Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has offered an update on his long-anticipated new solo album.
Talking to Eddie Trunk, the 77-year-old, whose last solo album Fused came out in 2005, says that he’s returning to work on his own material after being side-tracked by prep for Sabbath’s recent blockbuster farewell show, Back To The Beginning.
He also reveals that he currently only has one singer lined up to appear on the album, in contrast to his 2000 solo debut Iommi, which featured a host of different vocalists.
“I was doing my own album until [Back To The Beginning] came up, and then, of course, I had to stop and concentrate on [preparing for] the Sabbath [performance],” Iommi says (via Blabbermouth).
He adds: “But I’m continuing next week on trying to finish off what I started with this album. And then who knows what I’m gonna do then? It’s great, really, ’cause if something pops up, I’ll do it, if I want to do it. So it’s a good thing.”
Regarding the plan for vocals on the album, the guitarist continues: “I’ve got one singer on it at the moment, which I originally thought of different singers. But it started off as, ‘It’s gonna be an instrumental album,’ and it’s gone from, ‘I’ve got some instrumental stuff,’ but then I thought, ‘Oh, I wanna try it with a singer.’ And so that’s what I’ve been doing.”
The original Sabbath lineup – Iommi, frontman Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – bowed out with an all-day extravaganza at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham on Saturday (July 5).
Osbourne, who was appearing onstage for the final time at the event, sang a five-song solo set and then did a four-song show with Sabbath. The supporting lineup was a who’s who of hard rock and heavy metal, with performers including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Mastodon and Gojira.
During the Trunk interview, Iommi says that the same playful atmosphere of Sabbath’s early years came back during the show, to the point that the guitarist poked fun at Ward by saying that he looked like Lord Of The Rings monster Gollum when he took his top off.
Though Iommi hasn’t put out a solo album since 2005, he has released two instrumental songs in the 2020s – Scent Of Dark and Deified, each of which accompanied the launch of a new perfume endorsed by the guitarist – and collaborated with multiple artists. In May, he appeared on the song Rocket by UK pop singer/songwriter and ex-Take That man Robbie Williams.
