadn\u2019t done any of the groundwork. He was also sick of refereeing disputes between band members.<\/p>\n

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\"Geezer\n<\/p>\n

Geezer Butler, Ian Gillan Tony Iommi (Image credit: Ross Halfin)<\/p>\n

When Dio returned for 1992\u2019s Dehumanizer, his former Rainbow<\/a> bandmate Cozy Powell<\/a> was still Sabbath\u2019s drummer.<\/p>\n

\u201cCozy and Ronnie did not see eye to eye,\u201d Iommi says. \u201cI used to drive to rehearsals with Cozy, and he\u2019d be going: \u2018If that little c**t says anything to me I\u2019m going to smash him in the face.\u2019 I\u2019d think: \u2018Oh god, don\u2019t ruin it,\u2019 and of course Ronnie would say something.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took summer 1997\u2019s long-awaited reunion with Ozzy and Bill Ward for the good ship Black Sabbath to right itself. Times had changed, though. Ozzy\u2019s solo success, later transition into a reality TV star, and his wife\/manager Sharon\u2019s iron grip shifted the balance of power within the group, while ill health and business disputes sidelined Ward. Still, the chemistry was there, and three quarters of the classic Sabbath was better than one quarter.<\/p>\n

Iommi was also reminded of his legacy when Sabbath joined the Ozzfest touring charabanc, and he heard his riffs repurposed by younger acts on the bill. \u201cI thought it was great, and those bands admit they were influenced by us. People like Metallica<\/a> and Dave Grohl<\/a> have always boosted us up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2000, Iommi invited Grohl, Ozzy and Billy Corgan, among others, to sing on his self-titled solo album. \u201cI wanted Chris Cornell<\/a> too, but there was an issue with management,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was also a bit embarrassing because Eminem was going to do a track, and I said: \u2018Who\u2019s Eminem?\u2019\u201d Iommi says, with another raise of the eyebrows. \u201cSame with Kid Rock\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Iommi has previous form, though, having had Madonna ejected from Black Sabbath\u2019s Live Aid rehearsals. \u201cI didn\u2019t recognise her,\u201d he protests. \u201cIt was a big room, it was dark and it was meant to be private. Afterwards, my guitar tech said: \u2018You do know who that was?\u2019 Oh, bloody hell\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Iommi brought in Glenn Hughes to sing on 2005\u2019s Fused. But that had its challenges. \u201cGlenn\u2019s one of the few singers of his age that can still hit the notes,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019m amazed he can after what he put himself through.\u201d Former addict Hughes has been sober for decades, but it only took a hit of caffeine to set him off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like he\u2019d done a line of coke,\u201d Iommi says, laughing. \u201cGlenn\u2019s wife rang me and said: \u2018You didn\u2019t give him a cup of coffee did you?\u2019 We didn\u2019t know he wasn\u2019t supposed to have coffee. We made that album at Rockfield [Studios, in Monmouth], and I ended up driving home to Birmingham every night, because once Glenn started talking he wouldn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Tony\n<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes (Image credit: John McMurtrie)<\/p>\n

In December 2011, Iommi experienced another life-changing moment when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. He was about to start work on 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big shock,\u201d he says softly. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I was going to make it through the album. I thought that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabbath\u2019s tour dates were rearranged so he could return to the UK every few weeks for treatment. \u201cI look at life differently now,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt changes you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, with his cancer in remission, Black Sabbath bowed out with The End tour. In recent years Iommi has raised more than \u00a350,000 for the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity by raffling guitars. \u201cIt\u2019s good to give something back, trying to make the rooms nicer for cancer patients,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause they\u2019re sitting there for hours having chemotherapy and it\u2019s boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as Iommi was concerned, Black Sabbath ended with that farewell tour. Others disagreed. In the early 2020s, Andrew Watt, now Paul McCartney<\/a> and the Rolling Stones<\/a>\u2019 go-to producer, contacted him about making a Sabbath album with the original lineup (Rage Against The Machine\u2019s drummer Brad Wilk played on 13 after Ward objected to what he called \u201can un-signable contract\u201d).<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d met Andrew Watt when he was producing Ozzy,\u201d Iommi recalls. \u201cHe was very keen and a bit too excited. He also didn\u2019t know what it was like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill,\u201d he adds drolly. \u201cAlso, we\u2019d done 13, and I didn\u2019t like the idea of: \u2018Now here\u2019s another album.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Iommi was similarly dubious when Sabbath were asked to reunite for last year\u2019s Back To The Beginning concert at Villa Park. Metallica, Pantera<\/a>, Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/a> and Tool<\/a> were among those lining up to play a tribute to Black Sabbath, with proceeds going to several charities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to Ozzy: \u2018I don\u2019t think we should do it.\u2019 I said: \u2018We should just let the other bands play our stuff, and us come out at the end and say thank you. But it was for a good charitable cause, and eventually we said okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iommi had last seen Ozzy when the two of them performed Paranoid at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games<\/a>. The singer had already been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease, and his condition had worsened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t seen Ozzy for a bit, and it was difficult seeing him like that,\u201d Iommi remembers. \u201cFucking hell\u2026\u201d His voice tails off.<\/p>\n

Iommi didn\u2019t want Ozzy to play a solo set before Sabbath\u2019s closing performance either. \u201cBecause I was concerned he was going to blow himself out, and by the time we came on he\u2019d be struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Ozzy\n<\/p>\n

Ozzy Osbourne and Toni Iommi during Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony at the Alexander Stadium on August 08, 2022 in Birmingham (Image credit: Eddie Keogh\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ozzy ignored misgivings, and even showed up when the other three were rehearsing. \u201cWe needed to rehearse with Bill, because it had been twenty years and he couldn\u2019t remember how to play some of his stuff. We wanted to do the song Black Sabbath on the night but it was too difficult for him. But Ozzy would arrive with this gang of people carrying him up and down. We\u2019d say: \u2018Oz, you don\u2019t have to be here today, go home.\u2019 I was concerned about his voice. But he wanted to be there. There was no stopping him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did Sabbath fall back into their old ways as soon as the four of them were in a room together?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean moaning?\u201d Iommi deadpans. \u201cOh yes. And taking the piss. Bill bore the brunt of it even after all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the night, July 5, 2026, Ozzy performed a solo set and struggled to remain seated \u2013 for his own safety \u2013 on his customised throne. He then joined the rest of Black Sabbath for a victory lap of War Pigs, N.I.B., Iron Man and Paranoid. Still on the throne, like a heavy metal king at his coronation, he went out with a grin on his face and, ever the showman, still trying to stand up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adrenaline carried Ozzy through,\u201d says Iommi. \u201cAnd I\u2019m so glad we did it. But of course we didn\u2019t expect him to go so soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozzy died 17 days after the show and, at the time of this interview, has been gone for a year. \u201cCan you believe it? A year?\u201d Iommi sighs. \u201cBut it was so good that we got to do that one last thing together \u2013 and for a good cause.”<\/p>\n

\n

\"Black\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ross Halfin)<\/p>\n

For all the doom and pestilence on his new album, Iommi seems at peace with the world. He\u2019s been married to his fourth wife, Maria, since 2005, and credits her and his family for helping him \u201ccome through the other side\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year the couple returned from holiday to find what Iommi presumed was a speeding ticket. \u201cIt looked official,\u201d he says. In fact it was a letter from the government telling him he\u2019d been awarded an MBE<\/a> (Member Of The British Empire) for services to music. \u201cI\u2019ll be going up to Buckingham Palace at some point, but I don\u2019t know when.\u201d<\/p>\n

MBEs, Lord Mayor Awards, charity raffles, his own range of fragrances\u2026 Besides his new record, these are the accolades and offbeat projects Iommi enjoys. \u201cI\u2019ve just done a track with [veteran Star Trek actor turned singer] William Shatner,\u201d he divulges, as we get up to leave.<\/p>\n

What, one wonders, would 78-year-old Tony Iommi say to his 17-year-old self about to embark on a musical career? \u201cBreak all the barriers and do what you believe in,\u201d he replies firmly. \u201cEverything is a test. Being told I wasn\u2019t going to play guitar again was the first test; Sabbath being rejected was the next. Stick with it and keep on.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his words of empowerment ringing in our ears, we swap the studio\u2019s darkness for blazing sunshine. By the studio door stands Tony Iommi\u2019s bin. Disappointingly, there isn\u2019t a dismembered arm poking out from under the lid.<\/p>\n

From The Dark is out now via BMG.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Toiny Iommi: From The Dark – Today’s Best Prices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter It\u2019s a glorious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-816265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}