For Becky Baldwin, landing the bass chair on a Tony Iommi album was the kind of thing that took months to feel real. Now that the secret is finally out, the U.K. musician has shared a candid, heartfelt account of how it all happened — nerves and all.
Baldwin plays bass throughout From The Dark, the upcoming solo record from the Black Sabbath guitarist, and today, on Thursday, July 30, she marked the news with a social media post and a photo of herself alongside Iommi. Her message pulled back the curtain on just how daunting that first day in the studio was:
“It’s been tough keeping this quiet, but I’m sure that now most of you have now seen this news!”
“I’ve been working on an album with the creator of heavy metal, the riffmaster himself, Mr @tonyiommi … And yesterday, we dropped the first single from that album, finally unleashing the brand new line up that also features the brilliant @brazil.karl on drums and the absolutely mind blowing vocal talent of @jornofficialmusic. The single ‘World Alone‘ can be streamed now, and pre-orders for both this single on 7″ vinyl and the album From The Dark are now live.”
“This photo was taken at the end of our first recording session, on the day we met. I still couldn’t believe that this great honour could be real, and I was so nervous recording in front of Tony on his song with no preparation, that I was sure they’d look for another bass player once I left the room. I asked ‘Could we get a quick photo together, in case I never see you again?’ Tony just laughed and said ‘You’ll be back here in two weeks for the next session!’ But he granted my request. And I still didn’t really believe him.”
“But fast forward 8 months and here we are, the nerves faded and I did get to record the rest of the bass tracks for Tony‘s incredible album. I am so proud to be a part of this, and we’re so thrilled with the results working with producer @mikeexeter. I’ve heard the final mixes, I know the rest of the album is coming out in October. I have to believe it’s all real now.”
“Thank you everyone for the hundreds of excited messages yesterday while we celebrated the ‘World Alone‘ single. Thank you Tony, the band and team for your amazing work and keeping this story of heavy metal greatness going, with humble authenticity, devotion and respect.”
Whatever doubts Baldwin had that day, Iommi clearly had none. Speaking with Rolling Stone about why he brought her aboard, the guitarist singled out both her ability and her instinctive feel for the low end that defined Black Sabbath. “Becky lives in Birmingham, and she’s a really good player,” he explained. “And she’s certainly a fan of Geezer, and she plays in Geezer‘s style. And that’s what I wanted. She’s really good.”
That connection to Geezer Butler was no accident. Iommi had originally hoped to bring his old Sabbath partner in on the record, only for scheduling to get in the way. “I wanted him to play on this album, but he couldn’t do it,” Iommi said. “He’s doing his own album, I think. Or at the time, something happened there, so he couldn’t come to England. I wanted to get it done and finally get it out, really. Because Becky‘s, as I say, a fan of Geezer, and she plays in that style, I though let’s give it a try. And she was good.”
From The Dark teams Iommi and Baldwin with drummer Karl Brazil, known for his work with pop names like Robbie Williams and James Blunt, and Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande, with Mike Exeter producing. The album is due in October, led by the newly released single “World Alone.”
From The Dark will be Iommi‘s third solo album, following Iommi in 2000 and Fused in 2005. Speaking on the creation of the record, Iommi shared: “It’s an album we’ve really enjoyed making. We’re not trying to prove anything – it’s a great album, it rocks!”
At 35, Baldwin is best known these days as the permanent bassist for Danish metal institution Mercyful Fate, a role she stepped into full-time in January 2024 after first filling in for the band on its fall 2022 tour, when regular bassist Joey Vera was tied up with Armored Saint commitments. A fingerstyle player who came up through Bristol’s music scene before settling in Birmingham, the birthplace of heavy metal itself, she has spent years as one of the U.K.’s most in-demand working bassists, logging heavy touring and session mileage across Europe and the U.S.
From The Dark tracklist:
- “Over The Violent Sun“
- “Black Times“
- “World Alone“
- “Beyond The Dead“
- “Stormwatcher“
- “Death Wake“
- “Return Of The Arbalist“
- “Legacy“
The release will also feature two exclusive bonus tracks:
- “Scent Of Dark“
- “Deified (Extended Version)“
