In recent months, founding Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler have all expressed interest in doing a possible final reunion concert featuring the band’s four original members, although guitarist Tony Iommi had a more tepid response.
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The British heavy metal legends wrapped up a farewell tour in 2017, although Ward didn’t take part in the trek. In a SiriusXM radio interview with host Eddie Trunk in May 2024, Iommi said he wasn’t opposed to the possibility of a reunion show, but he seemed skeptical about it actually happening. Now, in a new Guitar World interview, Iommi shared similar sentiments about the classic Sabbath lineup performing together again.
“Who knows? You can never say never, and we never have said never,” the 76-year-old musician maintained. “It really depends on everybody’s health and what we’d expect from each other now. Can we still play and sound the same together? I don’t know because it’s been such a long time. It’s in the air.”
He continued, “By the time it comes around, if it ever does, we’ll have to see what state everybody is in and whether we can climb on stage. If we did, it would have to be good[,] otherwise I wouldn’t do it.”
He concluded, “There’s no point in just getting up, what can you prove by doing that? If it’s not right or as good as it was, then there’s no point in doing it. In my eyes, it has to be as good or better.”
It’s worth noting that Osbourne, Ward, and Iommi all have dealt with serious health issues in recent years.
Iommi Shares Update on Next Solo Album
Meanwhile, for the last few years, Iommi has teased that he’s working on a new solo album, although he hasn’t announced any concrete plans for the projects release. Tony also shared a somewhat vague update about the status of the album with Guitar World.
“There’s definitely something coming,” Iommi revealed. He added with a laugh, “When it will be here, I do not know.”
Iommi did put out two solo tracks in recent years, “Scent of Dark” (2021) and “Deified” (2024), although those tunes were issued in conjunction with the release of signature fragrances on which Tony collaborated with the Xerjoff company. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer told Guitar World that those songs won’t appear on his next album.
“Those are separate things for me,” he explained. “The tracks I’m working on right now are a mixture of styles from acoustic to heavy stuff. There’s a variety.”
Iommi revealed that he hasn’t decided which tracks he’ll flesh out for the album, or which guest musicians he’ll call on to contribute to the project.
“I’ve recorded quite a few ideas,” he shared. “A lot of them have been done at home. The next thing we’re going to do is put some drums on, so it’s coming along.”
Iommi told the magazine that he’s been working with his longtime studio engineer Mike Exeter. The sessions are taking place at his home studio in West Midlands, U.K., usually on Mondays and Tuesdays each week.
“I’m just taking my time with it,” he added. “We’ll go in and focus on a particular track while also fiddling around with sounds and whatnot for other stuff. It’s been an interesting process, juggling lots of different ideas.”
Iommi’s last solo album, Fused, was released in 2005.
“Jethro Tull would rehearse at a strict time every morning and then break for lunch. It was like going to work. In Black Sabbath, we never did that”: Tony Iommi on hanging out with Jimmy Page and Brian May, early Sabbath –and his time with Tull https://t.co/imig2ZlfoV pic.twitter.com/IGQ50k5TEP
— Guitar World (@GuitarWorld) November 27, 2024
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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